“A pattern can be called a pattern only if it has been applied to a real world solution at least three times,” according to the rule of three.
The power of three is universal, representing body, mind and soul. From three piece suits to tricycles and BLTs, wonderful things come in threes.
And, as it turns out, if you try something three times you may find nearly magical results. It’s easy. If you can do it three times, soon it will be six, and nine, and a dozen. What you may think, at first, you can’t do three times — you will be doing fifteen times before you know it.
This time of year, many of us are making good use of our wood stoves, which creates a lot of ash. Using only cooled ashes, try these three suggestions below.
3 Things to do with your fireplace ashes
- Enrich compost: while this isn’t ideal for all plants or all gardens, depending on the content of your soil, it can be useful and is said to be especially good for tomatoes.
- Melt ice: on the driveway or stairs, try adding some cooled wood ash for additional traction.
- Dissuade pests: place some ash on the perimeter of your garden beds, taking care with your soil content — snails and slugs don’t like it!
Have you tried using ashes around the house? There are scores of ways. We’d love to hear your ideas.
Sources: This Old House, New Life on a Homestead, Old Farmer’s Almanac
Lisa Wobler teaches yoga and owns Yosemite Dreams.
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