Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Sun Lite for March 15, 2004

Lisa Ferguson

Monday, March 15, 2004 | 8:17 a.m.

Another one bites the dust

Just when you thought it was safe to go outside and enjoy spring (which officially arrives Saturday, by the way), the neatniks at the Soap and Detergent Association are trying to pull you back inside.

The trade organization out of Washington, D.C., wants to get spring-cleaning chores under way and is advising people to follow its "Three D's": disinfect, deodorize and de-clutter.

So, drop that picnic basket and pick up a sponge it seems the closest brush with nature we'll experience will involve pine-scented cleanser and that green, fuzzy stuff taking root in the fridge.

The first "D" can be accomplished by dousing garbage cans with disinfectant spray each time each time they are emptied. Meanwhile, the association suggests, deodorize carpets, curtains and upholstered furniture with a "fabric-refresher" product. Finally, de-clutter areas where junk tends to accumulate, such as closets, and remove dust by wiping items with electrostatic dust sheets or mitts.

Money messes

Before declaring war on dust bunnies, however, consider tidying up another area of your life: your finances.

This message is being brought to you by Your Credit Card Companies, another group headquartered in the nation's capital, which is composed of financial-service companies (including MasterCard, Discover Card and Chase Manhattan Bank USA) and provides consumers with "resources" to assist in understanding how credit works. Its goal this season is to help people get "their financial houses intact" with a few simple, common-sense tips. Among them:

For more info, visit www.yourcreditcardcompanies.com.

In the stick of it

Of course, if you're the understanding parent of a high school senior, chances are you may need to whip out those credit cards later this spring to help him or her pay for their all-important prom attire.

On the other hand, if you're looking to save a few bucks, convince Bobby and/or Becky to skip the penguin suits and satin skirts, and instead visit the hardware store where they can pick up the equipment necessary to create duds themselves out of what else? duct tape.

This marks the fourth year the makers of Duck-brand tape will crown one high-school couple king and queen in its Stuck at the Prom Scholarship Contest. The task: Fashion formal attire entirely from the company's line of tape (which, by the way, is available in 18 colors and patterns). Both members of the first-place-winning couple will receive $2,500 college scholarships.

Entries will be judged on workmanship, originality, creative use of accessories and, naturally, the amount of tape used in the clothes' creation. Last year's winners 16-year-old Margaret Roberts and Tyler Mickley, 17, of West Point High School in West Point, Va. unrolled a whopping 540 feet of the stuff to create their starburst-themed dress and suit.

An entry form (available at www.ducktapeclub.com) and a photo of the contestants donning their formal wear must be submitted to the website by June 11 or sent to and received by Henkel Consumer Adhesives Inc., 32150 Just Imagine Drive, Avon, OH 44011-1355. The winning couple will be announced in July.