EARTH SMART

        Prize garbage: Garbage dreams netted University of Cincinnati senior Philip Madden $1,000 and a ticket to the Chicago International Housewares Show at McCormack Place Sunday through Tuesday.

        He dreamed up an indoor composting system that won one of three third-place finishes in the association's student design competition. In his Isis-Indoor Composting System, users place vegetable and organic kitchen waste in an enzyme-lined recyclable bag that would break down the organic waste very quickly for use in the garden or flower boxes.

        “The real use for me, though, is for urban environments where people would put their compost bag out with regular recyclables. The city would then collect it and use it or sell it to farmers or gardeners generating income. The homeowner would then collect a coupon that they could use to reduce garbage pick-up costs,” he says.

        At the Chicago show, the Toledo native, 22, hopes to “generate a little more awareness of green waste as a product idea and make a lot of contacts” for future jobs with the expected 60,000 show visitors.

WISE BUYS

        Squngee jumping: Squirrels can tickle your funny bone with their acrobatic feats — when they are not stealing vittles meant for your backyard winged friends. Wild About Birds in Milford has a device called the Squngee (pronounced like bungee) that will lure squirrels away from your feeder and provide entertainment at the same time. Just attach an ear of dried corn to the cable at the end of the 46-inch line and hang from a tree away from your feeder so the bottom is about a foot or two above ground. When squirrels jump up to grab the cob, a spring in the center (covered by a cloth) causes the bushy-tailed visitor to boing up and down about 12 to 18 inches while they spin, swing and nibble. $12.99. For photos and a video, visit www.squngee.com.

        House help from "Today': Welcoming houseguests the day after Christmas is bad news, especially if you've got three messy boys, a dog and a cat. But that's what June and David Josephson of Lebanon did when they opened the doors of their 100-year-old farmhouse to the Today Show for some lessons on getting organized.

        For the Jan. 4 segment, the show brought in experts who helped shape up Mrs. Josephson's closet, kitchen, home office and garage. A little more than two weeks later, she's still at it, “moving on to the kids closets. Most of the things were simple, inexpensive suggestions anybody can do,” she says, like using 2-by-4s cut to cabinet length in the kitchen to create levels so you can see what's in back and getting kids involved so they are proud of their work and want to put things away.

        She uses the SPACE system from professional organizer Julie Morgenstern, author of Organizing From the Inside Out. “S for getting everything out and sorting through, P is purge or throw away what you don't use, A is assign, find a place for everything, C is for containers and E is for equalize, put it all together and use it. So far, it's working,” she says.

SHOP TALK

        Martha moves in: It was inevitable. Martha Stewart has entered the furniture business. Furniture Today industry weekly reports that the design queen is lending her name to a high-end furniture collection by Bernhardt. Shaw Industries also has agreed to develop a floor covering line for the Martha Stewart Signature brand of home products. The new lines are expected to be introduced in October and available in early 2003.

        Contact Joy Kraft by phone: 768-8467; fax: 768-8330; e-mail: jkraft@enquirer.com.

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