Interresting Tidbits

Here are some ideas that you might consider incorporating:

• In your refrigerator do not put delicate foods like lettuce near the vent, the lettuce might freeze.
• To save money on printing from you printer, avoid the Arial font since it uses more ink than Times/New Roman and other fonts.  Besides using Times New Roman, Calibri and Century Gothic also uses less ink than Arial.  Minimize the use of color ink by printing text in gray scale or use black only mode.
• If you cannot log into your computer, always check that the Cap Lock is not on, which scrambles your password.
• If your printer has a "standby" timeout (most do), leave it on; do not shut it off after each use.  If you leave the printer on, the printer uses only a tiny amount of power that way (about one watt).  It has been found that some inject printers waste more ink getting ready to print when switched on than when left in standby uses.
• If your computer hard drive is more than half full, programs and other disk operations like copying and back up will slow down.  That is a reason to pick a hard drive with more capacity than you think you will need when you buy a new computer.
• Smart phones meed a fresh (re)start.  The phones are actually full-fledged computers and need to be restarted every few days to purge memory reserved by programs no longer running and to fix glitches hat can hinder performance.
• To quickly find information about the new product that you bought, download the manual, then use :Control F" ("Command F") on a Mac to search for a particular word, etc.
• Do not bother using nitrogen in your tires to keep tire pressure.  It seems to be a waste of money.  Air is about 80% nitrogen anyway, and air or nitrogen will leak out of the tires over time.
• Never wash or rinse raw chicken in the sink.  You might splash germs around the kitchen and risk food poisoning. 
• If your gear does not start, unplug it or otherwise reboot it and start over.
• To save money on airfare, shop on line on weekdays, specifically from Monday evening about 8:00 PM EST to Thursday 8:00 PM EST.  Supposedly the best time of all is 3:00 PM EST Tuesday.
• To clean the lens of your smart-phone, use a microfiber cloth.
• To conserve your smart-phone battery, seek strong signals and do not bury the phone in a desk since the phone uses more power trying to access a weak signal.  Turn off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other wireless access when you are out of range.  Reduce screen brightness.  Cut the number of times you allow updates of news, e-mail, and other network feeds.
• You do not need to pay for high-definition TV calibration.  DIY as follows: 1) Use your typical room lighting 2) From a DVD or DVR video freeze on a frame with a face and some detail 3)Press the menu button on the remote to find picture mode 4) Try the options such as THX mode, Cinema, Movie, and Pro.  See which provides the most natural looking picture.
• Many electronic devices draw power when they are off or in standby mode.  You could save approximately $125 a year by pulling the plug or turning off the power strip they are plugged into.
• Use your Android Power Control widget which lets you turn Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and Sync off and on, and adjust screen brightness.  It does help to save the battery life without having to search through Settings.
• All charged cell phone - even those with expired service contracts - are required by law to be able to make an emergency 911 call.  So do have a cell phone charge at all times.
• Do not use cooking sprays on your nonstick pans.  The spray can build up and actually cause food to stick.  Instead use nonstick pans on low or medium heat without spraying them.
• Synthetic paintbrushes and rollers tend to hold latex-based paints better and apply more evenly that those with natural materials.
• Cut down on your cell phone's data charges by using a W-Fi network.
• To clean your computer screen, put a drop of dish washing liquid on a soft, damp, lint-free cloth and wipe the screen.  Non-ammonia-based glass cleaners are OK also.  Do not use ammonia-based cleaners.
• Do not pay extra for ID-theft protection for your credit card.  If your card is stolen, federal law limits your liability to $50.  If your card number (not the card itself) is stolen, you are not liable for anything.
• Bug repellents that contain deet (25% is best) are excellent repellents.
• If you ever have to tame a runaway car do the following: Press and hold the brakes and shift the transmission into neutral.  Then use your brakes to bring the car to a stop on the side of the road and shut off the engine.  Shift the car into Park.

Source:  Consumer Reports, May 2013, Page 15, Article - 101 Secrets From Our Experts