We're being safe and having fun while driving long distance, drying water bottles immediately to prevent stagnant water smells, and building patios on the cheap.
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Score Some Empty DVD Cases
Photo by travdir
Zombie Ms. Skittles shared a tip on how to (possibly) get empty DVD cases for free:
You might ask at your local video store if they have any DVD cases they'll be throwing out. I used to work at Blockbuster and if a movie was damaged, we had no use for the case anymore so we'd toss it. If you're a good customer or near a good store or both you could probably ask them to hold any empty cases for you. Or alternately, you can make photocopies of your DVD labels and print them off. New DVDs ship to the stores on Tuesdays (maybe Monday, my brain is a little fuzzy on the exact details) and the cashiers will have to remove each DVD from the original case, put it in a new lockable case, insert the original liner into the new case, and will then throw away the original case! I used to take these home from work all the time to put my used DVDs in and they'll most likely let you have them. Then you just insert your copy of the liner and use those as your sacrificial DVD cases.
Use Gmail Drafts to Transfer Files
This may not be news to most folks, but Bob sent in this tip on how he transfers files while doing remote support work:
I do a lot of remote support, mostly data conversion work. I use a freeware app called PCHelpWare that lets me remote control a client's Windows PC. PCHelpWare is a great program, but it doesn't have a file transfer capability. I'll capture the raw data I need to convert on the remote PC's hard drive, then pop into my Gmail account to transfer it back to my PC. The way I do this is to compose a message with no target address and attach the file to the message. To retrieve the file, I go to Gmail->Drafts on my local PC's browser and download the attached file to my local PC. Once I download it and verify that the file is good, I delete the draft and log out of Gmail on the remote PC. The beauty of this is the transfer is encrypted (I always use HTTPS to access Gmail), and it works on any of my customer's PCs. All I need is a web browser.
Save Money on Landscaping
Photo by *clairity*
ursa shared some more tips for landscaping your yard on the cheap:
Now's a great time to stock up on perennials. I also look to open lots that are soon to be developed. I've dug up a couple of Dogwoods this way. Those two plus the one I found lying on the shoulder of the road are much nicer than the one we bought at the nursery. Also - don't be afraid to split perennials like hostas or daylilies.
For hard goods like paving stones I go to the brick yard's odd lots area. For some projects you can get away with half a skid of bricks. Or make a design that deliberately uses different kinds of paving stones. We've gone with natural stone so it looks pretty nice.
One caveat for buying stones this way - if you can, buy a bit more because if you go back in a year or two they probably won't have a match. Five years ago I put in two patios this way. All in, my cost was $400. Not bad for a 300 square feet.
Planning Adds Fun to a Long Distance Trip
Photo by respres
Nick sent in his ideas for making a long distance trip bearable:
I currently live in Los Angeles but will be starting grad school in Boston in a few weeks. On Monday I will be setting out on a 5-day long drive, by myself. I've been attempting to come up with a list of things to do and bring that will make the trip 1.) safe, 2.) fun, and 3.) timely.
-Plan the trip ahead of time: I've got my route set up in Google and I'm going to import it into my Garmin Nuvi. I've researched roughly how far I think I'll drive in a day and have located potential motels I will stay at, although I'd like to try my hand at just sleeping in the back seat to save some money.
-I've made sure that I won't incur roaming or long distance fees on my cell phone as I travel.
-I'll do some geocaching along the way which will break up the monotony, show me some cool things (hopefully), and increase my found count (currently pushing 500).
-I'll use my Camelback to make my liquid intake safer and more convenient. I'll just hang it behind the driver's seat.
-Set up my digital point-and-shoot to take time lapse photos of my trip (I'll use the sun shade idea)
Be sure to share some long distance driving tips for Nick in the comments!
Photo by Team Dalog
Dry Water Bottles Easily
We know a lot of people aren't all that comfortable reusing your plastic bottles, but Mathieu sent in his tip for cleaning and drying the inside of water bottles for quick reuse:
If you tend to reuse those huge 1 liter water bottles or just have a sports bottle for exercise here is an easy way I found to dry the inside after you clean it.
1. Clean inside of bottle using anti bacterial soap and really hot water. Let it sit for about 5 minutes.
2. Thoroughly rinse out the bottle till no more soapy suds appear.
3. Take a couple paper towels and shred them up and place them inside to bottle and then tighten cap.
4. Shake bottle vigorously to allow the paper towel shreds to move all around inside and soak up the water
5. Turn bottle upside down and remove paper towel shreds.
6. Now your bottle is bone dry and ready for reuse the next time without having a nasty old water smell.