When packing a lunch to take to the office or for your kid to take to school, think about double-duty items to pack and keep your food chilled. Freezing a container of yogurt, for example, does two things: It transforms the yogurt into an icepack while also keeping it cold and ready for lunch. Freezing a juice container or thermos of water may work, but these liquids rarely thaw out completely in time for lunch. Dairy items like yogurt freeze hard, but thaw quickly. So by lunchtime, they’ll be the perfect creamy consistency. And remember: Yogurt containers are easily recyclable in most communities.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Bulk-size containers holding oversized bags of snack foods like cookies, pretzels and potato chips are a popular choice when feeding a crowd. In the summer months, many people bring these warehouse-club purchases to outdoor recreational areas. Though parks have receptacles for both trash and recycling, you shouldn’t toss these containers into those bins. If the receptacles are not emptied that night, it’s likely that wild animals will rummage through the bins after dark, and they can get stuck inside the large, warehouse-club-style containers and bags. Bring this kind of trash home to recycle and dispose of it.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

The next time you have a party and you’re cleaning up after the festivities, don’t toss the small sip of white wine left in the cups down the drain. Instead, pour it into the toilet. The residual alcohol in the wine is a natural disinfectant. When the leftover white wine sits in the bowl of your toilet, it helps disinfect and clean. You can also fill a spray bottle and dilute the wine with water; it’s a great natural disinfectant to use on kitchen countertops, too. Just remember this: White wine -- not red -- since red will obviously stain.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION