With tightening budgets and needed repairs it is time to consider doing it yourself. However, having the right type of tools to complete the job is essential, whether you are fixing the door hinges or putting up crown molding to give some character to your living room.

When you do something processor intensive, plug in the charger. Not only because this usually triggers a higher performance setting and give you more horse power to play with, but because when the battery is discharged at maximum rate it's more probable to overheat, and heat is a great enemy of Lithium-Ion.

There are two things that kill a notebook battery; heat and operating outside its voltage specifications, overcharge or undercharge in plain English. They are easy to avoid if you can identify the sources. Heat has two big group of players internal sources such as the processor graphics card hard disk drive and the internal lithium ion stocks resistance of the battery itself.

In case you some how do not use the battery for 3 months or more, the above described procedure should be followed before you restart using the battery as normal.

Avoid buying spares: Unlike wine and cheese, Li batteries do not improve with age. Avoid the temptation to buy spares, unless you use them frequently. Check the manufacture date, and never buy an old Lithium battery stocks, even if on sale.

My.Vu offers the Crystal which is an elegant Lithium mines Ontario hand-free viewing eyeware device with earbuds and VGA resolution and a USB rechargeable battery with up to hours viewing time.

Memory effect will reduce the life of a battery. Modern Lithium-ion batteries do not suffer from memory effect, although it does occur in Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) units when charged from levels other than 0% of battery capacity. If the (NiMH) unit was fully charged when initially at say 20% capacity, the resulting available capacity would only be 80% of the factory original. Of course every time you charged the battery, the total available capacity would reduce and eventually your mobile phone would prove to be increasingly useless. Nearly all new electronic devices are now powered by Lithium batteries. You should always condition your (NiMH) battery from new.

Grooming items are iffy but worth checking out. Shampoo is a decent find as are scrubbies/loofahs. Items like Chapstick and Vaseline can often be found there and my very favorite soap (Yardley oatmeal and almond) is almost always available at the dollar store. Nail files, packages of combs, tooth flossing sticks are of value. Skip the cotton swabs (too flimsy and could be dangerous), make-up (due to lack of regulation), and make-up remover pads (can I just say UGH!?).