Uses for dehumidifier water

If you have a basement and live in anywhere but the desert then chances are you have a dehumidifier or two that run in warm weather. Now a dehumidifier pulls water vapor from the air and turns it into basically distilled water. It is not drinkable because it may have bacteria from the machine and the collection bucket. It is also not ideal for plants, especially edible plants, because it could have metals from the machine but that doesn't mean you need to throw it out. Many people will tell you to use it in your iron to avoid hard water deposits. I also use it for mopping floors since, unlike tap water, it won't leave any deposits. You could also use it to wash off stoops (something we do a lot of here thanks to free range chickens always peeking in the backdoor to see if any treats are coming). I mist my houseplants with a spray bottle of it when they start to look dusty. The fact that it is distilled water means it won't leave hard water deposits on the leaves. It's deposit free nature also makes it ideal for rinsing windows or a spot free shine on your car. I mop the floor of the basement with it once or twice a year. If you really want to save water you can refill the tank on your toilet bowl after you flush. And some people pre-soak especially dirty laundry in it. Remember to minimize contaminants and increase efficiency by cleaning any filters on your dehumidifier regularly. This will also increase the life of your appliance. With all these great uses you may find emptying the bucket to be slightly less of a hassle.

Reuse tiles for garden border

Super simple tip of the day! I wanted a border between my flower bed and my grass primarily so I will know when one is encroaching on the other. I hate how those plastic ones look and they seem unwieldy to install. I like to reuse or repurpose things instead of buying new so after perusing the local Habitat Restore I came up with the solution to use old tiles. I simply bought a bunch in cream to light pink colors at $.05 each. I used a hand trowel after a light rain to insert them on their corners halfway buried. I did this last fall and only needed to rebury a couple over the winter that had come out. They are on a slight hill so while the backs show some dirt the fronts stay fairly clean. I think it looks so much prettier that plastic and I didn't have any breakage from freezing this winter. Cheap, pretty and serves their purpose! If I do this again I will try to find more colorful ones and do a pattern.

fabric you know deep down you will never use

Got fabric laying around that you suspect may be buried with you when you die? Despair not! If you know how to knit get out some wide gauge knitting needles and cut the fabric into a continuous strip about 1.5-2 inches wide. Knit that into a trivet, hotpad or if you have a lot of material you can make a small throw rug. My rug below is far from gorgeous but its perfect to set wet boots on near the door and used up a ton of old fabric I was unlikely to ever use for anything else. You could also use old clothes.