For four years now I have been diligently dumping potato peels, carrot tops, weeds, eggshells and all sorts of other organic waste into a plastic compost bin in my backyard. The brochure that came with the composter assured me that I'd have rich, garden-ready compost in six months. Not true. Month after month, whenever I lifted the lid to take a look, I saw … potato peels, carrot tops, weeds, eggshells, all in the process of deteriorating, but nowhere near compost-ready. I'm pretty sure I
I'd been on the prowl for a pair of hard-to-find running shoes, so when I learned they were 1) available, and 2) on sale at roadrunnersports.com, I pounced. Before I placed my order, though, I went to retailmenot.com to check for additional discounts. Success: a promo code for another 10 percent off. Then I checked to see if RoadRunnerSports was one of the retailers that gives me a cash-back bonus if I shop through my credit card site - in this case, the Citi Bonus
Last week I got an email from Snapfish, the site where I order most of my photos, offering me free Easter downloads - cute favors and decorations that can be printed on a home computer. There are plenty of other Easter goodies to be had for free as well, courtesy of various businesses and bloggers. Martha Stewart probably has the best of the lot - go to marthastewart.com and search for "Easter clip art." My favorite is this Bunny Box - you print the image
Generally when I clear out closets, I dispose of what I don't need the easy way: I stuff it into bags, drop the bags off at the Salvation Army or Goodwill store and drive away. It takes just a few minutes. But if you're dealing with a significant amount of stuff it's worth spending a little more time. Jot down what's in those bags. Then ask an employee of the Goodwill or the Salvation Army store for a receipt showing that it accepted the goods.
After five years of service from my trusty iPhone 3G (best feature: a keypad I don't have to squint to see), I decided to upgrade to an iPhone 5 (best feature: a camera so good that I've ditched my point and shoot). I've still got the 3G … but not for long, because I've been checking out online buyers of used electronic devices. My old iPhone, an 8 gigabyte model, still works and is in great shape cosmetically - no cracks, dings or dents. While
It's corned beef and cabbage season, and since a local supermarket chain was having a great sale on the latter - 19 cents a pound - I bought the biggest, plumpest specimen I could find. The next day I looked over my recipe for Colcannon (mashed potatoes, green onions, milk, lots of butter - and 2 pounds of cabbage). I couldn't find my kitchen scale to weigh out 2 pounds - but I could find my supermarket receipt. It said I'd purchased just over 4 pounds
I try to limit the amount of salt I eat - but if I'm going to indulge, I'll take my salt served up on a crispy, crunchy, kettle-cooked Cape Cod-brand potato chip, thank you very much. With the most recent bag, though, something was off. The chips (my favorite flavor, Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper), weren't bad; they just weren't as good as they usually are. Instead of being super-crispy and crunchy, they had a texture that reminded me just a bit of … Pringles. So
Gassing up my car these days means fishing multiple cards from my wallet - slightly inconvenient, but definitely worth it $-wise. I usually go to F.L. Roberts' Mobil stations, where I use my Big Y Silver Savings card (5 cents off per gallon); my credit card (1 percent cash back, which has been upped to 5 percent back on gas through the end of March); and my F.L. Roberts card (5 points for every gallon, with double points on Tuesdays). Last month I redeemed
There are more than 7,000 mutual funds available to U.S. investors, and nearly as many websites - or so it seems - offering information and/or advice about all those funds. I know this because I'm considering transferring assets from my 401k plan to an IRA, and the information overload is dizzying. For my money, the best of the sites is money.usnews.com/funds, from U.S. News and World Reports magazine. It covers a good number of those 7,000-plus mutual funds, providing a brief profile of holdings, goals and
My favorite cheese - Abbaye de Belloc, made with sheep's milk - costs just under $20 a pound at River Valley Market in Northampton, and at that price I try not to let any go to waste. But no matter how careful I am about carving off every last bit, there are always leftover rinds, and it pains me to toss them in the trash. Then I came across this cooking tip: Adding the inedible bits of hard cheeses - Parmesan, Gruyere and the like
