The same delicious fats, oils, and grease that make Thanksgiving dishes so rich and flavorful also pose a hidden threat to your home's plumbing and the community's sewer lines. When washed down the drain, these seemingly harmless substances—found ... READ MORE
Category: Home Management, UF/IFAS Extension, Water
Have you ever gone outside at night and wished you could see more stars? In the United States, 99% of the public cannot experience a natural night sky because of light pollution (Dark Sky, 2016). Light pollution is caused by inefficient ... READ MORE
Category: Home Management, Money Matters, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife, Work & Life
Ants afoot in your kitchen? Perhaps a cockroach or two crawling across your garage? Or...egad, a rat rifling around your pantry? Well, while these experiences may happen to the best of us on occasion, they are certainly less than welcome. The ... READ MORE
Category: Home Landscapes, Home Management, Invasive Species, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife
A Short History of the Energy Upgrade Program The Energy Upgrade program was established in 2012 to educate homeowners in Sarasota County on energy and water efficiency. In 2016, based on community research, the program expanded to include ... READ MORE
Category: Community Volunteers, Home Management, Money Matters, Professional Development![a mound of canned food products. [credit: unsplash, jacob mcgowin]](https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasotaco/files/2025/03/2025_FCS_cannedFoodAssortedPile_unsplashJacobMcGowinCROP1650x470TINY.png)
Want to save money on your grocery bill? Well, saving money on your grocery bill actually starts with your pantry and refrigerator. Knowing what foods and ingredients are already in your pantry and knowing what is about to expire means that ... READ MORE
Category: Food Safety, Health & Nutrition, Home Management, Money Matters, Work & Life
Mold Detection Molds are a type of fungi that are nearly invisible to the naked eye...until that is, they begin to "fruit." While this "fruit" is about as far from an apple as you can get, it does serve the same purpose in helping the fungus ... READ MORE
Category: Disaster Preparation, Home Management, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Work & Life
As our community continues to recover from recent storms, find helpful resources and information at tiny.cc/ufsaraext_disasterprep, tiny.cc/saraco_disasterprep, and scgov.net/government/emergency-services/storm. This blog is part of ... READ MORE
Category: Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Home Management, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife
As our community continues to recover from recent storms, find helpful resources and information at tiny.cc/ufsaraext_disasterprep, tiny.cc/saraco_disasterprep, and scgov.net/government/emergency-services/storm. This blog is part of ... READ MORE
Category: Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Home Management, Lawn, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife
As our community continues to recover from recent storms, find helpful resources and information at tiny.cc/ufsaraext_disasterprep, tiny.cc/saraco_disasterprep, and scgov.net/government/emergency-services/storm. This blog is part of ... READ MORE
Category: Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Home Management, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife
As our community continues to recover from recent storms, find helpful resources and information at tiny.cc/ufsaraext_disasterprep, tiny.cc/saraco_disasterprep, and scgov.net/government/emergency-services/storm. This blog is part of ... READ MORE
Category: Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Home Management, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife