ArcaMax

Do you start your car and let it idle when it's freezing cold outside, to allow the engine to "warm up"? While there is some valid reasoning around doing this, especially during the coldest temps, you don't need to do it for more than 30 seconds. Modern cars have improved fuel-injected engines that work perfectly well without idling your car for...Read more

If you must use disposable paper plates, go with the most boring, uncoated, unprinted kinds. Party plates that come in bright colors with shiny coatings are not compostable or recyclable and can be expensive to purchase. Generic white paper plates or durable "Classic White" Chinet plates get the job done and can be tossed into the compost bin at...Read more

If you love fragrances and want your perfumes to last longer, keep them out of the room where most of us display our bottles: the bathroom. Fragrances are susceptible to two things: light and temperature shifts. A bathroom heats up and cools down quickly when it's used (imagine hot shower steam filling the room), which warms up the perfume and ...Read more

The best way to make sure your clothes last as long as possible (and look their best) is to treat stains immediately so they don’t set. The best pre-treat product is natural dish soap, which can lift grease and other stubborn stains without wearing out the fibers. Apply dish soap to the stain and let the clothing sit for at least 15 minutes, ...Read more

Activewear designed to wick away moisture can help avid runners stay cool when they're moving, but these garments can be very difficult to clean. Over time, synthetic fibers can harbor odor-causing bacteria that normal laundering can't really get clean. One way to make sure frequently worn clothes (like workout gear) get clean is to pretreat ...Read more

During the cold winter months, a steaming-hot shower may feel like the best thing to warm up. But it can actually create problems for your skin, because hot water strips away the natural oils that keep it moisturized. The result is typically dryness, itchiness and irritation. The key is to take shorter warm showers instead, which also saves ...Read more

Have you seen the viral hack where influencers take acetone (also known as nail polish remover) and pour it on Styrofoam, making it magically disappear? While it might appear to be a smart way to dispose of the packing material, it’s actually toxic -- harmful fumes are emitted as the Styrofoam dissolves. The best solution when you find ...Read more

If you're having a party for a large group of people and you rent glassware, dishes and flatware from a rental company, it may seem rude to send them back dirty, but it isn't. The reality is, even if you do a thorough job in washing your rentals, the companies are required to use a commercial-grade dishwasher to fully clean and sanitize them ...Read more

When squirrels start overtaking your attic or get stuck in your house, one of the easiest ways to remedy the problem is to use a humane trap. The trap, which is typically baited with peanut butter, allows the squirrel inside, then a trigger shuts the door behind it. When it's time to release the squirrel outside, don't relocate it far away from ...Read more