To track whether the dishes in your washer are clean, use a wet erase marker to write “Dirty” or make a fancy “D” on the inside door of your dishwasher when loading dirty dishes. When you run the dishwasher the mark washes away, so you’ll know they are clean.

— Carl DeCesare

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Don’t pay for a anti-fogging bathroom mirror! The mirror fogs because the glass temperature is colder than the air causing the moisture dissolved in the air to condense. Just wipe the off the excess condensation and lightly blowdry the mirror and it will stay fog-free. Don’t overdo it with the blow-dryer — you don’t want the mirror to crack from uneven expansion.

— David Spargur

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I’ve moved many many times, and this hint has saved my sanity. Whether you’re using professional movers or relying on your (good) friends, you can use this hint.

In your new place, pick a space that is out of the way, such as a spare bedroom, the basement or garage, and put every box there. I mean every. single. box. If it says kitchen, put it there. Bedroom? Put it there. Bathroom? Put it there. If you can manage it, you can loosely group the boxes there by room. But do not let a single box infiltrate the rest of your living space.

Without those boxes in the way, you can slide your furniture around until you have it situated the way you like without boxes getting in the way, and voila, your space is instantly livable.

Then you start emptying boxes one by one. As a box is emptied, break it down and toss it, recycle it or store it. You’ll find you’re fully moved in in very short order, and if you’re not, nobody can tell but you!

— Katherine B

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Wintergreen oil (methyl salicylate) is the most penetrating of all penetrating oils. It is available at most drugstores at minimal cost. If you work on old machinery that is anywhere near saltwater (or salted highways) it’s an essential weapon in tackling otherwise hopelessly rusted/frozen threads. It smells good, and though toxic and not to be kept within reach of children, is intended for topical application to human skin.

— George Dyson

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Here is a much simpler way to keep paintbrushes soft, especially between coats: Don’t clean them, put them in a plastic bag, and put them in the freezer. You can start painting with them right away, and when you are done, just put them in again. Eventually, you want to clean them (if you are changing colors, for instance) but I have had paintbrushes in the freezer for months and they are just fine when you take them out again.

— Espen Andersen

01/1/07