Both covers were opaque, one blue and the other white, so I couldn't use them. They would have been snug enough and much easier. Actually I needed to open mine every few days (which is a pain with those bungee cords) to let some fresh air in. They don't have to be totally sealed, just have to keep the humidity as high as possible. I don't know if a translucent one would let enough light through or not. That one poster who put me on to the idea appeared to use the translucent cover that came with his box, and he might have had his lights a lot closer. He also misted his. I did mist a little in the beginning but figured it was just more likely to blow nasty spores around and might do more harm than good. George Mander uses clear plastic, said it should be heavy. I think mine was too heavy which made it a little harder to work with but otherwise ok. Talk about a dim bulb lol. One of my lights was very dim, and I thought maybe that's the way they were supposed to be with the warm and cool. Then I got the second set of tubes when I set up the other pair of shop lights, and they both lit up real bright, so I figured something was wrong with that other one. I fiddled with it, and didn't have it screwed in tightly enough. Then it brightened up like it should have been. That could account for some of my losses. Some of my cuttings I left too many leaves on. I forgot one of those did root but I did lose that one in transplanting, a very odd alba with the most unusual leaves I'd ever seen on a rose. I posted photos of it last year. No matter how well you have thought it out or how carefully you read what somebody else did, I find I always end up having to wing it a little. The ones I wanted the most were the ones I lost all of them. The lady let me have just 6 cuttings before she trimmed her bushes down. I could kick myself for not asking her to call me and let me come get all the trimmings. Now one has died over the winter, and she isn't going to want to let me have any more until her bushes spring back, if they do. I don't have room for all the roses I attempt anyway so it doesn't matter if I lose a lot. I don't have room for many more, plus I'm still buying some. I do feel good that I think I saved one old rose. Mine is growing happily in the back yard (I rooted that outside with bottles 2 seasons ago), and it is going to form a colony if it stays healthy. Just slight tip dieback. My Austins took a real beating this winter. I don't like to swipe stuff, but I did this one, and drove by the other day and the bush appears to be history.

Some of these are household tips and not cleaning tips. This isn't really a cleaning tip, but I spray my light bulbs with a squirt or two of perfume (when they are off). Once it dries and the light is turned on, a light scent of perfume will freshen up the room with a delightful smell. If you have animals, never buy a filter vacume cleaner. I use bags only. Not practical for pet owners. Filter gets clogged too easily with pet hair. Go Green. Never use Ajax or Lysol in your home. These products are very toxic. See EWG.org for environmentally safe home cleaning products. I like Simple Green myself. "Mary Ellen's Book of Helpful Hints" is my all-time favorite. Everything from cleaning to beauty tips for a nominal price, and most are with products already found in your home. Found on Amazon.com and most book stores. My Mom used this book when I was little, and it's just as popular today. Spraying windex on your baseboards and window sills in basements will keep centipedes away (kills them if they come in contact). Resolve works great on carpet stains, and Oxy Clean works wonderfully on blood stains and clothing in general (soak in small bucket with Oxy clean overnight for maximum results). Don't heat dry stains - they're locked in forever and your only other alternative then is bleach, but that's bad for your clothing. Oxy Clean got the red wine stains out of my $4k wedding gown - good as new. Do a test swatch first. I add Oxy clean to all my white loads to keep them bright. Run bleach & hot water through your garbage disposer once a month to freshen it up. Eggshells are good for sharpening the blades. I agree with cleaning one room at a time. I used to dust my entire house, then I'd vacume the entire house, then I'd clean all the floors. Now I found it saves me time to just do one entire room at a time, and then move on to the next. Never use paper towel on mirrors. Newspaper only. To remove wax drips from carpeting or furniture, put a few layers of newspaper over the wax, and run a warm iron over it. The newspaper will soak up most if not all of the wax. Works wonderfully. Use hairspray to remove ink marks. Never use oil-based products on Cherry cabinets or certain finishes. I love Murphy's oil soap for our hardwood floors. I even use it on our tile bathroom floor - keeps it shiny. Use a box of baking soda in fridge and freezers & closets to neutralize odors. Baking soda & vinegar also works well for cleaning toilets. Keeps them fresh and sparkly clean. Save your used coffee grounds for your garden - the plants will love it.

If you're looking for durable binders that look like notebooks, try a shop for Music teachers. We are VERY hard on CD binders because we are constantly going into them and exchanging CD's. Plank Road Publishing sells to the general public, as far as I know. I've linked you to the page with different CD storage ideas. I'm probably going to be getting something like these myself and getting rid of the plastic boxes, for school. I have almost 500 CD's - lotsa space and the boxes are constantly breaking!!! DonnaR/CA Here is a link that might be useful: CD binders and accessories

Even cereal needs to be in a plastic or glass container....those little varmints will get into anything...I found mouse poop every where food had ever been ..the little critter was steady searching for any crumbs... Since you are not moving you will not be interested in this hint but maybe someone who does move around will be...There are some things that just need to be in a particular place all the time and I hated picking them up and moving them every time you move so I solved that issue by velcroing baskets to certain places....For instance...I have a small basket about 2 inches X 7 inches wide on my night stand that holds my reading glasses, hand cream, tums, nail clippers etc etc and another on next to my captains chair up front...at the table, I have one , much larger, on each side of the table...one will hold his prescriptions and supplements, the salt and pepper, and mine on the other side, holds mine...the space between the two baskets hold napkins,,,It's nice that we don't have to clear the table every time we move..the baskets look nice and will hold enough that we can toss in whatever else we need . There is a basket on the counter top where we keep scissors, the dogs leash, tape, things we need to get to quickly and then there is a bin that we have taped to the bulkhead over the motor where we carry things like battery chargers. flashlights bulky items and on top of that another basket that has the phone charger and keys, wallet and change for tolls and lots of other things like glasses and clippers blah blah blah...couldn't get along without the baskets...