Eco

Front-loading washing machines are energy efficient and use less detergent than top-loaders, but they sometimes have a tendency to harbor mold and unpleasant smells. By giving your washing machine a quick clean once a month, you'll keep your front-loader fresh, which means cleaner clothes, too. This eco-friendly method doesn't use bleach, costs only pennies to make, and comes together with ingredients you already have on hand.

Keep reading for the directions.

There's nothing better than sinking into your freshly fluffed feather bed at the end of a long day, but if it's feeling a bit flatter — and grubbier — than usual, then it's time for a cleaning. Instead of taking it in for a high-priced professional laundering or potentially ruining your own washing machine with a feather eruption, clean your feather bed with a few items you probably have around the house. You'll love drifting off to sleep on your refreshed feather bed while dreaming of all the ways you'll spend the money you saved by cleaning it yourself.

Keep reading for the directions:

If you're trying to sell a TV, you'll quickly realize it's a whole different ball game than hawking off smaller electronics, such as smartphones.

First of all, the television is heavy and bulky, so it's going to be hard to mail it off to a third-party seller, and the shipping costs might be too high. The smartest option would be to sell it to the buyer directly. Secondly, there's a lot of information on selling gadgets, but not specifically TVs, which require a different approach. And lastly, it's hard to put a number on it because of the big discrepancy between prices in the used-TV market.

Where to Sell

Although people sell their TVs on sites such as Amazon and eBay, the best place to unload them is Craigslist. After all, you can arrange for buyers to come pick it up themselves, so you don't have to mail it off. Since it's also a potentially bigger financial transaction, you might prefer to ask for the payments in cash, which is possible with Craigslist.

Cut to the chase: Sell it on Craigslist.

Read on for more.

Club soda is yet another common household item with a variety of uncommon uses. If you have some left over and don't know what to do with it, don't throw it away. Here are some clever uses for this popular drink mixer:

• Stain remover: Treat stains by dabbing on club soda and gently scrubbing the material. It works on a variety of spills, including red wine stains.
• Fluffy food: To fluff up food like pancakes, waffles, tempura batter, omelets, and more, use club soda instead of water or milk. It makes the end results more fluffy and light.
• Water plants: Club soda is better for your plants than regular water because it has more minerals. Try to water your plants with flat club soda at least once a week.
• Clean surfaces: Gently wipe down surfaces in your home like countertops and the inside of your fridge with club soda. Club soda is also good for cleaning porcelain surfaces because it doesn't ruin the finish. You can even pour it on pots and pans while they are still warm to help remove the gunk that's stuck to the bottom.
• Remove rust: Pour club soda over rusted materials or soak the rusted objects in them. The carbonation will make it easier to remove the rust.
• Soothe your belly: If you have stomach upset or are feeling nauseated, sip on some club soda.
• Clean gems: Soak gemstones in club soda overnight to clean them.
• Restore hair color: If you go swimming, make sure you rinse your hair with club soda to prevent discoloration in your dye job.
• Preserve newspaper clippings: Preserve newspaper clippings by soaking them in a club soda and milk of magnesia mixture for an hour before taking them out to dry.
• Shuck oysters: Make oyster shucking an easier task by soaking them in club soda beforehand.

When you've got a damp and musty-smelling space in your home, this quick and eco-friendly DIY is the perfect thing for freshening your house. This air freshener costs hardly anything to put together and can be tucked in a cabinet or corner, and you get a sweet snack in the process. And this smell-buster does its job without the help of harsh chemicals or fake-smelling scents, which makes this eco DIY even better. Here's how to make one:

1. Slice a large orange in half, and use a spoon to scoop out the pulp. You can enjoy eating the orange while working or reserve for use later to make orange juice.
2. Fill the inside of the orange with rock salt, which you can find at your local grocery store. The salt absorbs moisture from the air, whisking away damp and musty smells, while the orange peel releases a delightfully fresh scent.
3. Position the orange-peel smell-buster on a plastic lid or small plate, and then place it where it's needed. Enjoy the freshness for several weeks, and then replace with a new orange peel filled with salt.

Before you throw away that empty medicine bottle, consider upcyling it. The orange prescription bottles usually have such a short lifespan because most people throw them away once they are done with them. It's such a waste because many recycling centers don't usually accept them, so put them to good use by reusing them yourself. The bottles are extremely versatile, but one of the best uses is to store quarters in them and leave them in your car.

You definitely want to dress the bottle up so it doesn't resemble its former self while it's sitting in your car. Read on for instructions.

Wasting food in general is frustrating but particularly irksome when working with precious and pricey asparagus. Fed up with throwing away nearly half the snappy stalks in the name of more palatable results, I was thrilled to find a simple solution from food scientist Harold McGee. After prepping asparagus per usual, reserve the woody ends; much more can be utilized than conventional wisdom suggests.

How to Salvage Asparagus Ends

• Trim away the last inch of irretrievably dried-out, extra-woody ends.
• Slice the remainder of the asparagus ends into thin (between 1/8- and 1/4-inch) coins. Slicing these less-tender parts breaks up the fibrous grain, much like thinly slicing celery; the coins become nearly as tender as the tips.
• Sauté, steam, blanch, roast, or even serve the coins raw as part of a salad. They can be used in nearly any application one would use the tips; just make certain to reduce their cook time, if heating them at all.