Think twice about keeping decorative pillows on your bed. If you're in the habit of tossing decorative pillows onto the bedroom floor each night before drifting off, you may actually be making your bed unhealthier and dirtier over time. Pillows that rest on the floor can collect dirt, bacteria, dust mites and other creepy crawlies. When you make the bed in the morning, you're bringing that gunk right onto your bed. Instead, just keep the pillows you actually sleep with on the bed, or place the decorative pillows on a chair or side table each night.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

If you're growing vegetables, one way to make sure your summer harvest is plentiful is to look at your Christmas ornament stash now. Find plastic or unbreakable red ball ornaments in your collection and take them outside. While your young plants are growing, the red ornaments will appear to be real food for birds. When they peck away and realize it's just a hard inedible object, they'll learn to leave the plants alone. Come harvest time for juicy tomatoes and other garden treats, you'll have more for you and less lost to wildlife.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

When dust collects under an appliance like a refrigerator, the reduced airflow can force it to work harder to keep things cold or frozen. A simple trick is to vacuum away the dust, but often the extension hose on a vacuum isn't long or narrow enough at the opening to squeeze underneath. To remedy this, simply take a cardboard paper-towel tube and secure it to the vacuum hose with a rubber band. Then flatten it so it fits snug under the fridge, and turn the vacuum on to suck up all those dust bunnies.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION