Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
By Times and wire reports
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 19, 2001
Taming the trash
Use a garden hose to keep trash bags in place in a garbage can, The Family Handyman suggests. Cut four 9-inch lengths from an old hose, slit them lengthwise and slip them over the trash bag that you've folded over the rim of the garbage can. A couple of shorter lengths would hold a trash bag in place in the kitchen as well.
Create your own custom-designed rug by mail. In what is said to be a catalog first, you pick a shape, pick a size, select a rug material and border from a couple of preset collections with a variety of color choices. Smith and Noble, a catalog retailer, creates the finished rug in 6 to 17 business days. The company claims it can save consumers 20 to 70 percent off store prices on custom rugs. The catalog includes a primer on rug materials and instructions on how to measure. Information: (800) 693-6555 or visit http://www.smithandnoble.com.
While you're doing that spring cleaning and casting off, don't forget the garage. Paint "parking spaces" on the garage floor for bikes, wagons, etc. That tells the kids where to put 'em, say professional organizers Jan Jasper and Georgene Lockwood. It might also remind whoever's parking the car to leave room for them.
- Compiled from staff and wire reports by Homes Editor Judy Stark