NEXT YEAR'S OUTFIT

With two pre-teen daughters to outfit each season, show mom Josie Pakula, Scottsdale, Arizona, thinks ahead. When she sees attractive outfits worn by youths a size or two larger than her girls, she gives her card to the wearers and asks to be alerted when those outfits go up for sale. "It's almost always cheaper to buy used than to buy new, yet many outfits are still like new when the original wearers grow out of them," Josie says. "And, when you can buy a complete ensemble, you know how it'll look without having to go to the trouble of finding and matching all the pieces." Today's outfit on someone else might work for your child next year.

SALE SAVVY
With the fall production-sale season about to get underway, here's a tip for bagging a bargain: Consider bidding on the first or final lots to go through the auction ring. First horses often sell below the sale's average because bidders wait to see what other horses they might like better. Final lots also tend to fall below the average because the bidder pool tapers off after buyers have already made their purchases from earlier lots.

An auction's first and last lots can be bargains.

PUMP THAT GOOP!
H&R reader Casey McGrath, Yakima, Washington, has a solution for dispensing tube-type mane/tail detangler right where you need it. She fills a hand-pump soap dispenser with the product, then uses the pump nozzle to target tangles. "It's easy to get more of the detangler out without having to fumble with the tube," she says. "And, baby wipes work wonders to clean the solution off your hands after you've worked it into the hair."

4 EASY REMEDIES FOR...

SMELLY BOOTS
Sprinkle insides with baking soda. Odor-causing bacteria can't live in baking soda's acidic environment.

FEED-ENCRUSTED BIT
Add two or three denture-cleaning tablets to a quart of warm water, then soak the bit in the solution.

DEBRIS ON CHAPS
Wrap masking tape, sticky side out, around your hand, then use to pull dirt, sawdust, etc., from suede-out chaps.

SUNBURN
Apply a poultice of cold, soaked tea bags. The tannic acid will help draw heat from the burned area.