May 29, 2010 | Posted by Clair Schwan
Whether you’re gardening for flowers or vegetables, there is an easy way to remove weeds from the soil – use a knife. Each of my greenhouses has various knives hanging around, and I use them primarily for weeding. The advantages of a knife are many. Consider the following: They are readily available and cheap at [...]
Categories: landscaping, vegetable gardening | 
Tags: gardening, hints, self reliance, tips, weeding | 
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April 15, 2010 | Posted by Clair Schwan
You can prevent leaks in many bottles and containers simply by squeezing them a bit before you put the top on. This is a tip that I use when traveling because I live at such a high elevation as compared with the rest of the country. Living at 6,700 feet above sea level puts me [...]
Categories: hints and tips | Tags: leaking bottles, prevent leaks, self reliance, storage containers, tips | No Comments »
March 22, 2010 | Posted by Clair Schwan
I engaged in a little problem solving one day while in the kitchen transferring dry material from one bowl to another. The solution to the problem might prove useful, so I’m sharing it with you. The task at hand was transferring a large bowl of relatively heavy material to a smaller bowl. I had to [...]
Categories: problem solving | Tags: dry material handling, hints and tips, material transfer, self reliance, tips | 2 Comments »
December 15, 2009 | Posted by Brad Chaffee
Want to make some extra cash by having a successful yard sale? We have had multiple yard sales bringing in over $200 each time. There’s no better way to earn some extra cash than by having a yard sale and cleaning out your house all at the same time. CREATE GOOD YARD SALE SIGNS – [...]
Categories: hints and tips | Tags: self reliance, tips, yard sales | No Comments »
November 19, 2009 | Posted by Clair Schwan
Another car repair tool for the do-it-yourselfer is a stick or piece of wood much like a yardstick. It won’t help you fix much of anything, but it can help you pinpoint the source of abnormal noise in your car engine. Here is how it works. Any abnormal noise is a type of vibration. An [...]
Categories: car repair | Tags: car repair, engine diagnostics, self reliance, tips | No Comments »
November 16, 2009 | Posted by Clair Schwan
When it comes to car repair, it’s important to identify a problem early on, and determine it’s general location or origins. Have you ever felt your car shaking or vibrating? Sure you have. We’ve all felt something like it at one time or another. The two things we need to identify is where the vibration [...]
Categories: car repair | Tags: car repair, self reliance, tips | No Comments »
November 15, 2009 | Posted by Clair Schwan
Among the hazards and driving tips we all should be familiar with is the idea of hydroplaning. It’s when we travel so fast over a wet road that our tires lose contact with the road and we essentially “float” on top of the water. It’s dangerous because we have little control over our vehicle when [...]
Categories: driving | Tags: driving tips, hydroplaning, safe driving, self reliance, tips | No Comments »
October 31, 2009 | Posted by Clair Schwan
Here’s a cold weather tip for you. Don’t let winter’s freeze and thaw cycle cause the garage door seal to freeze to the concrete floor when the temperature drops overnight. Use table salt to reduce the chance of having your car captured inside the garage simply because of variations in temperature. Whether it’s wind piling [...]
Categories: hints and tips | Tags: cold weather tip, hints and tips, self reliance, tips | 2 Comments »
October 11, 2009 | Posted by Clair Schwan
Cross threading a nut, bolt or a pipe fitting is a pain because it ends up ruining one set of threads or both. To avoid this, there is a simple procedure to follow. Instead of screwing the connection or fastener in the direction necessary to engage the threads (clockwise), lightly place the threaded pieces together [...]
Categories: hints and tips, how to | Tags: cross threading, fasteners, how to, self reliance, tips | No Comments »
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