Have you checked out the Real Simple Web site's "Solutions" directory to get new ideas for old items? The sister for the popular magazine offers such "aha!" tips as using a hair dryer to help remove stickers from new purchases. Our favorite: Use nail polish to color-code the keys on your keychain, and you won't waste another moment fumbling with the wrong one.

— Advertiser Staff

SAVE THE PLANET

XERISCAPING NO KA 'OI

Another tip created by The Nature Conservancy as part of its Year of the Reef effort: Xeriscaping, that energy-efficient type of garden, not only saves water (cutting garden consumption by 30 percent to 80 percent, according to the Honolulu Board of Water Supply); plants also prevent runoff, which can damage the reef. Ideas about Hawai'i-style xeriscaping can be found at the Halawa Xeriscape Garden, where tours and visits are held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. Information: 748-5041 or www.hbws.org.

— Advertiser Staff

FINAL WORD

"There is a lot of difference between deciding that you want to recycle paper because it's the right thing to do and doing it only if it won't cost too much."

Peter Bahouth | former executive director of Greenpeace, in a New York Times story on "green" consumers