When reaching out to your elected officials, it may be easiest to send a tweet or post a message on their Facebook wall, but the reality is that those interactions often get ignored. According to former congressional aide Emily Ellsworth, the two best ways to get your opinion noticed are to write a letter and to make a phone call. If you can do only one thing, make the call. Your comments get recorded and shared with those who relay constituent concerns with the elected official.

It’s important to clean the inside of your reusable water bottles to remove grim, mildew and bacteria. But getting a brush through a narrow opening can make it very difficult to scrub clean. Instead, fill the bottle halfway with a mixture of white vinegar and water, then add several ice cubes and screw on the cap. Shake vigorously. The vinegar will disinfect, and the ice will agitate, loosening all the grime inside. Dump it out, rinse with water and you'll have a perfectly clean water bottle.

It may seem like the most humane thing to do, but live-trapping a wild animal and relocating it far away from your home can do more harm than good. According to the Humane Society of the United States, 97 percent of squirrels who are live-trapped and relocated die quickly. The reason? They are left in an unfamiliar place with no knowledge of where to find shelter, food or water. To move a wild animal, make its dwelling unpleasant: Use rags soaked in apple cider vinegar or blare a radio at night to “convert an attractive space into one that is inhospitable.”