Book Repair

I warn you, this is not the kind of professional repair you'd use for a keepsake, but it's good for books that get lots of use and wear.

I've found nothing more useful than clear packing tape, preferably the thick stuff. One strip down the spine will repair most torn off covers, and another strip on the inside will usually prevent them from tearing again. If it's a thick book, go ahead and do the other side also, so that the other cover won't tear off. If you really want heavy duty protection, cover the whole thing, then, with clear contact paper.

If you're using the packing tape, go ahead and do the edges of the book cover while you're at it. It will help prevent fraying along the edges and bent corners. Cut the strip of tape a little longer than the length of the edge, from front corner to back corner. Let it overhang. Then fold the extra bits over the corner for extra-extra reinforcement there. Your books will last a long time this way, and paperbacks will be almost as sturdy as hardcovers.

Magic Soil

Yesterday, we were short on groceries; but not to worry! I went to the garden and dug up a load of potatoes. Mind you, I never planted potatoes, yet there they were. You see, we compost. And compost is one of the funnest ways of discovering the potential of your yard. It improves the soil dramatically, and has other, surprise, benefits.

Some people will tell you to invest in a compost barrel and fully degrade the organic matter before mulching it into your soil. That's one way of doing a nice, neat garden. But for the messy gardener, direct composting has its advantages. One of them is that it is far less work and far less cost. Another is that the things you compost tend to be the things your family likes to eat, and some of them will grow! We move our compost area periodically from one end of our front garden/planter (it's about 8x3), and we discover new foods growing where the previous pile was. Onions can grow out of the ends that you throw away. Potatoes can grow from the eyes you toss. It's very little work, and free food. And who doesn't like free?

If your bread molds too fast...

If you have a problem with not being able to get through a loaf of bread before it goes moldy, consider rice cakes. I found some at a local discount grocer, for a really good price; I bought a lot. Now I wish I'd bought more. They last in the pantry for a long time, because unlike bread they do not have moisture. They make a great lower-calorie sandwich type food, with spread or toppings served open-faced; and they come in a variety of fun flavors, too.

The sponge is dirtier than the dish.

Yeah, that's right. Scary, isn't it? All those bacteria that make your sponges smell so bad also can carry disease, and you wipe them right back onto the dish when you wash by hand. Solution? Well, there are several.

One possibility is to replace sponges with dishrags, and wash them regularly in the laundry. That works well if you can handle that level of change in your life, and if you wash in hot enough water to kill germs.

If you don't use hot water in the wash (which is bad for most of your clothes), you might consider switching from cellulose sponges to the foamy kind, the ones that resemble cheap chalkboard erasers. They don't hold nearly so much bacteria, and are much easier to wring out.

Step two is to throw them into the dishwasher regularly. Even if you wash clothes on cold, hot water is still better for your your plates. And your sponges.

They won't last forever, but you will get a bit more use out of them than if you never wash them.