Sell your wedding dress online
If you aren’t sentimental about holding on to your wedding dress, you can use it to make someone’s wedding day extra special and make yourself money, too. The online bridal consignment site preownedweddingdresses.com lists lightly worn wedding gowns available for sale at a fraction of the original price. You can buy or sell wedding gowns, bridesmaid dresses and accessories. With thousands of brides shopping on the site, you have a high chance of selling your gown to someone through this giant digital marketplace.
CASH FOR COLLEGE TEXTBOOKS
While the price of used romance novels and biographies isn’t high, the resell value of college textbooks can be significant. If you have some textbooks at home, you may be sitting on a gold mine of educational tomes. Simply enter the ISBN number (it’s inside the book on the copyright page) on the website cash4books. net. The site will list the value it’s willing to pay for the book. Once you compile the books you want to sell, the site generates a free shipping label, and in a few days, you’ll get a check or PayPal payment for the value of your old textbooks.
HANDS OFF DRIFTWOOD
Many of us leave seashells
and sand behind on the beach when we travel instead of bringing them home as souvenirs. This is a great thing, since this helps preserve the natural biodiversity of coastal areas. But what about pieces of driftwood that wash up on the shore? Whether you found it on the beach or even in a gift shop, U.S. Customs and Border Protection highly discourages bringing driftwood back. In many countries (and in some parts of the United States), it’s illegal to take driftwood from protected ecosystems. But the main reason is pests may be living in the driftwood, and you could introduce a non-native species to wherever you live.
ECO WATERPROOFING
Waterproofing fabric and material used for things like boots and tents may help keep them dry during inclement weather, but there are concerns the chemicals in waterproofing sprays can have serious health effects on one’s respiratory system. To avoid chemical sprays, try all-natural solutions like beeswax, linseed oil and jojoba oil. Wipe the wax or oil using a cloth to create a quick, water-resistant surface. The layer of protection may not be long-lasting, but it’ll do the trick when you need it for a rainy day or weekend camping trip.
RECYCLE YOUR BINDERS
Plastic binders can be very difficult to recycle because most curbside recycling programs don’t accept this unusual grade of plastic. Instead of tossing your heavy-duty binders in the trash, take them to Office Depot or OfficeMax for free recycling. The stores have partnered with TerraCycle to separate all the materials in the binders for recycling. And when you take in your old binder for recycling — regardless of where you bought it — the stores will give you $2 off the purchase of a new one.
POTATO IN THE SHOWER
Do you want to prevent soap scum and hard water deposits from marking up your glass shower doors? There are chemical sprays that can create a siliconelike surface on them, which makes water bead and helps the doors dry more quickly. But you can also use an item from your pantry to get the same results: a potato. Simply cut a potato in half and rub it all over the inside of your shower door. The natural starch from the potato will act like an invisible barrier and help keep your shower doors clean.
BEWARE MINI MAGNETS
If you have pets or small children, there may be a good reason to remove magnets from your house. Small, powerful magnets called “neodymium” magnets come in tiny shapes and sizes, but have incredible strength because their magnetization is saturated. If more than two of these magnets are accidentally swallowed, they are naturally magnetized toward each other inside the body, which can puncture and rip intestinal tissue and cause serious punctures and wounds. Since powerful magnets are hard to recycle, it’s best to give them away if you want to dispose of them.