Article: The internet has made shopping so easy you can add to your collection from the comfort of your own home. Start by looking in online forums; collectors are often willing to trade for new items or to sell items they currently own. Ebay is a great place to look for pieces. You can pay outright for items, or bid slowly to try to get the best deal possible. The con to using Ebay is that you don't get to see the item in person before purchasing. Craigslist is a great option to buy pieces as well. You can search by your location, or if you're willing to travel a little further, you can expand your search to a nearby state. The added benefit of shopping on Craigslist is you get to see the item in person before committing to buying that item. While most mainstream stores won't carry the niche pieces you're looking for, there are still plenty of places to look. Try visiting Flea Markets in your area, as well as antique stores and thrift stores. On weekends, visit garage and estate sales. Finally, check online to see if there will be any collector shows happening in your area. Collector shows are great ways to meet people within your collection community, and possibly get a new piece out of the deal. When shopping at antique or thrift stores, make sure you dig through every item. The gold is often buried amongst the garbage. Arrive early at garage and estate sales; the best pieces tend to go early. Come back on Sunday, sometimes the owners of the sale will drop their prices to rid themselves of their inventory. Collecting can be an expensive hobby and many people dive right in. Instead, start off slow and aim to only pick up a few pieces each year. This will prevent you from wasting money, burning out and ending up with a lot of items you don't need or value. Consider only adding to your collection while on vacation. This way, you tie pieces of your collection to fun memories from your travels. Collect from experiences. Pick a collection that doesn't cost any money. Consider collecting matchbooks from restaurants or coasters from bars. Collect seashells from your beach vacations or rocks from cool hikes. Your collection doesn't have to be expensive to have personal value. When adding to your collection, learn a fact about the item you're adding. This will give you something to talk about when showing off your collection to others and will also make the collection experience more personal for you. When shopping for pieces, stock up on extras whenever you can. You can use these duplicates as leverage when trading with other collectors. Part of having a collection is refining it. Edit out old pieces you no longer care about to make room for new ones. Sell the old ones on Craigslist or Ebay, or take them to a pawnshop to have them appraised. Use the money you earn to add a new piece to your collection.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Shop for pieces online. Shop for items in person. Start cheap and work your way up. Know your items.
Article: You might be able to buy some duckweed from pet stores in your area. Otherwise, you can take it from a pond it's growing in. Fill your container with some water from the pond. Then scoop some duckweed from the pond with your hand and place the duckweed into your container. Place the lid on the container to prevent splashing while you bring the duckweed home. Between 50-100 duckweed pods will be enough as they will grow and multiply quickly. You'll need potassium permanganate to disinfect the duckweed. Mix one teaspoon of this chemical in 12 gallons (45L) of water. Place the duckweed into the permanganate solution for 30 seconds or so. Potassium permanganate can be bought at your local pharmacy. Disinfecting the duckweed will make sure that it is free of pests and bacteria. This will help you create a suitable environment for the duckweed to thrive in. Fill the tray with freshwater and add the duckweed to it. Use freshwater from a pond for best results but you can also use tap water. You need to use freshwater as duckweeds are freshwater plants. This is why they only grow in ponds and not at sea. Salt water will kill the duckweed. The best place to put the tray is right next to a window that receives at least 10 hours of sunlight each day. Like many plants, duckweed will thrive in direct sunlight. If you see duckweed in a pond, notice how the pond is almost completely without any shade and receiving plenty of sunlight. If you can't put duckweed near a window that receives 10 hours of sunlight, you can also use fluorescent light bulbs to help them grow. For best results, place the light bulbs 15 inches (38cm) above the tray. The duckweed won't grow under these light bulbs as well as it would with direct sunlight. Check the tray a couple of times a day and remove damaged duckweed from the tray. Replace the water in the tray with more freshwater. It will take 10 days or so for the duckweed to multiply. If transferring the duckweed to a pond in your garden, make sure that the pond is receiving plenty of sunlight. If you're moving the duckweed to an aquarium, make sure that the aquarium lid has a light source attached to it. Duckweed requires no further care or maintenance once it's in your pond or aquarium. You can get a suitable net in your local garden store.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Buy some duckweed at a pet store or harvest it from a pond. Disinfect the duckweed with potassium permanganate. Place the duckweed in a plastic tray with 1214 inches (3036cm) of depth. Position the tray so it receives 10 hours of sunlight daily. Change the water in the tray after 1 week. Use a net to transfer the multiplied duckweed to your desired location.