Stuck Screw

I had a stuck screw in my garage several years ago that was blocking the next project. I knew I needed to do my research about stubborn screw removal before getting frustrated. When the first step worked, I thought I had "over-researched" the topic, but two days later my best friend texted me that some guys were getting frustrated at a stuck screw, they weren't impressed her best friend is an engineer, so did I have some suggestions? My immediate reply: too long for a text, check your email. We don't know which step worked (just that they removed the screw after exposure to my list), but I no longer feel like I did too much research!

My record so far is all screws were removed by a much bigger screwdriver (12 inches / 30 centimeters long!), except one (a stripped Phillips #2 #4-40 inside a computer) that turned after a few minutes of a heat gun.

Here are the steps I collected, and the order I would try them.

1. Try a different screwdriver: larger head, longer handle.
2. For stripped or worn screws, improve screwdriver's grip with: rubber band, steel wool, duct tape (sticky side on screw), green abrasive pad from a kitchen sponge, friction paste (like Drive Grip by Vibra-Tite), abrasive paste from car repair shops.
3. Heat the screw for 2-3 minutes with a hair dryer or heat gun or small torch or soldering gun, and try again.
4. Chill the screw with ice cubes, and try again.
5. For screws into metal that might be rusty, or might have paint or debris, clean around the screw as much as possible, apply a rust penetrant (Liquid Wrench, PB Blaster, WD-40) or paint stripper, wait 15 minutes, try again.
6. If headroom, tighten a drill chuck over the screw head, and unscrew with drill.
7. If headroom, remove with a pair of pliers. Flatten opposite sides with a file or dremel to improve gripping.
8. Tap the screwdriver with a hammer, primarily for Phillips head. For a standard #2, drive a #1 bit into the screw. Tap the screwdriver while turning (improvised manual impact screwdriver).
9. Use a manual impact driver. (manual better than electric for forward thrust)
10. Drill a shallow hole into the head, so the screwdriver sits deeper.
11. Use a dremel to cut a slot all the way across, and use a large slotted screwdriver.
12. Adhere a nut to the head with welding adhesive, let dry recommended time, use ratchet.
13. Drill a pilot hole, and then use a screw extractor.
14. Use a hole saw to remove the screw and a plug of wood around it; replace the plug of wood with one without a stuck screw.
15. Drill out the whole screw.

References:

• wikiHow: How to Remove a Stripped Screw
• wikiHow: How to Remove a Stuck Screw
• Wikipedia: impact driver about forward thrust

IPv6, Arduino, and temperature

Referring to what I learned last time, I installed the SparkFun library for the HTU21D. Then I did a simple mash-up of MiniHTTPServer and SparkFun_HTU21D_Demo, and it worked on the first try. I think I spent so much time starting two years ago being frustrated with the uIP library that I guess I don't expect Arduino to be simple, or even to work. However, I can now read temperature and humidity over IPv6 for around $25 from eBay, now that I found a working IPv6 (single-stack) library in EtherSia. I'm not complaining, but it just feels anticlimactic after all those months of arguing with the first Ethernet library to have the second Ethernet library work right away with minimal effort.

Lesson (re)learned: Always use the right tool for the job.

For future reference, this sketch would not work with an Arduino with less memory than the Nano v3; it needs that 2kB of SRAM. My hardware is HTU21D for temperature and humidity, NanoShield and EtherSia for IPv6 Ethernet, and Arduino Nano v3.

My code with EtherSia_ENC28J60:
Sketch uses 12,162 bytes (39%) of program storage space. Maximum is 30,720 bytes.
Global variables use 1,263 bytes (61%) of dynamic memory, leaving 785 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 2,048 bytes.

My code, but claiming EtherSia_W5100:
Sketch uses 11,864 bytes (38%) of program storage space. Maximum is 30,720 bytes.
Global variables use 1,259 bytes (61%) of dynamic memory, leaving 789 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 2,048 bytes.

SparkFun_HTU21D_Demo:
Sketch uses 5,656 bytes (18%) of program storage space. Maximum is 30,720 bytes.
Global variables use 460 bytes (22%) of dynamic memory, leaving 1,588 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 2,048 bytes.

Packet Printer (EtherSia_ENC28J60):
Sketch uses 7,406 bytes (24%) of program storage space. Maximum is 30,720 bytes.
Global variables use 1,053 bytes (51%) of dynamic memory, leaving 995 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 2,048 bytes.

