Now Here's A Tip: Cut Firewood in the Spring

By JoAnn Derson

• "Planning a new roof? Go light on the color for cooling benefits. Check with your home insurance company to see what discounts it might offer for different styles or options, like upgraded hurricane clips or fire retardant materials." -- R.E.W. in Tennessee

• Cut a cord of firewood in the spring and cure it yourself. Store it away from the house and properly care for the wood by stacking it where it will have access to the sun and wind to dry it. Let it season for six months or longer, and you'll have firewood ready when the temperatures drop again.

• "If you are melting chocolate in your microwave, do yourself a favor: Line the bowl with wax paper or parchment paper. The chocolate is still easily stirrable, but when you take it out, you can lift and scrape all the chocolate off the paper so that none is wasted!" -- A.A. in Florida

• Check bagged frozen vegetables with the squeeze test: If it is hard and solid, it has thawed and refrozen, so you should choose another bag.

• Keep musty smells out of your linen closet by stashing a box of baking soda on one of the shelves, just as you would in the kitchen.

• "Place a bit of clear tape over the place where you are going to drive in a nail to prevent the nail from cracking drywall. The nail goes right in. Also, if you are nailing into wood, you can drag your nail through some soap (a bar soap is fine) before striking and it does the same thing -- it'll keep the wood from splitting. You can even keep a travel size bar of soap in your nail apron just for this." -- P.K. in New Jersey

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