• Protect your home during Mold Awareness Month: Don’t let plumbing and other water problems linger. Quickly clean up leaks and spills. If mold develops on hard surfaces, scrub with detergent and water (use rubber gloves). Moldy carpeting, ceiling tiles and other porous materials may have to be discarded. If mold covers more than about 10 square feet, consider hiring a ­professional.
  • Fight hay fever before it starts: Consult your physician about starting medication a week or more before pollen counts rise. Do not skip doses once you begin.
  • Be neighborly: Sunday, Sep­tem­ber 28, is National Good Neighbor Day. Plan a block party or get-together. Help neighbors who are infirm, lonely or who seem stressed—baby-sit or garden or have them over for coffee, etc. Apartment dwellers: Reduce noise by ­putting down rugs and ­moving TVs away from walls adjacent to neighbors.
  • Tend your garden: Sow seeds of cool-weather plants, such as leaf lettuce, radishes, spinach, pansies and snapdragons. Plant spring-blooming bulbs. Rx for crowded hostas, irises and other perennials: Dig them up…cut or pull apart root systems…replant divisions separately or give them to a friend or neighbor.
    • Bid farewell to summer: Labor Day—Monday, September 1—comes all too early this year.
    • Celebrate National Waffle Week. September 1 to 7. Try recipes from BBOnline.com/recipe/waffles.html or go to MrBreakfast.com (search “waffles”). If you don’t have a waffle iron, put the batter on a greased grill pan instead.
    • Go carless for just one day: World Carfree Day is Monday, September 22. Walk, bicycle, telecommute or use public transit. If you can’t go car-free, go “car-lite”—carpool, use public transit or combine errands to cut mileage.

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    Date

    September 1, 2014