Right now, it’s the middle of the summer, and I have a black car — can you say HOT!

I used to get in my car, start it up, crank the air conditioning, and drive away. It always took FOREVER to cool down, and I was miserable the entire time. I couldn’t even hold the steering wheel because it was so dang hot.

Well, I got smart and figured out what I was doing wrong with my auto air conditioning. First, you have to keep your windows cracked a little to keep your interior from heating up so much. Just leave a couple of windows on opposite sides of the car down about a half inch. This makes an amazing difference. Some newer cars have solar powered fans that suck hot air out through a small opening in the sunroof while you are parked – awesome.

Next, when you get in your car, roll all of the windows down all the way — no matter how hot it is outside. Now drive for a block or two to exhaust all of that super-heated air out and THEN turn on the air conditioning and roll the windows up. This works because no matter how hot it is outside, the air inside of your car is even hotter due to the greenhouse effect of the sun coming through the windows and generating heat inside that has nowhere to go.

Temperatures inside of cars parked in the sun have been measured up to 130 or 140 degrees! This is why it is so dangerous to leave kids or pets in your car for any length of time unsupervised.  By getting rid of that super-heated air before you crank the AC you will get a head start on cooling your car, and you will be nice and cool much faster.

When was the last time you wore hearing protection?

Do you even own earplugs or noise-blocking headphones?

I have a constant ringing in my ears (tinnitus) because I never used to wear any kind of hearing protection when mowing the lawn, going to concerts, watching airshows, etc. I was naive, and figured my hearing was invincible — boy was I wrong. Now I have this constant high-pitched ringing / buzzing in my ears and it drives me crazy.

I’ve looked around, and there is no cure for tinnitus, so now I’m stuck.

Do yourself a favor and always use earplugs whenever the noise level seems even slightly loud to you. You absolutely need protection when mowing, using a drill, hammering or construction work, attending a concert, anywhere near a jackhammer, etc. Even cranking the stereo in your car while driving can damage your hearing — it seems funny, but after the damage is done there is nothing you can do to fix it.

Like a lot of things, hearing damage seems like “something that happens to other people” or “that will never happen to me” or “I crank my stereo all the time and I can hear fine”. You don’t realize what is happening until it’s too late, and the damage adds up over time — little by little so you don’t notice it. Protect your hearing now or lose it later.

If you’re still buying your contacts from those stores in the mall, stop it right now.

I’ve been ordering mine online for years, and the pricing and convenience is awesome. I just click a couple of buttons every month, check the mail in a few days, and start wearing my new contacts. The prices are great, and you can even order cleaning and soaking solution along with your lenses.

They also have deals where you order 4 boxes, but only pay for three of them – this is the one you should look for.

Give it a try – order your replacement lenses online today and save time and money

Have you noticed that the grass in your lawn gets thinner each year while more and more weeds keep showing up?

There is an easy way to fix this and it’s called overseeding.

What the heck is overseeding? You simply buy a bag of grass seed at your local hardware store, core aerate your lawn, spread the seed, cover it with a light layer of compost, and then water twice a day until the seeds sprout. Once they sprout, you can cut back to watering once a day.

After about 4 weeks your lawn will be thick, green, and lush.

The core aerating is an important step — it helps get more water, nutrients and air down into the root zone of your lawn. It also helps remove some of the thatch layer that builds up over time.

The type of seed you buy should match your existing lawn or complement it. For example if your lawn is thin under your trees or in shady areas make sure you buy seed that does well in full shade. Are the areas in full sun burning up? You may need seed that thrives in high heat.

The type of compost you use is not really important. I’ve used sheep manure, steer manure, chicken manure, etc. The steer manure was only $1 per bag while the other two are $5 per bag, so I usually mix them together to get more coverage for a lower cost.

The increased thickness of your grass will force the weeds out and keep them out. The thicker and healthier the grass, the fewer weeds you will have.

Overseed early in the spring and again in the fall during cooler temperatures. Grass seed does better when it’s cooler and hates the high heat of mid-summer.

I’m constantly being told that my yard is the best looking yard on the block.

Why is that?

It’s not greener than the others. Everyone mows once per week. We all water on just about the same cycle. We all fertilize two or three times per year and aerate at the same times.

The answer is that mine just looks more “finished”, more professional.

The secret is in the edging work I do after I mow.

I have the normal gas-powered string trimmer that everyone else has, but my secret weapon is a rotating blade edging tool that swaps out with the string trimmer head so that I have two tools in one. The string trimmer gets all the curved edges, around the trees and drainpipes, etc. while the rotating blade makes a perfectly straight up-and-down cut along the sidewalks and driveway edges. The combination of these two tools gives you a professional look that leaves most people wondering how you managed to get such a perfect edge.

You can get the same setup I have at any big box store — the trimmer is about $110 and the edging attachment is about $60.

Of course, you can pay someone else to do all this for you — which is what I recommend if you don’t enjoy yard work like I do — as your time is precious and should be spent with family and friends rather than out in the yard…