Remove Rust from Tools with Ordinary Vinegar

Unless you keep all your tools in a humidity- and temperature-controlled environment or keep them protected with a light coating of oil at all times, you're likely to find an occasional rust spot on your babies. If you have kids who borrow your tools to fix bikes or build treehouses, it's even more likely. And finally, if you have a habit of collecting tools from along the roadside while walking or cycling (my hobby, if you must know) then you've seen enough rust to coat the Brooklyn Bridge.

Did you know you can remove that rust with a common household chemical, one that you probably have sitting in the kitchen right now? Yep - vinegar isn't just good for salad dressing, pickles and cleaning the coffee pot, it also removes rust. No kidding: and it's easy!

Gutter Getter Scoop

Gutters Full of Goop? Get a Gutter Getter

As much as we appreciate the trees around our house, sometimes I hate their beringed guts. One such time is the day I have to cleaning piles of leaves and twigs out of our gutters. Our house has a hip roof and a detached garage with a porte cochère; and by my conservative estimate there are about four million linear feet of gutter collecting leaves from a pair of huge (and beautiful) live oaks in the open space behind us. The previous owners (ptui!) apparently never cleaned the gutters, which was made obvious by the water pouring over the rims with out first big rain (two inches, four days after the move-in).