5 Ways To Take Advantage Of Fall Planting Season

How to dispose of grease the right way, why the best spray bottles are made of glass, and more. November 4, 2021 [View Online]( Good morning! I must admit, I didn’t really know much of anything about fall planting until a few years ago. I think I’ve always been too busy mourning the end of summer to pay attention to the short-but-sweet opportunities that fall planting provides, but no longer! Find out what to plant now for a head start next spring in Today’s Good Thing. Also in today’s newsletter, find out why I’ve slowly been exchanging all of my plastic spray bottles with glass ones. (And it’s not because they’re much more attractive than plastic spray bottles, though that certainly doesn’t hurt their case!) Jillee TODAY'S GOOD THING 5 Ways To Take Advantage Of Fall Planting Season [Photos of grass seed, bulbs, and broccoli.]( Planting these things now can either extend your garden’s productivity or give you a leg up next spring. 1. Spring Bulbs. Get your bulbs in the ground soon for beautiful blossoms next spring. Popular bulbs to plant in fall include tulips, daffodils, scillas, crocuses, and hyacinths. Plant them with the pointy end up at a depth that’s triple the height of the bulb. (For example, you’d want to plant 2” tall bulbs around 6” deep.) 2. Pansies. Pansies are surprisingly hardy flowers and typically have no trouble surviving the winter. Just make sure to remove dead flowers regularly, and mulch your pansies once the ground or soil freezes for added insulation. 3. Cool Season Vegetables. Spring isn’t the only time you can plant veggies—greens like kale, spinach, and lettuces thrive in cool weather and mature quickly, and you can use cold frames or covers to keep them growing into winter. You can also plant onions, shallots, and garlic now to harvest next summer—just make sure to mark them clearly! 4. Grasses. Fall is a great time to do lawn chores and establish new grass. If you live in the northern states, cool season grasses like ryegrass, fescue, and bluegrass can be fertilized in the fall for earlier greening next spring. 5. Trees And Shrubs. Trees and shrubs are an ideal choice for fall planting because it’s not as hot, but the soil is still warm enough to support root development. Plant trees and shrubs at their natural soil lines, but be sure to call your local utility companies first—you don’t want to run into anything when you dig. Related • [14 Tips for Putting Your Garden to Bed This Fall]( • [These Simple Tips Will Help You Conquer Fall's Most Dreaded Chore]( ⚡️QUICK TIPS⚡️ • If you have access to a dehydrator or are considering buying one, dehydrate these 5 easy and versatile foods. [Read more ➜]( • If you ever need to make ice fast, you’ll want to find out what the Mpemba effect is so you can take advantage of it. [Read more ➜]( • For oily skin, body acne, or skin irritation, this easy-to-make soap has a foamy secret ingredient that can help. [Read more ➜]( WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT? Use Tin Foil For Easy Grease Cleanup [Photos of pouring grease into tin foil.]( Don’t contribute to an expensive plumbing problem—do this with your cooking grease instead. After experiencing several expensive garbage disposal and drain problems in a short period a few years ago, I learned a lot about what should and shouldn’t go down the drain of a kitchen sink. And ever since we started adhering to strict rules about what can and can't go down the sink, we haven’t had a sink-related plumbing problem since! One thing that ended up on our “don’t put this down the drain” list was cooking grease. The problem with pouring grease down your kitchen sink drain is that it can cling to the inside of the pipe and solidify once it cools down. It’s a recipe for a clogged pipe, so it’s much smarter to just keep grease away from your sink entirely. Instead, just line a bowl or cup with a piece of tin foil, then pour the grease into the foil and let it sit out until it solidifies. (It may or may not solidify entirely depending on the type of grease, but it should at least thicken as it cools, which makes it easier to handle.) Once it’s set up, just ball up the foil and toss in your trash. Easy! SWAP THAT 🔄 FOR THIS How Glass Spray Bottles Make Life Easier [Photos of Jillee with glass spray bottles.]( There are certain solutions you shouldn’t store in plastic, which makes glass a more versatile option. When I started making my own cleaning solutions and personal care products, I quickly learned not only how useful essential oils can be in homemade solutions, but also how important it is to store them in the right kinds of containers. There’s a reason that essential oils come in dark-colored glass bottles—the dark coloring helps protect the volatile oils from degradation due to UV exposure, and glass is a non-reactive material that won’t react in an unpredictable way with the oils or be damaged by them. For these same reasons, I prefer to keep a few of my favorite [glass spray bottles]( handy around the house. I like that I can use them confidently with any solution I whip up at home, as opposed to plastic spray bottles, which I could only use after I’d stopped and considered whether or not it was safe to do so. JILLEE'S PICK Getting My Fix Of Talk Show Antics [An image of phone screens displaying the Instagram account for The Ellen Show.]( Back in my stay-at-home mom days, I would always have a daytime talk show on in the background while I did whatever it was that needed to be done that day. Whether I was folding laundry or cleaning up, having one of those shows on in the background was a pleasant distraction that made chores feel a little less dull. My day-to-day life has a much faster pace these days, so I don’t really have the time to halfway pay attention to daytime television anymore. Luckily, social media has provided me with an alternative to get my fix of talk show silliness and celebrity interviews: the Instagram account for The Ellen Show ([@theellenshow](. Ellen’s Instagram feed is mainly clips from her show, so it’s sort of like highlights that you can watch on demand. It’s a much more flexible way for me to get my fix of “lighthearted distractions” in that familiar talk show format. [Check it out for yourself]( whether you could use a distraction or just a quick laugh! YOUR ONE GOOD THING Use Clothespins To Make Folding Easier Susan C. from Sacramento, California has a great tip for folding blankets: “When folding blankets, I use clothespins to clip the edges together. It makes them much easier to fold.” This is a very simple solution to a common problem, Susan, and I’m grateful you chose to share it with us! I can see this being extremely useful not only for blankets, but sheets, tablecloths, and even while putting a freshly washed duvet cover back onto a duvet. In fact, just yesterday I was struggling to keep the corner of my duvet in the corner of the cover. Now it seems obvious that a couple of clothespins would have saved me a good deal of time and frustration! Have a great tip or trick of your own? [Share YOUR “one good thing” here]( for a chance to see it featured in a future newsletter! A FEW MORE THINGS... Happy Diwali: Today is the 3rd and main day of [Diwali]( the 5-day “festival of lights” celebrating the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. Primarily celebrated by those of Hindu, Sikh, and Jain faiths and common throughout South Asia, Diwali takes place during the new moon, allowing the many clay lamps, lanterns, and fireworks that are lit during the holiday to shine all the brighter. Freebie Alert: Score a free Doritos Locos Taco at participating Taco Bell locations today! The freebie is part of Taco Bell's "[Steal a Base, Steal a Taco]( promotion, where stolen bases during the World Series are rewarded with "stolen" tacos for everyone. Ozzie Albies, second baseman for the Atlanta Braves, was the first to steal a base in this year's World Series. What did you think of today's email? [Not good]( | [Just okay]( | [Loved it!]( 🏠[Visit the By Jillee Shop]( 🤗 [Join OGT Free]( Let's connect! [facebook]( [instagram]( [pinterest]( [youtube]( If you have thoughts, comments, questions or a tip or trick you'd like to share, I'd love to hear from you! My inbox is always open, so just hit "reply" and let me know what's on your mind. See you tomorrow! Sending you bright ideas and simple solutions to help you create a home and life you love. My mailing address is: One Good Thing by Jillee 841 S. Main St. Heber City, UT 84032 If you're not happy please reply to this email to tell me why, or you can [update your preferences]( or break my heart and unsubscribe [here](. View our privacy policy [here](.