Country Lore - Readers’ tips to live by

(Page 3 of 3)

April/May 2006
 
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If the clothes feel a bit stiff or wrinkly when they’re dry, you can always stick them in the dryer for a few minutes. Very little electricity or gas is used for this touch up, and it solves the problem of stiff or wrinkly laundry.

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Marti French
Highlands Ranch, Colorado

EASY BIRDBATH FROM AN OLD SATELLITE DISH

In my quest to reuse miscellaneous items that no longer function as intended, I have discovered a creative use for my old 2-foot-diameter TV satellite dish — a birdbath.

I attached the dish to the top rail of my chain-link fence with a hose clamp, using the existing holes in the satellite dish. Presto, an instant birdbath! I can fill it with water or let the rain or snow do the job for me.

Rebecca Lee
High Rolls, New Mexico

MAKE YOUR OWN PEST-REPELLING MULCH

In the eternal war of gardener versus slugs and bugs, my arsenal of sprays and poisons is a bit scary. During the annual trimming of various cedars, junipers and arborvitae trees, I hit on the idea of using those branches for mulch to discourage the pests, rather than using pesticides.

Instead of sending the branches to the landfill, I just ran them through a chipper/shredder and put the wonderful-smelling chips around strawberries, pumpkins, squash and other plants that pests love so much.

The pests are repelled by the smell, as are moths that won’t go after clothes in a cedar chest or fleas that avoid a dog lying on a cedar-chip mattress.

Warren Johnson
Smithfield, Utah

MOTHER WILL PAY YOU FOR YOUR LORE TIPS!

Have you learned some trick of the trade, secret formula or way to work more sustainably around the homestead? We’ll pay you $25 to $50 for each letter we publish. Send info, with photos please, to “Country Lore” at Mother Earth News; 1503 SW 42nd St.; Topeka, KS 66609, or to letters@MotherEarthNews.com.

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