Hacks

From Page 3 the Swiffer pad. (I used Safeway brand glass cleaner; in the video, Stein uses a mixture of vinegar, water and dish soap.)

The Swiffer immediately felt very clumsy and awkward to use; there was little control or glide, and it kept flopping around. Looking back, Stein had suggested dunking the Swiffer into a bucket of cleaning solution. I figured my own materials would be fine, but it took a lot of sprays to soak the towel, and even then, not much was transferred onto the windows.

In the end, I had to ask my 6-foot-3 fiance to directly spray the windows for me. The consensus? A step stool, rag and spray (or actual window-cleaning kit) would have done a better job.

Cleanliness: 3/5

Efficiency: 1/5

Hackability: 1/5 at Lincoln High in San Francisco and at USC for college. He coached football from 1971 to 2008, including a stint as offensive coordinator for his hometown Niners and then won a Super Bowl as head coach of the Packers in 1996. Holmgren was head coach for 296 NFL games, which if we count overtime was approximately 320 hours of official NFL game time. He spent 75,000 hours studying, training and practicing for these 320 hours and much of this painful practice was in 100degree heat and below freezing temperatures.

Successful Realtors and loan officers do the things the average competitors don’t do because of the pain. The fun part of doing mortgage loans and selling real estate is the unbelievably rewarding feeling we get when a happy homebuyer is handed the keys to the house. Helping and coaching people to win the American Dream game is cool.

Clean your disposal with ice

Maybe I did something wrong, but this hack simply did not work for me. Professional organizer Jamie Hayes went viral over the summer for running lots of ice and water through her garbage disposal until it essentially vomited up a disgusting, brown liquid.

Not only did nothing happen when I tried, but ice also got stuck and came close to breaking my disposal. I consulted Abrams, who said readers shouldn’t feel totally dissuaded by my failure. Next time, he suggested adding a bit of ice with the aforementioned baking soda and vinegar, or with a degreasing dishwashing liquid, such as Dawn.

“We think adding ice cubes helps with the cleaning process, and it helps to knock off stuck-on food particles,” Abrams says.

Nonetheless, for me, it was a zero in all categories. Would not recommend.

Cleanliness: 0/5

Efficiency: 0/5

Hackability: 0/5

The painful part of the job is the thousands of hours required in training, making sales calls, the stress of dealing with a person’s largest asset, the rejection and disappointments, the ups and downs in the market, and all the required paperwork and government compliance required to hand over the keys.

Successful homeowners in their 50s and older are people who paid the price and persevered over 30 to 50 years to achieve their success.

Very few people inherit large amounts of money. Most of our greatest local success stories are folks who worked hard for 30 to even 50 years practicing and training to become financially free as a senior. Police and firefighters must attend school and graduate from academies to get a job. Nurses must spend thousands of painful hours studying to become an RN. Refinery operators must be trained and often work as grunt laborers for years

Where I drew the line: Stick a container of Fabuloso in your toilet tank

Wary from my garbage-disposal mishap, I decided not to pursue this hack from TikTok user @lexi_gray_, who cut a hole in a bottle of the cleaning solution Fabuloso and kept it in her toilet tank. Essentially, every time she flushed, a bit of Fabuloso was released into the tank and bowl, allegedly freshening up the toilet automatically.

I envisioned my cat drinking toilet water laced with chemicals, plus the comments for the video screamed: DO NOT DO THIS. Abrams confirmed that commenters were correct.

He warns that the bottle could fall out of position and block moving parts inside your toilet tank, either keeping the toilet from working altogether or causing it to run continuously. And because the shape and size of toilet tanks vary, the likelihood that this would work for everyone is slim.

prior to making enough money to support a family. There is just no free lunch. Go to school, get a good career, work hard and get promoted, invest in income producing assets, maximize a 401(k) or IRA, buy a house as soon as possible, maintain a 700 FICO score, pay your taxes, avoid substance abuse and gambling, study success and pursue coaching from great financial coaches, and after 30 to 40 years of pain and hard work, you have a great chance of retiring with financial freedom and personal victory.

Jim Porter, NMLS No. 276412, is the branch manager and senior loan adviser of Solano Mortgage, NMLS No. 1515497, a division of American Pacific Mortgage Corporation, NMLS No. 1850, licensed in California by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the CRMLA / Equal Housing Opportunity. Jim can be reached at 707-449-4777.

Winter

which containers had what from the standpoint of color. Also kind of funny was I forgot what the dormant sticks were

First off, I was surprised I had placed Superbena Imperial Blue in proximity to Double Play Candy Corn spirea. This is going to cause great joy with my Louisiana State University horti-

Then a large container with Superbena Imperial Blue found its position in proximity to Double Take Scarlet flowering quince, as well as both red and white azaleas. It is a feast for the eyes. Superbena Imperial Blue, like most of the other Superbenas, will get 5 to 12 inches tall with a spread of 30 inches. They need fertile, well-drained soil and plenty of sunlight to reach their true performance potential. For the most part, Superbenas are considered an annual, and one certainly of exceptional value.

I live in zone 8a, and in my zone and warmer we get them to return in the spring, which causes the perennial happy dance to break out. Superbena Imperial Blue, Superbena Whiteout and Superbena Stormburst have been good perennials for me. This year I also have Superbena Plum Wine returning. Strangely, all these are in containers. They are way ahead of those in the soil.

The key to this is good soil drainage, which is easy-peasy in a container. Son James and I both are firm believers in cutting the verbena back periodically to keep rejuvenating growth and new blooms coming. It also helps to minimize chances for spider mites and lace bugs to have a fatal infestation.

So, to put it another way, if you leave a huge patch of weak foliage because you still have a couple of blossoms, you are not helping the plant. Cut it back, and new growth will resume quickly, followed by blooms.

There are 17 varieties to be found in the Superbena (most vigorous), Superbena Royale (slightly compact, less spread) and Superbena Sparkling (bicolored) groups. Make sure you try the Superbenas in baskets or taller pots, too, as the off-the-ground or aerial-like aspect, coupled with cascading flowers, is an easy attraction for the hummingbirds.

Superbenas may have a funny sounding name to you, but it is just Proven Winners’ way of saying that these are Super Verbenas.

Norman Winter is a horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy. He receives complimentary plants to review from the companies he covers.