Splish splash…washing sandy garden or farmer's market greens (herbs, spinach, collard greens, etc.) can be messy business.  Trim stems and place greens in a salad spinner basket-don't overfill it.  Fill the base of the spinner with water and swish the basket around; lift out the basket and change the water (this could also be done in a deep sink).  Repeat as many times as necessary to clean greens-then spin dry.

Billing burdens…think carefully about the rate you charge for your services.  Whether you charge an hourly or daily fee, be sure you cover your basic business expenses-mileage, telephone, answering service, pager or cell phone, internet or e-mail service, basic kit replacement costs, etc.  Clients do not want to see every little expense spelled out on your invoice, so your rate needs to cover these common business expenditures.  We recommend using a mileage log for your car; at the end of the day deducting business mileage from your taxes is easier than billing for it on each job.  Of course, there may be extenuating circumstances for some jobs that require extraordinary travel; these costs should be negotiated up front.  If you must pay for parking when on a job, we do think this can be billed with grocery expenses.

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