Now that the kids are back at school, their lunch boxes have returned to action doing daily duty—and peeee-yew—can they ever stink! A simple wipe up may not be enough to get rid of the odor, so try this trick: Put a slice of bread inside the box and pour white vinegar on it until it’s moist, but not soggy. Then close the box and let it sit overnight. The next morning, remove the vinegar “sandwich,” rinse the box, and let it air-dry with the lid open. The vinegar scent will evaporate as the box dries.

Then to get rid of any lingering bacteria that may be contributing to the smell inside a lunch box, spray it with a solution made of 1 tablespoon of bleach and 1 quart of water. The chlorine will kill germs instantly. If you wash the solution away with a warm, soapy cloth after you spray it on, the box will be food-safe for its next use.

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Right now is prime time for dividing your overgrown summer-flowering perennials, so don’t let this opportunity slip by! This weekend, my neighbors are getting together for a perennial exchange, so first thing Saturday morning, I’m going to thoroughly water the clumps I plan to divide. Then I’ll follow these three simple steps:

· First, I’ll cut all the top growth of the clumps back by half, and dig up the roots.
· Then I’ll gently tease or break the clumps apart, or cut them with a sharp knife or spade. I’ll make sure each new piece has at least one bud or stem and some roots. Then I’ll treat ‘em to my Dandy Division Tonic: 1 can of beer, ¼ cup of instant tea granules, 2 tablespoons of dishwashing liquid and 2 gallons of water mixed together in a 5-gallon bucket, letting the pieces soak for about 10 minutes or so.
· After the perennial exchange, I’ll plant the new divisions that I get from my neighbors into compost-enriched soil, and give ‘em all a good drink to settle things in. By next spring, they’ll be rarin’ to grow!

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Aaahhh-chooo! That’s right—we’re smack-dab in the middle of ragweed season. And that pesky pollen can sure make you miserable. Did you know that a single ragweed plant can produce millions of pollen grains every season? No wonder you can’t stop sneezing!

I was having problems last week when my wife whipped up some hot and spicy bean dip for quick (and tasty) congestion relief. I tell you, if the heat from this snack doesn’t bust through blocked nasal passages, nothing will. To make the dip, mix a jar of the hottest salsa you can find with a can of rinsed and drained black beans, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon of dried cilantro. Scoop up the dip with tortilla chips, and munch away. You’ll be breathing easy and flowing freely in no time at all.

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Labor Day picnics are supposed to be fun and relaxing. So if your hotdog hoedown goes haywire and you or your guests wind up with globs of mustard or ketchup on your clothing, don’t worry—just try one of these quick and easy fixes:

• Scrub mustard spots with a solution of 1 teaspoon each of dishwashing liquid and white vinegar in ½ cup of water. Lay the stained area on top of an old absorbent towel, pour the solution onto the stain, and let it soak for about 10 minutes. Rinse the area with hot water, then launder the item as usual.

• Ketchup is one of the easiest laundry stains to remove. Just wet a sponge or paper towel with lukewarm water, add a dab of dishwashing liquid, squeeze the extra moisture out, and blot the spot. But whatever you do, don’t rub in the stain—it’ll just drive deeper into the fabric.

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