For those looking to spruce up the living room with plants this holiday season, a reader from South Dakota found a neat trick:
“We have always received those big popcorn tins for Christmas from a grandson and they were starting to stack up in the closet. This spring, we were looking for some large containers for our houseplants ... My husband took out a couple of the tins and punched a few holes in the bottom and put coffee filters in the base.”
The reader also found a re-purposed item for a drainage tray.
“We found some pretty good sized cake pans at a yard sale for a dollar each and set the tins in them. They work perfectly and drain water. My husband worried about rust, so he set some small rocks that keep the tin lifted in the cake pan.”
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If you’ve ever painted around a window, you know the struggle of stray bits of paint on glass but a reader from Minnesota figured out a solution:
“I was standing on the ladder with one of those putty knife things trying to dig the paint off the glass. A friend came walking by and saw me on the shaking ladder and came over to see if she could help. When she saw the problem she simply said to use a piece of steel wool. It worked beautifully and was so fast.”
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And when cleaning the window, a reader from Iowa writes that newspaper is a good material to use when wiping down a window.
“Something about the paper makes the windows shine again!”
If you have hints to share, drop Paula a line at PennyWise, Box 518, Kadoka, SD 57543-0518 or email pennywise@goldenwest.net.
Paula Vogelgesang
Paula edits the monthly newsletter, “PennyWise,” from her family’s diversified farm and ranch operation on the edge of South Dakota’s Badlands. If you have hints to share, drop Paula a line at PennyWise, Box 518, Kadoka, SD 57543-0518 or email pennywise@goldenwest.net.
Paula Vogelgesang
Paula edits the monthly newsletter, “PennyWise,” from her family’s diversified farm and ranch operation on the edge of South Dakota’s Badlands.