Mini HTTP Server (EtherSia_W5100):
Sketch uses 8,112 bytes (26%) of program storage space. Maximum is 30,720 bytes.
Global variables use 1,025 bytes (50%) of dynamic memory, leaving 1,023 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 2,048 bytes.

Arduino Nano with IPv6

I haven't touched my Arduino Nanos in a while because they didn't do IPv6 with the arduino_uip library I thought would work. However, I poked around again, and found EtherSia, so I thought I would give it a try. In the intervening time, I have switched from Mac to Linux for my daily driver.

I went to the Arduino Getting Started page, and downloaded the latest version of the IDE for Linux. I connected my Nano v3 that has the FTDI controller, so I selected Tools (menu) > Board > Arduino Nano and Tools > Port > /dev/ttyUSB0. The software selected Tools > Processor > ATmega328 automatically (which is correct for the Nano v3, but not what the hardware-specific page says to expect). I selected the "Blink" sketch (the hardware equivalent of "Hello, World!", from File (menu) > Examples > 01.Basics > Blink), clicked on Verify, clicked on Upload, and my Arduino Nano is blinking at me.

The relevant output line from lsusb for me was:

Bus 003 Device 047: ID 0403:6001 Future Technology Devices International, Ltd FT232 USB-Serial (UART) IC

When I run Tools > Get Board Info, I get

BN: Unknown board
VID: 0403
PID: 6001
SN: Upload any sketch to obtain it

No drivers were downloaded; it just worked. Despite knowing that I should quit while I'm ahead (so I can have dinner at a reasonable time), I wanted to try IPv6 from EtherSia! I went to Sketch (menu) > Include Library > Manage Libraries. I put "ethersia" in the Search box, it showed up, I clicked on Install next to the (most recent) version number, and that was just too easy. File > Examples > EtherSia > Minimal. I knew I would want it, so I brought up Tools > Serial Monitor as well. I switched it to 38400 baud (as mentioned in the sketch), and again it just works! I could even ping6 it!

Now I just need to see how it feels about reporting temperature and humidity from HTU21D over IPv6 into my monitoring. That can wait until after dinner!

Flowers for Teacher Appreciation Week

It's Teacher Appreciation Week!

My children's school organizes themes for each day of the Teacher Appreciation work-Week, and today's suggestion was to bring fresh flowers to your teachers. Although cut flowers are lovely, they are also short-lived; I wanted a gift with more staying power. I also like DIY, crafts done with my kids, recycling, and gardening. (You can probably see where I'm going.) This year, like last year (I just didn't have a better idea for this year, but we did improve our technique), we put marigold starts in a self-irrigating planter; the planter was a recycled craft we made together.

These marigolds are a dwarf marigold (Tagetes patula), in French Gold (orange, not yellow). Marigolds are self-seeding annuals, which means they will come back year after year, but from seeds not roots (like perennials). The best way to prepare the seeds, according to my mother, is to let the seeds dry on the plant over winter. I recommend pulling up the plants on a dry day to gather the seed pods (where the blossoms were) once the entire plant is gray and has thoroughly dried out. Take care to gather all the seed pods that have fallen off during the drying process so you're not over-run the next year.

The first year, I planted the six seeds from a 10¢ pack on a drizzly February 12, 2012; just casually scattered under the mailbox before I escaped back to the warm dry. All of the seeds germinated, and the one closest to the road with the most space grew particularly tall; almost two feet tall and nearly as wide! (Dwarf? Ha!) The next two years, I gathered the seeds (and passed them on), and let the ones that fell and germinated on their own grow with minimal thinning; those that grew outside the rock border around my mailbox were mowed without compunction. With lateral competition, the plants did not grow as tall, but I still had an amazing number of blooms all summer until the first hard frost. This year, I plan to thin the mailbox marigolds much more to see if they grow like the first year. I carefully pulled up the largest starts for this year's teacher appreciation marigolds; marigolds are fairly sturdy so they should survive this transplanting. I have more marigold seeds now than I know what to do with! In 2012, I thought 6 seeds for 10¢ was a bit steep, but in one year I had a hundred-fold increase and I think that dime has gone a long way now.

