The How to Get Rid of Things Blog

A few months ago, after being inundated with credit and loan offers, I decided it was time for me to learn how to get rid of junk mail. Unlike unsolicited emails - or spam - junk mail comes with the onus of disposal, and I have enough trouble recycling the rubbish I intentionally bring into my home. Through my quest to liberate my mailbox, I learned that this hassle was relatively innocuous compared to other aspects of the invasive business. First of all, your personal information is being tossed around like poker chips at a table full of drunks. Businesses large and small are buying, selling, renting, and trading your information without your permission, and they get their grubby hands on it in countless ways. Because of this, the business of junk mail exposes you to identity theft . What’s more, 100 million trees are cut down annually to produce junk mail - the majority of which ends up in landfills. Read my latest article on how to get rid of junk mail to keep your information safe, the planet less disgusting, and your sanity intact.

Barking Mad, a self-described mommy blogger, recently posted a write-up of How to Get Rid of Things, How to Clean Things and some of our smaller projects. This woman should be writing for the Washington Post. She’s good. Maybe I’m just biased because the article focuses a lot on me, Captain Important. Anyway, go check out her article and then make your way through the rest of her site. She’s becoming quite the accomplished photographer and an incredibly dedicated member of the blogosphere.

Thanks, Aud!

My introduction to trojan horses came last year as I tried to download a patch to one of my computer games. Instead of using the game’s website - which was obnoxiously slow - I haphazardly downloaded what appeared to be the patch from Limewire. I was impatient to play, and I paid for it. Instantly my screen was filled with pop-ups and a thousand different windows that couldn’t be closed. This trojan was designed to annoy and was relatively innocuous, considering that many are engineered to steal personal information or turn your computer into a disease-spreading zombie - not to mention give control of your machine to a basement-dwelling misanthrope. I’ve learned much about this type of malware since the Greeks fooled me. There is no “one way” to get rid of trojans, but rather many methods that work for specific infections.  Read my latest article to learn how to go about trojan removal, as well as what steps to take in preventing infection.

Things have been a bit hectic for me as of late, and I haven’t been as diligent in my attention to household cleaning as I should. Well, after finding a writhing, living garbage bag in my garage, I made a solemn vow to change. If I hadn’t left a rancid trash bag in ninety-degree heat for a week, I wouldn’t have had to get rid of maggots. Flies are drawn to the odor of decay and neglect, and they found just that at my place. Luckily, my maggot infestation was small and relatively easy to cope with. In my latest article, you can learn how to get rid of maggots with or without the use of chemicals, but you’ll find that dealing with them is mostly about prevention.

Fleas are a tricky bunch, and I don’t think I need to add that they are a main source of horror for dogs and dog owners alike. The tricky part: there can be a million of them, and they can get anywhere and everywhere because they are small and because they take various forms (adult, egg, larvae, pupae) that aid in their elusiveness. Even if yours has not yet had them, it’s good to know how to get rid of fleas on dogs because - besides that they can cause some serious problems - it’s not fun to be outsmarted by a flea. My favorite way to get rid of them? A flea trap. You can kill two, er, fleas with one little dish of water: you catch some fleas, and you get to satisfy that slightly evil, conniving side of yourself. You can even stake out the area, maybe film the massacre as a precautionary tale for other bold fleas. For how to make a flea trap and other ways to get rid of fleas on dogs, check out my latest article.

The words inspire dread and often a shudder: back acne. Use the term “bacne” and you may even draw a grimace. It’s one of those personal hygiene situations that doesn’t get talked about much, though we’ve all had it - unless some among us have made a deal with the gods. Exactly how acne gets all the way to our backs is questionable: genetics, hormones, chocolate bars, bad luck….no one knows for sure. So instead, most experts agree that rather than dwell on the causes, it’s better to concentrate on ways to get rid of back acne. In my latest article, I go through some possible ways to prevent back acne, but I focus on the best steps to take once it’s decided that your back is a cozy place to hang out. If you’ve been in pain because of the deep cysts that can accompany back acne, or if you’re depressed, or even if you just can’t wait to finally wear that hot new tank top, check out how to get rid of back acne.

The question is as old the study of dermatology itself: should that pulsating whitehead be popped, or is it best to let it run its course? When I used to get whiteheads, invariably someone with flawless, unblemished skin would warn me, sternly but not without compassion, that popping whiteheads would leave scars and make my acne worse. I’ve always waited until my whiteheads are ripe before harvesting, but I refuse to let them “run their natural course” - which may include growing tremendously large, feeding on my face, and then laying eggs in my brain. At the very least, I would tire of seeing the flustered look of a barely suppressed vomit on the faces of passersby. No thank you; I choose to get rid of whiteheads. That being said, there are good ways and very, very bad ways to do this job. Read my latest article to learn how to get rid of whiteheads safely and effectively.

“Hi. My name is Eric…and I have IBS. My back end has been clean for 4 hours and 18 minutes.” While I have not joined a support group for IBS sufferers, they are out there, in groves. And “why?” you ask. Because there are lots of us out there, it’s a huge pain in the ass (sorry, I had to…) and people have a tendency to think they’re alone. Well, you’re not. Not only do I have a couple friends who suffer from it, but I’ve been dealing with it myself for about 11 years. For reasons of embarrassment, I didn’t bother to get help for it until about three years ago. And let me tell you, it was the best thing I’ve ever done for myself. After my visit to the doctor, I really started to look into things I could do to make my life a little easier. Nowadays, while I am not totally cured, life is considerably more pleasant. And for this reason, I decided to put the rest of my embarrassment aside and put this article together. In it, you will find ways to help your IBS through life style changes, supplements, IBS drugs and natural IBS remedies. So have a look at How to Get Rid of IBS and let me know what you think.

There are armies of lab-coated, Ivy League graduates working tirelessly in secret underground labs to solve the problem as we speak. No, I’m not talking about global warming. These scientists are working on how to stop hair loss, which, though untold millions would celebrate the day a cure is found, isn’t even classified as a disease. One doesn’t lose strength, youth, or virility with hereditary hair loss. What is lost is a person’s sense of well being and self-confidence. Unfortunately, there is a finite number of real solutions out there, but an unending ocean of products and services. Don’t give false hope to unproven solutions - read my latest article to find out the real pathways to a thicker head of hair.

If you’ve got psoriasis, your main problem (after you figure out how to spell it) is probably trying to discover ways to relieve your symptoms. Or maybe you’re not sure whether or not you have psoriasis but have spots on your arms, or your back, that are making you itch like a maniac. My latest article on how to get rid of psoriasis touches on everything from the five main types of psoriasis to the latest, most promising treatments. Although the exact causes of psoriasis are unknown, a person’s environment is believed to be a factor. Check out the lifestyle behaviors that tend to trigger a psoriasis outbreak - see if there are any that you can change or do without. Also remember: if your psoriasis is causing you extreme sadness or anxiety, please seek help. There are many support groups and organizations for people who suffer from psoriasis.