Thinking you might need a new mower this year?

Be sure to try out the zero-turn mowers that are now widely available, especially if you have lots of trees or other obstacles to steer around. The “zero-turn” steering mechanism is so quick and nimble that it actually makes mowing around stuff fun instead of a hassle.

You’ll find a full report and a list of manufacturers at: Zero-turn Mowers: Faster, Easier Mowing. And there’s even a brand-new all-electric Z-turn available — you can read all about Hustler Turf’s Zeon at Three Great Tools: Rogue Hoe, NRG Trowel and Zeon Electric Riding Mower.

Most good cooks rely heavily on a decent chef's knife and a few basic spoons and spatulas. But do you have other specialized kitchen utensils whose absence in your kitchen would incite serious depression? Yea! We want to know about them.

Please post a short report about your favorite kitchen utensils in the comments section below. And if you happen to know a great retail source for obtaining them, do tell.

Photo: ISTOCKPHOTO

I needed to hang a picture last weekend and went to the kitchen junk drawer to get my most favorite hammer – an upholstery hammer. Thirty five years ago I took a reupholstering class and this hammer was a required tool.

I use this hammer on simple household repair projects – it’s lightweight and has a magnet on one of the hammer ends – making it convenient for delicate household projects. I would be lost without it in my fix-it tool kit.

What is your all-time favorite fix-it tool? Tell us in the comments section below.

Curious about whether your home is a good candidate for solar power? Check out Roofray, a handy tool that takes advantage of Google’s complex map data to project your home’s solar power potential. Roofray also makes educated guesses about energy bill savings and installation costs for your location.

People often find very different solutions to the same problems. Many of us want to be less dependent on fossil fuels, and there are many ways to achieve that goal — some rely on old-fashioned tools, while others tap the very latest technology.

For example, my current choice in eco-friendly lighting is to use energy efficient light bulbs. You could go one step further and power them with solar energy. But other people might prefer a completely non-electric solution, such as an old-style oil lamp that burns renewable fuels, such as vegetable oil.

Whatever your preferences, many of the tools for energy-efficient living simply aren't available at your local hardware store. So where do you find them? At Mother Earth News, two online sources where we often look for these types of products are Lehman's, and Real Goods.  Lehman's offers more low-tech and non-electric options, while Real Goods specializes in renewable energy related products, but there is some overlap in the types of products offered by the two companies.

You can browse either catalog online. If you'd like a paper catalog, Lehman's charges a small fee for their complete non-electric catalog. Real Goods will send you a catalog for free, but they also sell their more detailed Solar Living Source Book that has both general information about how to power your home with renewable energy, and specifics about products that Real Goods sells.

Do you know of other good sources for sustainable living tools? You can post them in the comments section below.