The Parts List:

• empty water or soda bottles, with their caps, to recycle; you need as many bottles as you want to make planters
• cotton twine, or any cord made of uncoated natural material that will wick water (including strips of cotton tee shirts)
• duct tape
• aluminum foil, or any opaque flexible material to cover the roots for root health

The Tools List:

• drill and two bits, maybe 1/16" and 1/8" (size isn't critical, just "small" and "about the size of the cord bundle"; careful adults only)
• utility knife (careful adults only)
• scissors
• a towel that can get gardening-dirty

The Resources List:

• Wisconsin Fast Plants on making this planter from recycled plastic bottles
• Seattle Sundries on making this planter, and especially the comments
• web search for self irrigating planter DIY

Based on what I learned last year, here is how we made the self-irrigating planters from recycled water bottles this year:

1. I drilled several small holes around the shoulder of the water bottles that were empty and to be recycled.
2. I drilled a larger hole in the bottle cap.
3. For the last "careful adult" step, I used a utility knife to cut the bottle roughly in half (a bit more on the top, a bit shorter on the bottom; see how one looks, and adjust the others).
4. The remaining steps were done by my eager children. First we cut two sections of twine, and put a big knot in the middle. Then we threaded the twine through the bottle cap; holding the bottle cap like a cup, it should have octopus-style legs of twine and the knot should be large enough to keep the cord from pulling through the hole. We sealed the cap back on the top of the water bottle.
5. We lined the inside top of the water bottle with aluminum foil to protect the plant's roots from light. You could instead wrap the entire planter at the end to do that, and to minimize algae growth. I chose to leave the bottom section visible so it's obvious when to add water, but that does allow algae growth.
6. If the cut edge of the water bottle top is sharper than you'd like, use duct tape folded over that edge to hold the aluminum foil in place, and to cover the sharp edge itself.
7. We carefully scooped potting mix inside the foil inside the top of the water bottle, shaping as we went.
8. We placed the water bottle tops inside the water bottle bottoms, and watered. The goal is for the potting soil to be thoroughly moistened, so we ended up pouring out some water from the bottoms.
9. We dried the bottles as needed before wrapping them with duct tape to hold the upside-down top to the bottom.
10. Add a few seeds or one small plant, and you are ready to gift or tend this!

All parts came from the recycling bin or the dollar store, so this is a low-cost project. I raided the recycling bin at work because I'm opposed to bottled water.

If you leave out the aluminum foil, the plant will not be as healthy in the long term, but your children can observe the later stages of root growth.

Most plants need as much room for roots underground as they occupy aboveground, so clearly this self-irrigating water bottle planter should not be the final home for most plants. However, a group should be sufficient for a small (windowsill?) herb garden. You can also adapt this technique to larger recycled containers.

There you go! It's surprisingly easy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter and Hot Chocolate

Last weekend I made chocolate peanut butter first, and then wondered what I was going to do with it. (Tip: it's a tasty replacement filling for Nutter Butter cookies!)

The answer has been a bite here and a bite there, as a tasty snack. So far I haven't needed a plan to make quite a dent in it. It's tastier stored on the kitchen counter (where it reminds to have a sample as I pass by) than solid cold from the refrigerator.

Now that I know just how remarkably easy it is, I think I might start making my own peanut butter too, and I'm really tempted by the idea of using honey-roasted peanuts instead of regular roasted peanuts. Protip: wear hearing protection while the food processor is grinding your (chocolate) peanut butter.

 

After my kids went sledding this morning, I decided we should thaw out with hot chocolate, and I had a recipe to test. I made the "master recipe" with Ghirardelli chocolate chips and Ghirardelli cocoa. We added mini marshmallows (but none of the other suggestions - too far from the desired classic), and everyone enjoyed!

Ah, tasty times!

Mint Chocolate

In honor of Mint Chocolate Day, we tried a few confections. Here's what I thought:

• Russell Stover French Chocolate Mints: so smoooooooth and enjoyable, although they didn't actually hit my "mmm, good chocolate" button. I enjoy one after dinner when I want a little something chocolate and smooth. This is its own category, a chocolate infused with some mint.
• York peppermint patties - the classic, VERY minty (just like the ad says)
• Pearson's mint patties - fine on their own, but they just don't compare to York
• Landmark Confections peppermint patties - more chocolate on the chocolate-to-mint filling ratio, but they hold their own when you want more chocolate than York
• Hershey's mint truffle kisses - tasty, not heavy on the mint but very noticeable; another reasonable after-dinner choice
• 3 Musketeers mint - "where's the mint?" no really, I thought I would love the fluffy with mint (I know I have before on its own) but in this taste test comparison, it didn't distinguish itself
• Andes creme de menthe baking bits - decent pop of mint, and I'd try again with the actual bars, but not as spectacular as I expected
• Junior Mints - more like mini York peppermint patties than I expected, maybe slightly less "I AM MINT!" but remarkably similar

The overall winner was York peppermint patties. It ended up as the yardstick against which I compared everything else. York is strong on the mint flavor. For more chocolate to balance the mint, reach for Landmark Confections instead. After dinner (when I want mild), Hershey's mint truffle kisses or Russell Stover. I will still want Junior Mints when I watch movies. Sorry that doesn't really narrow the field ... OK, York is the top but there are times when I want a smaller treat with more chocolate than mint.

