To find out what homes in your neighborhood are selling for, check out Domania. Believe it or not, people are buying houses.

Do you have a child who throws his or her plate of food? If so, you can use a ratcheting clamp that you can find at any hardware store. Just clamp the child's plate to the table. I first saw this done several years ago by a mother in a very upscale restaurant. I was impressed by her ingenuity.

Always keep a bag of frozen peas or corn in your freezer. Either one makes a great ice pack that you can use on swelling. Just make sure you label the bag with a marker as an ice pack and don't eat the vegetables inside. Speaking of medical tips, check out Everwell. It has a number of videos on a wide variety of medical topics.

As all of you know by now, I love gadgets. Recently the Oral B company came out with a new electric flosser called the Hummingbird. I was excited to try it out. Unfortunately, this product is a dud. It's too small, you have to hold the button down on the device to keep it turned on and really, it doesn't do much other than slightly vibrate. Save your money. There are other better flossing gadgets on the market.

Tim Thompson lives in Gainesville. E-mail Tim your ideas for tips, tools or tricks.