6
Don’t Be Too Quick
to Wipe
home When you’re clean-
ing a table, an appliance,
or a countertop, let the
cleansing agent sit at least
ten minutes before wiping
to give it enough time to
cut through grime and dis-
infect the surface. Be sure
to saturate hard surfaces
so the cleanser doesn’t
dry and leave spots before
you wipe. Toilet cleaners
need even longer—up to
half an hour—to work be-
fore fully doing their job.7
Add Extra Storage
organizing The space
between joists—the
horizontal planks that
help support the ceiling in
a basement or garage—
can become a great stor-
age area, according to
the editors at Family
Handyman. Attach wire
shelving to the bottoms
of several joists and place
storage bins (or whatever
needs storing) into the
formerly underutilized
space above your head.9
Save on Air-
Conditioning
money If you use your air
conditioner and ceiling
fan at the same time, you
can make the room feel
five degrees cooler than
the reading on the AC.
Why? You’ll be cooling the
room from top to bottom
rather than in just one
spot. Plus, you’ll have bet-
ter air circulation as the
cold air drifts down. All
you have to do is aim your
AC vents at the ceiling.8
Test Your Pooch’s
Hydration
pets To quickly check
whether your dog is
drinking enough water
in hot weather, pull up
the skin around his or her
neck. “It should snap back
down,” says Nicole Ellis,
pet-lifestyle expert at
rover.com. “But if the
dog is dehydrated, it’ll
go down very slowly.”
Do it once on a temperate
day so you have a healthy
reference point.rd.com 29er
mo
la
ev
al
ex
an
de
r/
sh
ut
te
rs
to
ck