So can you guess what I want to try next? Making my own York Peppermint Patties! I've made Almond Joy and Mounds before (this recipe looks familiar), and I particularly enjoyed bing able to tweak the chocolate, almond, and coconut ratios; since that was easier than I expected, peppermint patties should be similarly easy.

Nano Drivers

Today's Arduino lesson is that not all Arduino Nano v3 boards are the same (and this is probably true for other Arduino models when purchased from different sources). Let's skip over how long it took me to discover that, m'kay? I discovered this by looking in System Information, going to System Report, and looking at what was connected to USB. Get drivers for that, whatever it is.

My first Nano required PL2303 serial drivers. My second Nano needs the more standard FTDI libraries instead. Sparkfun has FTDI installation directions, and those drivers can also be downloaded directly from FTDI.

And just like that, sprinkling a little driver magic over it, this Arduino is now happy to talk to its IDE. Just as readily, all of the peripherals are now also working with the example code.

Canon MX870 Print Head "Repair"

I'm usually cranky when the directions I want are only available on YouTube because I can read much faster than the video plays, and I find the extra time to be excruciating. Seriously, please just tell me in words!

A few months ago, my Canon PIXMA MX870 printer decided that it would mostly print yellow: no cyan printing, and only sometimes the faintest magenta printing. I suppose the other colors weren't cheerful enough? Some searching indicated that the problem was the print head. I tried all of the printer's built-in cleaning routines to no avail. I looked at replacement printers (I mostly print kid pictures), but I decided to see if I could fix it. It wasn't useful the way it was, replacing it seemed likely, so I had nothing to lose for trying. After a while, all remaining hints pointed YouTube. I decided that removing a print head might be best described in a video, so (prepare yourself for the shock!) I watched YouTube videos about printers.

The video that worked for me was "How to remove and clean a Canon printhead" and it delivered on the promise of its title! I thought I might need to watch "The secret on how to remove the Canon print head" but the first video with some gentle but persistent jiggling was sufficient.

What I had to do was to remove the ink carts, then remove the print head. I rinsed the print head in warm water from my kitchen faucet at a low pressure for several days (in between bouts of going about my regularly scheduled life), until I no longer saw any ink bleeding out when I did so. Yes, I spent days rinsing the print head, but it was essentially a free experiment. La, la, la, several days of rinsing and a day of drying later, I re-installed the print head and the ink carts. And my printer worked again! I couldn't believe something so cheap and easy actually resurrected my printer, but it did! I'm so glad I didn't replace it hastily!

Recycled and Reusable Produce Bag

I thought this was too simple to post, until two weeks ago. I was at the grocery store, and I handed my reusable shopping bags to the checkout clerk. He said, "I'm glad you remembered; sometimes I forget." I replied that's why the bags live in the back of my car, so I can remember them. Then he asked, "Where did you get these produce bags?" I explained that I ran some yarn through the top of plastic mesh bags, and the one he was holding right then was from the turkey I had cooked for Thanksgiving. After a moment of stunned silence on his part, he said, "That's awesome! High five!"

So in case it's not completely obvious, start with a plastic mesh bag. For me, the larger ones are more useful, and the most plastic-y ones hold up better. I typically re-use these from bags of onions, but this turkey bag is bigger. Weave a long length of yarn over and under at the top until you've woven all the way around; I used a crochet hook for the weaving. Make sure the yarn is larger than you ever expect to open the expandable mesh bag! I have tried plarn and shoelaces, but yarn slides most easily on the bags I've made. So I don't have to weave the yarn in again, I knot the ends together. Store your produce bags with your reusable grocery bags.

Bumps on the Arduino

So it hasn't been smooth sailing since I installed the Arduino libraries. This is why I was taking baby steps.

