The Sun Bay Paper Page 3 January 14, 2022 - January 20, 2022 If you travel a lot, you may amass a collection of plastic shower caps. These can be handy double-duty items to use in your suitcase to wrap the bottom of your shoes. Since shoes are one of the biggest collectors and spreaders of dirt, chemicals and lead, wrapping them with shower caps helps prevent your clean clothes (and the inside of your suitcase) from getting dirty. Save them once you get back from your trip to reuse when you start your next journey. Do you want to heat up some leftovers or cook a side dish of veggies for dinner? Instead of using an oven or toaster oven, consider using a microwave. The reason is simple: A microwave uses up to 50 percent less energy than a conventional oven. And modern microwaves have improved cooking results, often resulting in perfectly steamed, poached, roasted and sauteed finishes that taste just like you made it in a traditional oven. Ever wonder how to get old stains out of carpet? Whether it’s coffee, red wine or even turmeric, it is possible to get your carpet clean using everyday items. Simply make a mixture of white vinegar with a few drops of dish soap and water. Place it in a spray bottle and saturate the stained area of the carpet. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes and then start blotting. Using a clean cloth will help lift up the stain. Repeat if necessary, and the stain will be gone! Shower Caps Leftovers Stains Gone Ever wonder why it’s important to rinse out your recyclables before putting them in the bin? It’s because cleaner cans, bottles and containers are worth more on the recyclables market. When recyclers get your trash, they separate it by type of recyclable (paper, plastic or metal) and then those are separated by how clean they are. The dirtier the container, the less valuable it is. By making rinsing a habit, you help keep recycling profitable. But if you’re in a store and leaving a soiled salad takeout box in the recycling bin, don’t worry: It’s less valuable to recycle, but it’ll still get diverted from the landfill. Clean Recycle Do you have a collection of ketchup packets in your junk drawer at home? Sure, they may be nice to have handy for burgers and fries, but you can use them right away to polish up metal, too. All you have to do is tear the packets open and smear ketchup on tarnished copper, brass or silver-plated pieces. The mild acid in ketchup eats away at tarnish, grime and dirt. Just buff off the ketchup with a soft cloth towel, and the brilliant metal shine will come right through. Rinse and buff to remove any residual ketchup. Ketchup Polish If you have a backyard garden, you know one way to help expedite the growing process is to germinate seeds before planting them in the ground. One item that can be used to germinate seeds is used paper coffee filters. Mix potting soil with used coffee grinds and refill old filters with the mixture and seeds. The filters are a great container to use: They drain well and are durable. And when it’s ready to transplant, you can put the filter, mixture and sprouted seeds right into the earth. Germinate Did you know over 1.5 million animals are euthanized in animal shelters every year in the United States because of overpopulation? One of the easiest things you can do as a responsible pet owner is to have your cat or dog spayed or neutered. Some veterinarians, however, do advise against traditional de-sexing of your pet, which they believe can create problems for your pet’s endocrine system. One alternative worth exploring is something called an “ovary-sparing spay,” which results in sterilization without endangering the endocrine system. Danny Seo De-Sexing Pets
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