The next time you make a roast or bake a batch of cookies in your oven, don’t let the hot air inside go to waste. After you’ve removed whatever you’re cooking, give the inside of the oven a liberal spray of a water-and-white-vinegar solution. Do this quickly, shut the door and let it sit for 30 minutes. As the vinegary solution evaporates, the inside will steam and help loosen stubborn stains and marks. After 30 minutes -- or when it’s cool enough inside -- just use a sponge or microfiber towel to wipe up the greasy mess.

During the winter months, hundreds of thousands of tons of deicing salt is used to make roads and sidewalks safe. Unfortunately for plants, salt is the enemy and can cause serious damage or kill them outright. When choosing plants for landscaping near sidewalks and roads, look for salt-tolerant plants. These are identified in many online directories of plants that are appropriate for your region. For people in warmer climates near the ocean, these same plants can also be perfect for your garden when marine winds carry salt-laden breezes your way.

Want to see the economic savings of owning a fuel-efficient hybrid car? Buying a new hybrid costs more, and it can take up to six years before you start saving money on fuel costs, according to the car site edumunds.com. To start seeing savings quickly, consider buying a lightly used hybrid car. The fastest and cheapest way is to look at the inventory of hybrid cars for sale by national car rental companies. You can search their databases of used hybrids, see their no-haggling prices online and even check out the cars in your local area. Search car rental agency names and “car sales” to find online databases.