I followed the Adafruit directions for the HTU21D temperature and humidity sensor, and got ... nothing. Really nothing. One of my desperate ideas was to look for other libraries. I found SparkFun's HTU21D library, complete with a tutorial. The difference between the two libraries is that SparkFun has two error codes, 998 if sensor is not detected, and 999 if CRC is bad. I saw a whole lot of 998, and that was very helpful. No one likes to hit an error condition, but do you know what's worse? An error condition without an error message somewhere! I removed the Ethernet shield from the system. I ran Blink again just to be sure of my baseline. I ran a lot of continuity tests. (Tip: I always need at least one multimeter with the audible continuity feature.) I read the example code comment "use inline 330 ohm resistor if your board is 5V" and added resistors because my Nano is a 5V board. (Sadly, I didn't have any 330Ω resistors in my supplies. I did have a bag of 120Ω resistors from a long time ago, to use as signal terminators.) I ran even more continuity tests. I checked the 3V3 output voltage (3.28V) and the data line resistances (both about 360Ω). I think it's a dead sensor, possibly zotted before I added the inline resistors.

So, on to the ENC28J60 Ethernet shield for Nano. Again, the sample code didn't work. I tried EchoServer and TcpServer. I modified the example code to use a valid legacy IPv4 address (I decided the first test could be IPv4, even if my end goal is not to use legacy) on my home network, but I couldn't ping it, and I couldn't telnet to port 1000 on it. Additionally, my router didn't have a complete entry for it in its ARP table. Also, the link lights on the shield were off far more often than on. I ended up re-cabling everything in my computer room, both to simplify cables and connections, and to move the little unmanaged switch for extra ports to my desk so I could watch its blinking lights as well. Based on the indicators (no link lights on the ethernet shield, no link lights on the little switch, and no ARP entry on the router), I have to think this one is also dead. However, I also need to test this suggestion before giving up.

Yes, I think it's rather odd that two out of three components aren't working, and the two peripherals at that. It's possible that I need to work on some intermediate steps, to learn more about Arduino. Gee, more tinkering ...

Arduino Libraries

Update 2016-11-21: Since this post has many views, I want to point out that Arduino libraries are easier to install since IDE 1.6.2 (see these directions), and that EtherSia is my Arduino Ethernet library of choice because it supports IPv6 (single-stack) as well as the ENC28J60, W5500, and W5100 Ethernet controllers, and it's simple to change the Chip Select pin.

The next baby step with my Arduino is to load libraries into the IDE. (Yes, baby steps. It's easier for me to do in a short time that isn't as busy, and it's less likely that I'll get frustrated.) The directions to load Arduino libraries look easy enough. (Adafruit, Installing a Library on Mac OS X)

The library for the HTU21D is linked with the directions, another easy step.

And then, despite trying to keep it simple, I thought that first library was so easy, let me add the library for the ENC28J60 Ethernet. Alas, that was a rabbit hole! Here is my saga.

ENC28J60 and Arduino: a history, with an eye to IPv6 support

My journey starts here with Reflective Heat:

The official Arduino Ethernet Shield is based on the WizNet 5100 chip, which implements the IPv4 protocol stack in silicon. As a consequence, the Arduino Ethernet Shield cannot be used to implement an IPv6 stack.

Most people use the ENC28J60 in place of the WizNet 5100, either for its low cost, or because I wanted IPv6 support. And now I step through a littered history.

EtherCard is a driver for the ENC28J60 chip, compatible with Arduino IDE, from Jean-Claude Wippler. Adapted and extended from code written by Guido Socher and Pascal Stang ... but I don't see IPv6!

Back to Reflective Heat. The RHT IPv6 library for Arduino is based on the work of Pascal Stang, Xing Yu, and Guido Socher for EtherShield and IPv6EtherShield from Günther Hoelzl. And I note:

The earlier ipv6ethershield developed by Guenther Hoelzl was tested but found to be unstable and would not compile on the most recent versions of the Arduino Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

However, I'm a bit nervous about the RHT offering because it only discusses Arduino UNO and Mega, and I have the Nano. So I thought I'd keep looking. Apparently I don't know enough to stay away from rabbit holes!

Hey, I found a list of Arduino IPv6 library choices and Telecom Bretagne is newer! but I don't want a wireless sensor network because wireless isn't as reliable as wired Ethernet. There are directions but for wireless, so I continue to look.

I found a blog with a whole category for Arduino and this Ethernet! but no IPv6 when I searched the blog.

So once again, I found myself back at the beginning, reading about Contiki's μIPv6 stack ported for 1-wire (original site appears to be offline now), but wrong microcontroller and wrong sensor family. However, μIP will appear again, with better luck next time.

