Wooden cooking utensils always should be cleaned by hand and never in the dishwasher, since the high temperatures can easily degrade them. When you want to disinfect your wooden utensils, try using hydrogen peroxide. Fill a shallow container (like a casserole pan) with your wooden utensils and pour hydrogen peroxide all over them. Let them soak for at least 15 minutes; as the hydrogen peroxide bubbles away it will kill any bacteria that have built up. Rinse and air dry, and you’re good to go.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Recycling scrap metal is good for the environment, but it can reap you some cash, too. There are scrap metal yards all over the country that pay cash for metals ranging from aluminum to steel to copper, all at different prices. Besides the obvious sources of scrap metal, there are also overlooked sources like damaged gutters, broken lawnmowers, metal shelves, outdoor furniture, old bicycles, appliances (full of copper wire) and even empty and clean paint cans. You might have cash lying around that you can get just by cleaning your garage!

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

The National Audubon Society wants to make it easy to help you identify native plants for your ZIP code that birds will absolutely love. It’s part of a campaign to get 1 million native plants for birds planted in the United States. All you have to do is visit Audubon.org and enter your ZIP code; the database will suggest trees, shrubs and flowers perfect for your yard and list the types of birds each plant variety will likely attract. You can even buy the plants from the Audubon Society to support their work.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION