Buying ice each day for a road trip or camping journey can be such a pain. Consider (safely) using dry ice as an alternative.

Do you take reusable shopping bags with you when you do your grocery shopping? The first step is to start keeping the bags in the trunk of your car. Eventually, even if you forget that they're there for the first few times, you'll gradually get into the habit of bringing them into the store with you. Some grocers will give their shoppers a discount for bringing in their own bags, but even if they don't, you'll probably get the warm and fuzzy feeling of self-satisfaction from helping the environment.

Once you're in the habit of bringing in canvas bags, it shouldn't be much of a stretch to add a cooler bag to your collection, which will keep frozen foods, fresh produce and refrigerated products protected from the heat of the car - an especially useful feature for a hot summer day or any time that you have a long commute. This particular insulated bag is helpfully labeled, and has sturdy wooden handles that make it easy to carry.

Summer means hot, sunny days and, if you live near the coast, day trips to the beach. You spend the morning prepping food and snacks, toss them into a cooler with lots of ice and hit the road. Most of the beaches out here - the good ones, anyway - don't offer a lot in the way of vendors, so except for the occasional hot dog stand or ice cream truck, you're on your own for beach-friendly sustenance. Fortunately, there are many good choices and here are a few that surfaced in our minds when we started to think about heading out for some fun in the sun (Besides, I had so much fun with the egg puns, that I couldn't resist...).

• Sandwiches - Portable and versatile, you'll be able to find something everyone likes, but keep them in a cooler unless you're sticking to peanut butter and jelly
• Sunchips - Multigrain chips that are less greasy, and more flavorful, than regular chips

These insulated six-pack holders are perfect for road trips. Unlike a cooler or ice chest, they take up no trunk space, but still keep drinks nice and cold. They'll retain heat for hot drinks, too, but I can't think of too many bottled hot drinks that you'd want to carry around. The totes ($20) can hold both bottles and cans, since the neoprene pockets are stretchy, and the ergonomic handle makes the holders to carry if you want to take it to a ballgame or on a hike.

But I'm sure you don't need my suggestions to come up with places that you'd like to take a six-pack to, right?

This drink cooler is a neat thing to have for a number of reasons. This giant red wine glass can, of course, act as a cooler for wines, sodas and beer at parties, but it can also serve as a prop for improve comics or be used as an actual glass for those who like their drinks strong. Really, really strong. The cooler is very stable and made of acrylic, so you don't have to worry about it breaking in the event that someone knocks into it. It can fit at least 5 bottles of wine, in addition to ice, and at least a dozen sodas.

Incidentally, I am amused that though the cooler is named after its red wine glass shape, it is being used to chill several bottles of white wine. Perhaps an alternative name could be the Giant White Wine Red Wine Stem Cooler, or is that getting too silly?