The first two libraries at Tweaking4All also lack visible IPv6 support, but discuss the same problem of having a Nano instead of an UNO or a Mega (same concern I had with RHT!). The first set is ETHER_28J60 + EtherShield (from Jose Muanis Castro; mentioned by RHT); the second one is EtherCard (mentioned above). However, the third library looks like a winner! Do I see a nod to μIP? ... drumroll please ...

UIPEthernet has some IPv6! although with a gotcha noted. But I'm reminding myself that my small goal tonight is to load libraries, just the libraries, and not to discover what might be broken later. There are examples to test first!

There are some posts about which CS (chip select) pin to use for various configurations. I like this post because it shows where to change the underlying code if you don't want to re-wire.

Getting Started with Arduino

After my first attempt, I can say that getting started with Arduino is almost as easy as the directions! I have an Arduino Nano v3.0 with ENC28J60 ethernet shield and HTU21D temperature and humidity sensor module. But for reference, I did need to download drivers at Step 3, just not the FTDI driver mentioned. I needed to install a PL2303 driver for OS X 10.7 "Lion". There are many other PL2303 driver choices, too: from Prolific itself, on a plugable list, and from mac-usb-serial.

My first swing at it didn't work (no blinking light, but instead an upload error). That problem turned out to be that I had plugged everything into my oldest (and smallest) breadboard. The blink program successfully uploaded and worked with just Nano, and with Nano+Ethernet, so I only had to remove that breadboard to get it working. The first troubleshooting tip I tried was "Try uploading with nothing connected to the board (apart from the USB cable, of course)." Yay, that was it!

I consider my toes dipped in the water!

Make Plarn

The problem with plarn projects (for me) is how long it takes to make the plarn. Now that I've tried it, this is my new method to make plarn reasonably: spiral-cut plarn. I just tie the ends together if needed, without the joining splice.

Hit that link for the description with photos! What I do is fold the bag over (smoothly, neatly) four times, leaving an inch on one edge not in the folds. Then cut through all of the layers of the folds while leaving the spine untouched (that's fast!). For the last step, open the (remains of the) bag up and cut diagonals from one row to the next (that's easy). Now wind your plarn for storage, or get crafting!

I'm more likely to craft with plarn now! ... The first three projects were painfully slow due to plarn production.

Self-Irrigating Planter

This weekend, we made self-irrigating planters from recycled water bottles, and planted marigold seeds that I hope will germinate in time for Teacher Appreciation Week.

The Wisconsin Fast Plants program covers the basics of making this planter from recycled plastic bottles. I incorporated the helpful comments on Seattle Sundries, too. Those directions are really useful.

I started with my drill, and made many small holes on the shoulder of the water bottles. I put one larger hole in the shoulder of the water bottles and in the bottle cap. Next I used my utility knife to separate the top of the bottle from the base. I experimented with where to cut until I found what looked good to me. This completed the "adult only" portion of the craft; happily, they enjoyed watching.

I knotted two sections of cotton twine in the middle, and we poked the knot through the hole in the cap with a toothpick. The outside of the cap had four "legs" while the inside had a knot to keep from pulling through. Then the boys screwed the cap on the top of the bottle. Next we placed the top, cap down, into the bottom of the former water bottle. I handed out narrow strips of aluminum foil for the boys to line the planter. One of the comments was that roots don't like sunlight, so unless the plant is to be transplanted, the roots need to shielded. Aluminum foil was the suggestion I remembered, and, well, it's fun to shape! They put a straw over the foil and through the larger hole in the top, and used cotton twine and a small piece of duct tape to fasten the straw securely to the side. Then I scooped in potting mix. We soaked the potting mix with water, and poured out the excess water from the base. Next I cut sections of duct tape, and the boys wrapped all the way around to tape the tops to the bottoms. They put 4 seeds in each planter. To finish this (later), we will wrap the outside of the planter to minimize algae growth in the water (see last item on Fast Plants page).

I don't know how well it will work, but I added the straw to refill the water in the base so the plants can continue to self-irrigate by wicking up the cotton twine indefinitely.

Spring Cleaning Pollen

I started with the idea to make Washable Swiffer Duster Covers from fleece, but I didn't want to cut all of those layers before sewing.

I started with a quarter yard of fleece, 9 inches by 60 inches. I had already used some in whatever project inspired me to buy it in the first place. I took what was left, and cut it in half long-ways. I looked at the length of the prongs on my Swiffer Duster, and started with accordion folds on the fleece, so 4-1/2-inches wide by back and forth folds. I tweaked it a few times to get the folds to work out (no partial lengths).

