Many people don’t really know how many ways there are to be green and help the environment. Here are tips to a greener house.

• Turn off the water when you’re brushing your teeth.
• Rearrange your furniture to make better use of natural light.
• Switch to compact fluorescent lightbulbs and keep them dust free to increase efficiency and output.
• Keep heating and air vents clean so that systems run efficiently.
• Make sure gaps are caulked and rooms are insulated to make sure you aren’t wasting the heat and air you use.
• Wash clothes in cold water.
• Use a clothesline to dry clothes whenever possible.
• Keep the dryer’s lint filter clean.
• Refrigerators are more efficient full than empty because they hold the cold better. Keep your refrigerator full without overpacking it, which causes poor circulation and makes it hard to control humidity.
• Store your food in glass or porcelain containers instead of plastic. It’s less recycling and chemicals don’t adhere to those surfaces as easily as they do to plastic.

Tired of going from room to room sorting laundry? There’s an easy way to put an end to it. Place a hamper in each person’s bedroom. If people share a room and things need to be separated due to detergent sensitivities or color issues place two hampers or a split hamper in the shared bedroom. Outfits will stay together. Less things will get misplaced and end up in the wrong drawers or closet. It’s also easier to pick up a hamper and carry it to the laundry room than it is to sort everyone’s clothes from one hamper and then carry what you’ve picked out to the laundry room.

I was browsing through Buy.com books today (they’re promising to beat pricing on many Amazon books by 10%) and I noticed they were selling a number of atlases. I’ve had one in my car for a long time, and it reminded me of a list of a dozen things that are good to always to keep in your car.

Ten things to always keep in your car are

• an atlas
• a blanket
• a set of jumper cables
• a first aid kit
• a flashlight
• emergency road flares
• a towel
• a change of clothes
• a can of fix a flat
• a set of gloves, hat and scarf

Two things to always keep in your car that need to be replaced/replenished occasionally are

• a couple of bottles of water
• a couple of snacks

With these things in your car you’ll be prepared for some of the most common situations and emergencies.

A while back my parents were having a problem at their house with vandalism. Someone damaged my brother’s car several times. Each time something happened it was when noone was around. One way to try and solve a mystery like this is with a couple of security cameras, some of which have become really inexpensive. They can easily be set up in places where they aren’t visible. Then you’ve got a recording of everything that goes on. The oldest of my younger brothers has them at his house, although he’s never told me why. Do you know anyone that’s used security cameras at their house?

Our kitchen is probably a little smaller than 12×12. Two of the walls have cabinets over the countertop. The total countertop area is not all that big. When I ran out of places to put my small appliances, I came up with a solution that allows me to keep the bigger small appliances off of the counter, things like the crockpot, the deep fryer and the rice cooker. I also got myself a little more storage space for things like cases of water or soda. What I did is I went to Target and bought myself a bakers rack for $69. It’s got a butcher block top at almost counter level height and two shelves underneath. There’s a narrower shelf up top where I keep things my Pampered Chef apple peeler and my little chopper, and some cans of cat food too. We don’t have the money to renovate now but hope to some day. This solves the problem nicely for now.

If you’re like me you were raised to flush expired medications down the toilet. Many people still do this because they don’t know the right way to get rid of expired medications. Flushing is one of the worst things you can do because it provides the potential for drugs to get into the water supply. There aren’t many fish that need to take Leptovox, you know what I mean? The best ways to get rid of expired prescriptions is with your community’s public works department or local waste management companies to find out if they accept expired medications in hazardous waste collections. If they don’t, ask local pharmacies if they dispose of expired medications. If there’s absolutely no other solution throw the medications away in a container with a childproof lid so that children and animals can’t get into them, but make sure that you don’t throw them away until just before the garbage man comes.

My house is forty years old. The only linen closet we have is a very small one inside the new bathroom. It’s so small that the door to it is the smallest interior door they sell. We couldn’t fit all of our linens (bath and bedroom) in there. I have no other closets or place to put them. But I had a small open corner in the old bathroom. So, I went to Walmart and for less than $15 purchased one of those 4 shelf wire racks. I store towels for the odl bathroom on it. The only room it takes up was dead space anyway and this way I always have fresh linens if I need them.  I also keep the spare toilet paper on the bottom shelf of it, which is terribly convenient since it’s right next to the toilet.

Are you interested in taking a cruise but find they’re way out of your budget? Or are you one of those people that loves to do things on the spur of the moment? If you make and/or change plans at the last minute then you can save a lot of money on a cruise by booking at the last minute. The cruise lines would prefer the ships to be full rather than not so as it gets closer to the sail date they’ll lower cruise prices. Usually about 30 days before a cruise sails you can find some really great deals. Prices are slashed and cabin upgrades are two things you might find by booking at the last minute. If taking a trip on short notice isn’t an issue for you then call the cruise line and see if they have any deals or just search on the internet on one of the last minute cruise deals websites. Don’t be afraid to ask. You never know what kind of deal you’ll find. Wouldn’t a deal on one of those super European cruises be terrific?

Fall is here and cold and flu season has arrived. Here are a dozen things that you can do to help cut down on the spread of germs.

• Carry your own pen
• Carry hand sanitizer
• Wipe door handles and other commonly touched spots with disinfecting wipes
• Cover your mouth and nose
• Wash your hands frequently
• Don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth
• Avoid people who are sick
• Stay home if you are sick
• Clean your home with disinfectant
• Use a paper towels – at home instead of rags and in public to touch things like toilet handles and restroom doors
• Discuss the flu shot with your physician
• Many people think that vitamins help stave off a cold. You’ll find them in an aisle near the weight loss products

Take everything out of the closet, after you’ve cleaned it out.

Group like items with like items.

Use hangers that can hold several pairs of pants.

Hang belts and ties on a hanging organizer.

Store clothing accessories such as scarves and gloves together in a small clear storage container.

Store sweaters on the top shelf or in clear under bed boxes.

Use the Back of the Door. There are different types of over the door hooks, from single hooks good for robes to over the door shoe organizers.

If you need more space consider adding a second rod to your closet so you have one high and one low.