Cut your potato slices anywhere from 1/4" to 1/8" thick for best results. Alternately, run potato slice through running water until the runoff created is no longer cloudy. Start to let air dry. If you want to salt your potato chips, adding about 3 tablespoons of sea salt to the water you use to soak the potatoes in creates enough saltiness in the final product. Water is the enemy in this process, so be sure to remove as much as possible before microwaving. Make sure that potato slices are not touching one another.   Cook until deliciously crispy and golden brown in the middle.

Summary: Slice your potatoes using a mandoline or a food processor to achieve an even thickness. Soak your potato slices in water to remove excess starch. Remove any excess moisture by placing the potato slices between clean cloths or paper towels and lightly pressing. Place potatoes underneath a paper towel on a plate. On full power, microwave potato slices for 3 minutes. Remove from the microwave, flip the slices, and microwave at 50% for 3 minutes. Remove from the microwave, flip the slices, and cook in 1 minute intervals at 50% power. Season with any additional herbs or flavors, if desired.


You've probably heard the saying, "quality not quantity." That adage applies when you're trying to reduce household waste. Buying higher quality items, including dishes, pans, clothing, toys, and most everything else, will reduce your waste overall because the items will last longer. You won't need to replace them as often. For instance, when you can, spring for the higher quality pot. It's more expensive, but it will last many more years. When purchasing items like food, choose bigger packages over smaller to help reduce trash from packaging. For instance, a large box of cereal creates less waste than several smaller boxes of cereal that add up to the same amount.  If you prefer individual servings, portion the food out into reusable containers when you get home. For instance, if you like small portions of pretzels, buy a big bag and then use small sealed containers to create individual portions. Also, be sure to look for packaging that can be recycled, so you aren't contributing to the landfill. Today's society has bought into excessive packaging. Some items have two or three layers of packaging. If you see an item that seems to have an excessive amount of packaging, try looking for a different brand to see if it uses less. Bulk bins are becoming more popular, particularly in health food stores. With these bins, you simply scoop out the food (such as rice, flour, sugar, etc.) into a bag, which usually produces less waste than standard packaging. You can also bring reusable containers from home to make the purchase even greener. Make sure to get a cashier to write the weight of the container on it so that you don't pay for the container.

Summary: Buy quality items that last. Buy bigger packages of food. Look for products with less packaging. Buy from the bulk bins.


It’s important to warm up your muscles before getting into the splits. Perform about 15 minutes of cardio to warm up your muscles. There are many options for cardio so do what you enjoy so you don’t get bored by the repetition. Whether you enjoy jumping jacks, climbing stairs, or jogging, get your muscles to loosen up and slowly work them up to more vigorous movements. Increase the intensity of your warm up with jump rope, squats, or box jumps to get your blood flowing in your legs. Form a bridge by lying with your back on the floor and trying to push yourself up on your feet and hands. Your knees should be bent with your palms and feet planted on the ground. You should try to form a bridge by lifting your back as far from the ground as you can by pushing down through your feet and hands. Point your elbows to the ceiling and feel your back stretch. It may be difficult at first but with time and practice your flexibility will increase. Don’t force anything if you start to feel pain. Push yourself to feel a stretch but don’t push so far that you feel pain. Use the runner’s stretch for your lower body. Get into the lunge position by taking a step forward. Bring your fingertips as low as you can. Raise your butt by slowly straightening your front leg. Inhale as you straighten your leg. Feel your front leg stretch and exhale. Get back into the starting lunge position and repeat. Repeat the runners stretch for both legs, repeating 4x per leg. Perform a standing side stretch by reaching over your head, grip your fingers together but extend your pointer fingers and keep them together. Stretch and inhale as you get as long as you can while bending to one side. Take a deep and slow breath as you hold your pose for 5 seconds then return to a tall, standing position with your arms above your head. Make sure to perform the standing side stretch on both sides of your body.

Summary: Perform cardio exercises. Stretch your back. Stretch your lower body. Stretch your upper body.


Small cactus hairs like to bury themselves in fabric, making them incredibly difficult to remove. However, you can usually get a large portion of them out using duct tape or a similarly strong adhesive. To do so, cover the affected area with a strip of tape, then rip the tape off. Repeat this multiple times for the best results. Do not use this method on your skin. Doing so may cause additional damage to the stabbed area. Unlike small needles, large cactus spines and ball-like hitchhikers are easy to remove from clothing. To do so, grab a fine-toothed comb and place it just above the needles. Then, run the comb down through the needles to brush them off.  Once you’ve removed most of the needles, get rid of any stragglers using duct tape or a pair of tweezers. When combing, make sure to keep you hand as far away from the needles as possible. Once you’ve removed as many needles as you can, place your clothing items in a washing machine and run them through a normal cleaning cycle. Doing so will remove any small hairs you couldn’t get out by hand. Do not wash your affected clothes with other garments, otherwise you may simply move the cactus needles from 1 item to another.
Summary: Remove small cactus needles using duct tape. Pull out large cactus needles with a comb. Clean your clothes in a washing machine to remove leftover needles.