Next I realized that my sewing machine was NOT going to sew through all of those layers. In fact, it complained loudly just sewing through two layers of fleece (and this is supposed to be a quilting machine? really?), so I made as few seams as possible. I sewed two channels for the two prongs in the middle fold. Remember that the middle line of stitching doesn't necessarily go all the way to the end; check your duster on your fabric to see where to stitch and where not to stitch. I also put in a few stitches at each fold.

Since my sewing machine wasn't going to add as much to this project as I had planned, I needed another idea. (This is where flannel is better.) I took a detour through nylon snaps (this fleece was too thick for the snap prongs I had), but then I was holding the sharp awl from my snap kit for the next idea! With the awl, I worked a hole through all of the layers of fleece. I threaded some coordinating yarn through a large needle designed for yarn. I tied off the top all together, the bottoms on either side of where the prongs insert, and two holes in the middle to hold the middle layers together.

So finally, on to the last step! I cut half-inch-wide strips along the sides. I asked my boys if they wanted to use their scissors, but they wanted to snuggle and watch instead. Once the duster was done, Cale wanted to put it on, and then started dusting everywhere I pointed him. (Hurrah!) There's a lot of pollen on my brand new duster, but that's OK: it's washable and the pollen isn't covering everything now.

If your duster needs enhancement, a very light mist of mineral oil will probably help.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I wasn't discouraged by my failures at fabric softener, so I decided to make laundry detergent. After reading several recipes (Wellness Mama, Happy Money Saver, and Nature's Nurture), I decided to use this amalgam.

4 cups hot water
1/2 cup grated soap
1 cup washing soda
3/4 cup borax
1/2 cup oxyclean (powdered sodium percarbonate)
1/4 cup baking soda
1/2 cup scented laundry detergent, or many drops of essential oils

Add hot water and grated soap to a large bowl. Stir until well mixed, heating in the microwave if that helps the soap go into solution. Stir in washing soda and borax. Stir in oxyclean and baking soda. If you want scent, mix in a scented laundry detergent or essential oils. Let cool in the bowl for 24 hours. Stir again, and transfer to a lidded bucket that looks to be about twice as large as needed. Place lid on bucket until you're ready to scoop thick goop into your washing machine!

I usually use the drink mixer attachment on my immersion blender to mix this, but anything from a spoon with plenty of elbow grease to a mixer should work. If it's too thick for your chosen mixing approach, add more water to make it tractable - but then you'll need to add more detergent to your laundry. I use a 2 Tbs scoop for my washer.

I found already-grated soap in the laundry section, so that was easy. For the scented laundry detergent, I used Gain, what my mom always used. My laundry "smells like home" although now full-strength Gain just smells too perfumed to me!

My advice on this recipe is to store it in a bucket about twice as big as you expect to need. After it cools for 24 hours, I would expect changes to be done, but this recipe waits a couple days and then really expands. It also gets very thick (I suppose you could use more water, but then you need an even larger storage vessel), so scooping it out from a bucket on this second batch is so much easier than trying to shake it out of the old laundry detergent bottle on that first batch! I don't recall this much expansion from my initial small trial batch made with essential oils instead of Gain, so that may be the difference. So: use a bucket with room for expansion. I didn't expect that much expansion, nor did I expect it to expand a few days after the 24-hour cooling period, so I did have some pressurized laundry soap shooting around my laundry nook. Luckily that was easy to clean in my case (and much of it was contained in the basin that the bottle was sitting in), but I don't want anyone else making this unaware of the delayed expansion. Yay, bucket!

But: does it work? Unfortunately, I can answer that; luckily, to the positive. One of my children had a sudden onset of digestive upset. We changed his clothes in the bathtub, and I shook what bits I could into the toilet. I was pretty sure his clothes were stained, but after rinsing, I put his clothes in the washer. All I had was my homemade laundry detergent, so it was time for the worst-case test. After washing, and again after drying, I could detect no smell and no sight of what had happened. I was very impressed! His clothes were so nasty going in (and I scrubbed the bathroom after cleaning him up), I had already written them off. And, surprise! All clean!

Homemade Fabric Softener (not!)

My dryer has been imparting a lot of static to my clothes, so I started my laundry make-my-own at static. Fair warning: all attempts so far have been failures.

