When decorating the outside of your house for the holidays, avoid artificial garlands or wreaths and fake sprigs of red berries. If it looks real to you, it’s also going to look very real to wildlife who think the fake berries and evergreens are a source of food and shelter. A bird could easily ingest small pieces of your decor and suffer illness or even death. Instead, stick with real and natural items, or place your artificial decor close to your home (like on your porch or front door) and nowhere near trees or open spaces.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

If you use a blender on a regular basis, it’s important to know how to properly clean it. When using a blender for making plant-based smoothies, frozen drinks and batter without any animal ingredients, it’s fine to use water and a little dishwashing soap to clean it. Just fill halfway with water, add a few drops of soap, run it on low speed, and rinse it out. But whenever you blend anything with meat, seafood, dairy or eggs, it’s important to totally disassemble the blender for cleaning. Any residue from animal products can become an unhealthy breeding ground for bacteria.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Many of us soak our cookware in water for several hours or overnight to loosen baked-on food to make clean up easier. While that does work to loosen grime, it also can warp the pan over time, making it defective and difficult to use. To protect your cookware investment, allow your frying pan to cool to room temperature, then immerse it in water for several minutes. That should be enough soaking time to make cleanup easier without risking any damage to the pan. And if you need a little extra help, sprinkle baking soda for abrasion and scrub away.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION