Random Advice

A significant percentage of this blog’s readership is still in school, so my hunch and hope is that many of these readers are still novice drinkers. So as I close out this week of random advice, let me offer one bit of wisdom that can carry you through the next 80 years, or at least this coming weekend:

__For every alcoholic drink, drink a glass of water.__

Do this and you will avoid 65 percent of drinking idiocy and embarrassment. It will pace you. It will dilute you. It will save you at least five pounds of the dreaded [freshman fifteen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freshman_fifteen), and lessen possible hangovers.

To be clear: I don’t mean drink a half-gallon of water before you go to bed. I mean that when the beer or cocktail you are holding is finished, you drink a glass of water. No glass? Then fill that beer can with water from the tap.

There is no magic here. Water doesn’t undo what you drank, so you’re still just as much a menace on the roads. But with less alcohol consumed over a longer period of time, you’re less likely to make dumb decisions about driving, dating and diet.

Two related notes:

* When asking for water at a bar, always tip the bartender.

* When someone says they don’t drink, leave it at that. There’s invariably a good reason, and it’s never your business.

This really feels like [LifeHacker](http://lifehacker.com/) advice, but trust me: this will save you hours of frustration and countless forgotten items.

Rather than use a sheet of blank paper to make a grocery list, start with a pre-printed list of all the things you would normally buy. Then just mark the things you need. Not only is it faster, but you’re much more likely to remember that you’re almost out of toothpaste and gin.

In our house, we keep the list as a spreadsheet in Google Docs. We have specific brands and aisle numbers noted so that either of us can get exactly the right thing.

The same technique works for packing lists. Make a list of everything you’re likely to need for any generic trip, then indicate quantities and special requirements. Do this, and you’ll remember to take both your prescriptions and your phone charger.

To get you started, here are .pdfs for our grocery and packing lists. I strongly encourage you to fashion your own in Excel, Numbers or Google Docs. Keep them up-to-date and handy.

* [Grocery List](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/groceries.pdf)

* [Packing List](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/packing_list.pdf)

Sneakers, gym shoes, tennis shoes, trainers — whatever you call them, those athletically-inclined shoes on your feet can probably be washed in the washing machine. Really. But almost no one I know does it.

Rather, most of my peers wear shoes until they get unacceptably dingy, then buy new shoes, on the mistaken belief that dirty shoes are “worn out.” But they’re probably not. They’re just dirty. So wash them.

* __First, take out the laces.__ You’ll wash the laces in the same load. They’ll get twisted and tangled no matter what you do. But they’ll get clean.

* __Take out the foam inserts.__ They won’t get clean, and might fall apart. Consider replacing them with new insoles.

* __Use half the normal amount of detergent.__ You won’t need more, because you’ll also…

* __Add one scoop of an oxygen bleach, like Oxy-Clean.__ This is the secret ingredient that makes them look new-ish.

* __Wash them on a normal cycle, warm water, with a towel to dampen some of the banging.__

* __Let them air-dry, unless you have a special rack for your dryer.__

I’ve had success with every pair of shoes I’ve washed, but can’t guarantee you’ll have the same luck. Leather, suede and such variants might dry out or crack. The worst-case scenario is that washing the shoes will cause them to fall apart or become unwearable. But considering they were more-or-less unwearable when you put them in the machine, that’s not such a loss.

Real running shoes — the kind you take out on the road — do have an expiration date, a point at which the the foam and shock-absorbing features break down. So keep in mind that washing these shoes could hasten their demise, or at least mask the signs. But once retired from “real” running, these shoes are probably fine for normal wear.

When your shoes finally pass into a zone where you just don’t want to wear them anymore, make sure to donate them to charity. Shoes that most Americans would consider worn-out are always needed in poorer parts of the world.