1. Commercial dryer sheets are so scented that I sneeze just getting one out! I tried making my own dryer sheets by soaking a piece of fleece in a solution of 1 part fabric softener to 6 parts water, and that worked but the fabric softener is itself commercial (same goes for using hair conditioner instead of fabric softener). This approach is also still scented, so not what I wanted.
2. I tried using 2 Tbs of white vinegar in my washer's rinse cycle, but my clothes and especially towels smelled too strongly of vinegar for me. Yes, even with essential oils.
3. Adding more baking soda than usual didn't seem to make a difference to static cling either.
4. Since vinegar contains acetic acid, and baking soda is mildly alkaline, I don't think a mixture of vinegar and baking soda will be effective for very long after the first mixing. (I didn't try it, though. Sodium acetate might be great, but it might still have the vinegar smell. I didn't want to use more vinegar, and want to re-wash laundry. Again.)
5. Finally, I tried crumpled aluminum foil in my dryer. It got very smoothly rounded in the dryer, but that's the only change I noticed.

That covers the suggestions at ThiftyFun as well as the extra foil one from lifehacker, but I do have another one to try that I hope will work.

Update: I tried the other idea, epsom salt, but it didn't reduce static for me. Looking at what Wikipedia lists for antistatic agents, I'm not hopeful to reproduce that with home chemistry.

Compost Bin

I was inspired by this post to build your own compost bin from a trash can. I got a trash can with wheels already attached because the cost of the cheapest large trash can plus the heavy-duty wheels with nuts and bolts to attach to it was about the same price, in which case I'll save my time.

So far, I remember that I prefer composting to throwing everything in the garbage. I just feel uncomfortable throwing all waste in the garbage when I know some of it biodegrades nicely.

I've learned that my yard has far too many lawn clippings after a single mowing! for this 32 gallon compost bin. I probably need to build or designate a containment area for lawn clippings and leaves.

And I recently learned that the 40+ holes I drilled with my boys (who loved watching, and pulling off the plastic curlicues) was probably far too few based on this other post (echoed by MAKE as well).

A nice start, and lots more composting to go!

DIY leave-in conditioner

I don't have the patience to put "product" in my hair. Getting my hair to behave is a losing battle anyway, so I'm sure it would take too much time if I ever did find something that works. The one product to come around that fits my patience level and has a positive effect on my hair is spray leave-in hair conditioner.

My hair stylist suggested making my own. Kelly, who was very cool even back when we were in high school together, said to fill a spray bottle with water and then to add my favorite conditioner. Well, I don't have a favorite conditioner. But I do have some conditioning products gathering dust that are thick goop that I don't use because they go on too thick when I do it. Kelly can make these work well in a jiffy, but I don't have her touch. And even with a simple recipe like that, I didn't follow it (no surprise).

I boiled two cups of water, and let two chamomile tea bags steep overnight because I was tired. I filled a 12-ounce spray bottle nearly to the top with this tea, and then I added two Tbs of Sunsilk De-Frizz 24/7 Creme. (I poured the excess chamomile tea on some plants since I'm not a fan of drinking chamomile tea.) I do need to shake it before each use, but it works so much better than the straight goop ever did! It smooths frizzy hair, and it's easy to apply! It even has a slight bit of holding power! Talk about easy. I like the combination much better than the parts, since I don't drink chamomile tea and I couldn't use the thick goop effectively.

UPDATE 03/31/2011: Consider adding up to 1 Tbs of sunscreen as well, to protect your hair from ultraviolet damage.

DIY moisturizer

I don't know why it took me so long to try this, but I mixed my own. I've got a number of moisturizers that aren't quite right on their own. I like the coverage of Neutrogena Skin Clearing makeup in blushing ivory since I'm pale, but towards the end of the day, my face is shiny. It's difficult to apply a thin layer, but Neutrogena Pore Refining Mattifier really controls shine. I've tried several moisturizers with sunscreen, and so far they all go on greasy. However, if I mix equal parts moisturizer with makeup and add a small dose of mattifier, it works out well! The sum of the parts is better than the parts ... and no, I don't want to take the time to put on three separate layers when I can mix it together in advance.

I had some eye moisturizer that was too thick, so I mixed in a little witch hazel (for your eye skin, make sure the witch hazel isn't cut with alcohol that would dry your skin out), and it became much fluffier and easier to spread. For daytime eye moisturizer, I added some tint as well, and that adds a nice subtle glint.

I think it's easier to get exactly the features I want in a moisturizer by mixing several to get sunscreen, tint, matte coverage, and vitamins! So don't be shy, give it a try!