Even when plastic grocery bags have a few holes or slits in them (say, from a run-in with the sharp corners of a cereal box), you can still put them to good use. Here’s a trio of possibilities:

· Crumple them up and use them as packing material when you store Christmas decorations or other breakables.
· Decorate for a party by cutting colorful bags into streamers. Start at the open end, and stop when you get to within 2 inches of the bottom. Then hang the bags from cord that you’ve strung on the wall, from porch pillars, or between trees.
· Use them as waterproof stuffing for homemade tub and pool toys, or for outdoor cushions.

There’s almost nothing more frustrating than trying to cut with dull scissors—especially when you’re trying to cut through wrapping paper to wrap a pile of holiday presents! You can sharpen those blades in a hurry with this simple trick: Just fold a piece of aluminum foil into three or four layers, and cut it into strips with your dull scissors. Eight or ten slices should put those clippers back on the cutting edge again. But don’t throw the foil pieces away! Instead, use them to keep roving cats away from your bird feeder. Fill empty 2-liter bottles half-full of water, and add a few drops of bleach, just to keep smelly algae from growing. Then put two or three of the aluminum foil strips into each bottle, and set the containers around your feeder. The constantly changing reflections from the foil will make any cat think twice before he or she ventures closer. After a few forays onto your flashy turf, Fluffy will seek her fun elsewhere.

There’s simply no way to handle evergreen trees without getting sticky sap all over your pruning shears—and usually your hands, too. Fortunately, getting the stuff off is simple. You even have a choice of remedies, straight from the baking products aisle of your supermarket. Either solid shortening, cooking oil spray, or vegetable oil will do the trick. Just grab whichever one is handiest, and proceed as follows:

· For tools, dab or spray the metal with your chosen fat or oil as a cleaner, then wipe it off with a soft cloth.
· For hands or arms, apply the shortening, spray, or oil. Work it into your skin thoroughly, and rinse with clear water. Then wash it off with soap and water.