Inside tips on outside cookin’

This week, Life on Crypton is hosting an expert we think you’ll love to hear from. His name is Tom McNulty, the author of CLEAN LIKE A MAN – Housekeeping for Men (and the Women Who Love Them), the first housekeeping “how-to” manual written for, and by, the AverageJoe . Welcome, Tom!

July Fourth may be over, but there are plenty of summer picnics, cookouts and family reunions still ahead – complete with overturned plates of burgers and beans, colorful spilled drinks and condiments, and mini-moguls of post-meal trash.

Here are some Clean Like a Man tips for making faster, easier work of the outdoor events:

• Dads can assign each of the kids a job for either the prep or pickup part of the meal. One can bring out all the plates of meat destined for the BBQ, another can keep the cooler stocked, and several can fill garbage bags with debris before heading home.

• University of California-Riverside researchers say dads who help out with housekeeping are good role models for their kids – the children not only learn teamwork and responsibility, they do better in school and have more friends.

• To save garbage bags and be “green” too, re-use dry cleaner bags for trash. Just double them up for strength, tie them off at the bottom, and fill ‘em up.

• Another trash-saving idea? Freeze a two-liter bottle of water and use as an ice-pack in the cooler.

• The “barbie” at home was Sunday, but “garbie” pick-up isn’t ‘til Friday? Seal trash tightly in plastic bags, then toss them into the trashcan with a few cups of cat litter, which cuts odors.

• At 48×54”, Crypton Throvers make ideal outdoor tablecloths or picnic ground-cloths because they’re virtually impervious to moisture and stains – even tough ones like ketchup and mustard.

I hope these tips help you and your family enjoy “the best of the rest” of summer!

Tom McNulty lives in Minneapolis with his dog, Coco, who has an irrational fear of vacuums. For more manly cleaning advice, visit cleanlikeaman.com.