The Sun Bay Paper Page 3 March 11, 2022 - March 17, 2022 Even with our digital devices, many of us still have a box with handwritten recipe cards we keep in the kitchen and pull out when it’s time to bake Grandma’s famous chocolate chip cookies. But paper cards can disintegrate over time, so if you want to protect them from splatters and spills without using non-ecofriendly lamination, try hairspray. Just spray a light coating of hair spray on the cards and let them dry. It’ll give a protective coating that will help prevent grease, water or any food stains from destroying the cards. Reed diffusers are an easy way to add natural scent to a room without burning candles or spraying artificial fragrances. But buying new diffusers -- the vial of oil, the container and reeds, and all the packaging -- can be wasteful and expensive. Instead, buy a refill oil and use it in an old waterproof vase with a handful of Chinese takeout bamboo chopsticks as the reeds. You’ll save a lot of money and get the same effect. Keep frozen food cold longer by doing this simple trick: Line the inside of your reusable bag with bubble wrap. Simply cut sheets of bubble wrap the size of the inside of the tote bag and safety pin them in place. The bubble wrap will help insulate the inside of the bag, keeping it cooler. When the bubble wrap deflates over time, unpin it and replace with a fresh sheet. Colder Longer A slow computer is not always the result of viruses or lack of memory on the hard drive. Sometimes, it can be a surge protector that the computer and all of the additional computer accessories are plugged into. Surge protectors are necessary to help prevent damaging electrical surges to your computer, but they, too, can wear out in about three years. To test if your surge protector is the reason for the slowdown, simply swap it out with a different one and run your computer. Slow Computer Overnight shipping may get your package there in a jiffy, but it takes a tremendous amount of fuel (not to mention money) to make it happen. If it doesn’t absolutely, positively have to be there overnight, opt for ground shipping, which uses more fuel-efficient trucks to move packages. One insider tip? If you ground ship between major cities that are close to each other, the chances are it will still arrive the next day at the much cheaper ground shipping price. Packages shipped between Philadelphia and New York City or Los Angeles and San Francisco almost always arrive the next day this way. Shipping Cost Whenever you can cut back on paper usage, no matter how small, it adds up over time. Select “no receipt” at the ATM machine when you withdraw cash. Don’t print out a boarding pass at home for your airline flight when you can send the boarding pass straight to your smartphone. Email yourself your grocery list instead of jotting it down on paper and read it off your phone instead. Small paperless decisions definitely add up. Cut Back Paper If you’re in the market for some new kitchen appliances and you don’t want to pay full price, don’t overlook Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore. This is a growing chain of stores that accepts lightly used construction, renovation and home improvement products from DIYers, contractors and even building supply manufacturers to resell instead of tossing in landfills. You often can find almost-new appliances there at a fraction of the cost, from scratchand-dent to items homeowners changed their mind about. All appliances are less than five years old and in good working condition. New Appliances Chopsticks Recipe Cards
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