7.Ice Lolly sticks: Make perfect row markers in your seed trays or greenhouse beds. The wooden ones won't last for ever but you can at least write on them with pen, pencil or crayons!

8.Wire coat hangers: Make mini-cloches with discarded or broken wire coat hangers. Pull into a square shape. Place hook in soil and push down gently until natural bend in wire rests on top of soil. Place another a short distance away in your seed bed to create two ends of a cloche. Now throw over a sheet of plastic and hold down with logs or stones. Note: this will work only when creating very small cloches.

9.Clear plastic: Keep any clear plastic containers that could be placed upside down over a plant. Cut a mineral water bottle in half to make two handy individual cloches. Large sheets of clear plastic from packaged household items are fine for throwing over mini coat hanger cloches.

10.Aluminium bottle tops: Keep aluminium tops from milk or juice bottles, and also coloured foil around beer or wine bottles. Thread together to maka bird scarer. Simply thread with thick cotton and hang on your fruit bushes before birds find new fruits.

Look out for other tools for garden from kitchen throwaways such as:

old kitchen spoons and forks for transplanting tiny plants in greenhouse.

Leaky buckets for harvesting small quantities of potatoes, carrots etc;

light wooden boxes for harvesting salads through summer, and transporting pots etc;

Keep an eye on that rubbish bag and turn today's throwaways into tomorrow's tools!

Unlimited plans can be great for high usage callers, but it's very important to read fine print and fully understand plan before you sign up. Keep in mind that you're committing yourself to pay for a high priced plan whether you use lots of service or not. If amount of long distance you use varies from month to month, you might come out ahead by sticking with a per minute plan. Calculate out costs and consider your future calling patterns carefully.

- Compare and Save -

When considering any long distance plan (whether per minute, fixed or unlimited) you need to get a list of following costs: interstate (state to state) rate, service fee, USF Charge, PICC Fees, Carrier Recovery Charge, in-state rates, and any minimum usage requirements. If you make international calls, get international rates and any international plan fee.

These costs vary from company to company. If you can't find them on company's advertisment or website, ask about them. Asking questions is a good way to learn what company is like before you sign up with them.

You CAN make a smart choice when it comes to long distance. It's well worth applying yourself and getting a lower rate.