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TwitThisLeaf hamper
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Leaf bags have an irritating tendency to close and collapse, making them difficult to fill. Cut out the bottom of a laundry hamper and insert the hamper into the leaf bag. Fill the bag with leaves or grass clippings and pull out the hamper when it’s full.
Norm Bromley
Caulk storage shelf
Caulking tubes can be difficult to store—they fall over if you stand them on end, and roll away if you lay them flat. Drill 1-in. diameter holes 2 in. apart in a scrap of wood, and screw the shelf to a flat surface with space below. The weight of the caulk at the tip of the tube keep sit upright.
Paul Thompson
Cleaner fingernails
Before going to work in the garden, scrape your fingernails over a bar of hand soap to pack a layer under them. When you're done with the yard work, lightly scrub your hands with a brush and rinse out the soap. Your fingernails will be squeaky clean.
Vicky Cummings
Wheelbarrow handle
My home’s on a sloping lot, and I had trouble moving a heavily loaded wheelbarrow down the incline because the handles kept slipping out of my hands. I added tape-gripping balls, like the one on the end of my son’s hockey stick, to the wheelbarrow handles.
To do this, pick up a roll of athletic (hockey) tape for about $3 from a sporting goods store. Spin the roll to twist the tape into a cord, then pull it tight. Start 1-1/2 in. from the end of the handle and roll toward the end, then turn around and roll a second layer over the first. Continue 6 in. down the handle, spacing the wrapping 1 in. apart, and tightly rewrap everything with untwisted tape.
John Overstreet
5-gallon bucket spacer
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It’s nice to keep some empty 5-gallon buckets around, but the only way to efficiently store them is to stack them. The problem is, they can get stuck so tight it feels like they’re glued together. Put a short chunk of 2x4 between the buckets when you stack them. It’ll be a cinch to pull them apart.
Dennis Rowe
Wireless two-way paging system
Every time my wife wants to talk to me, I’m in the back garage and can’t hear her (which gets me in hot water). I solved the problem by purchasing a small wireless doorbell ($15 to $30) from a home center. I mounted the bell in the garage and she rings the button whenever she wants to talk to me.
Donald J. Roth
Editor• JEFFREY LARSON
Art Direction• HOPE FAY
Photography• BILL ZUEHLKE and MIKE KRIVIT
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