Do it now

Consider emptying your composters before you fill them up with end-of-the-season cuttings.

Last update: September 22, 2009 - 10:06 AM

Consider emptying your composters before you fill them up with end-of-the-season cuttings. If you have enough compost, spread a thick layer on your vegetable beds after you remove the plants. If you have only a little compost, use it sparingly. Spread a few handfuls around the base of your favorite perennials, shrubs and trees.

NEXT WEEK

At Home with Ian Grant, the Minneapolis retailer and carpenter whose world travels in search of accessories and furnishings will form the basis of "Relic Hunter," a show for the Travel Channel that premieres in October.

HOT TICKET

If you're into all things Arts and Crafts, check out the Twin Cities Arts and Crafts Show and Sale this weekend. The sale, in its 10th year, will feature Mission-style furniture, including Stickley, Limbert, Roycroft, Rookwood and the Minneapolis Handicraft Guild as well as metalwork, pottery, textiles, art and lighting. Besides Arts and Crafts-era originals, the sale will include reproductions. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday in the Progress Building, State Fairgrounds, Falcon Heights. Admission is $7. For more information, call 651-695-1902 or go to www.twincitiesartsandcraftsshow.com.

WE SPOTTED IT

Say goodbye to electric cord purgatory. The One-Wrap CableOrganizer, lock-tight strips made of Velcro, brings colorful order to cord chaos. Users bundle cords, then pull one end of the strip through a slot, pressing the hook and loop together. Sold in a multicolored five-pack of black, blue, red and white for $2.49, or five cranberry-colored connectors for $2.99. Available at www.cableorganizer.com, 1-866-222-0030.

WEB WATCH

www.managemyhome.com

New from the owners of Sears, this interactive home organization site combines to-do lists and info on home projects (with access to professionals and other homeowners for advice) through a blog and contacts, as well as access to repair manuals for appliances and other home projects. If you don't want to compile your own to-do list, you can vicariously enjoy Steve Watson's; he's the home improvement expert providing the face of this service.

STORE NEWS

Furnishings and decor store Cut Above Home has opened in Burnsville Center -- on the upper level, across from Gap Kids. Among the mix in the 5,700-square-foot store: accent pieces and case goods such as end tables and dressers, as well as accessories such as candles and holders, photo frames, wall art, pottery, basic home decor and gourmet kitchenware. Prices range from $4.95 for cooking utensils to up to $400 for larger furniture pieces. The privately owned store is the fourth to open; others are in Rochester and Red Wing, Minn., and in Eau Claire, Wis.; 952-898-2245.

KIM YEAGER, CONNIE NELSON

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