Ant-proof Pet Food Dishes, and More

1 Ant-proof Pet Food Dishes

Spring brings lots of nifty stuff (such as flowers and baseball), but it also welcomes seasonal pests (such as ants) that crawl toward available food sources, including your pets’. Protect your dog or cat’s bowl by setting it in a pan of water. Not only will the water act as a moat that deters potential ant-invaders, but also pets can slurp away whenever they need a drink.

2 One Topping for an Instantly Healthier Burger

A study from UCLA found that topping a burger with half a Hass avocado helped alleviate negative effects red meat has on your heart. Loaded with omega-3s, avocado reduces the restricted blood flow in arteries and the inflammation that occur in the hours after eating red meat.

3 De-stink a Funky Wooden Spoon

Do tonight’s brownies taste like yesterday’s stir-fry? The culprit might be the wooden spoon you’re using. tested several cleaning

Cook’s Illustrated agents, including baking soda, water, detergent, vinegar, bleach, and lemon, and found that since baking soda is water soluble and easily absorbed, it’s able to neutralize organic acids soaked up by wooden utensils. To protect them from lingering food residue, wipe down clean wooden utensils with olive oil and pop them into a 350-degree F preheated oven for two minutes.

4 Fix Tomato Sauce with a Carrot

If you’ve already spent 30 minutes stirring Nonna’s secret sauce only to realize it’s a bit too acidic for Nonno’s taste, peel a whole carrot and simmer it in the sauce. Carrots balance the acidity in tomato sauce by adding a subtle sweetness to the mix. Just remember to remove before serving.

5 Last Call for Stimulus Checks

Since the $1,200 spring 2020 stimulus payments were based on 2019 tax returns, if you didn’t have updated (or any) information on record with the IRS or don’t file tax returns due to low income, you may have been left out or received a check for less than the full amount. If so, the IRS announced the Recovery Rebate Credit, which you can claim this tax season using Form 1040 or 1040-SR. You’ll receive the amount you missed in the form of an increased tax refund or a decrease in the amount of tax you owe.

6 Keep Your Trash Bag Fitted to the Can

Does the plastic shopping bag lining your kitchen or bathroom trash can keep falling in, no matter what? Attach a pair of plastic adhesive wall hooks (the kind you might stick by the door to hang keys) upside down outside the can. Loop the bag handles underneath to keep the bag in place. Makes for easy removal too!

7 Pick the Fastest Grocery Line

Dan Meyer, chief academic officer at math software company Desmos, estimates that in a standard checkout line each item takes three seconds to scan and the rest of the transaction (niceties, paying, etc.) takes 41 seconds. So one overloaded person with 100 items will take less than six minutes to be rung up, while four people with 20 items each will take around seven. In other words, you’re better off behind the one customer with the overflowing cart than behind a line of less encumbered express shoppers.

8 Hide from Google Street View

Google Street View has its perks, but the idea that anyone anywhere can get a good look at your home is a tad Big Brother. To fix, pull up your address in Street View, click the three vertical dots on the toolbar, and choose “Report a Problem.” Then select the option to blur (your home, license plate, or face) and drag the red box over the part of the view you want to obscure. Submit, and anonymity is yours.

9 Unstick a Bumper Sticker

Have you ever put a bumper sticker on your car, later realized that you are a mercurial being in a constant state of reinvention, and wanted to remove it? Then dampen a sheet of newspaper with warm water and lay it over the sticker for 15 minutes. When the paper has disintegrated, you’ll be able to wipe it and the sticker away in just a few swipes.