Green tips, more

• Go Green Tip: Unplug battery chargers or power adapters that aren’t in use. They might not be actively charging an item, but they do draw power.

• Let’s say you’re making soup and go overboard with the salt. Not a problem if you have an extra potato lying around. Just wash and quarter the potato and toss it into the soup. Let it simmer in the soup for 10 or so minutes, then remove. It will soak up the excess salt without adding any kind of flavor — just make sure to remove it before it starts to crumble.

• Here’s my solution for getting stains off skin — for instance, fruit stains on hands or Kool-Aid on lips: Rinse hands in vinegar or soak a cotton ball in vinegar and wipe off the mouth. It works for me, but I do it right after the stain appears. — G.G. in Nebraska

• “I put a folded newspaper inside the bag, in the bottom of my kitchen trash can. It really prevents drips.” — J.K. in Minnesota

• Here’s a warning from Ray the Painter in N.D. regarding a tip about using toothpaste to patch pinholes in a wall: “Stop! Don’t do it! Toothpaste will shine through any paint you put on the wall. No matter how many coats of paint you put on, toothpaste will bleed through. You would need special primer, which would be costly. Spackle is cheaper.”