An alternative way to steam open an envelope, with less steam, is to use your clothes iron. It works in a similar way, but can be less messy and easier than using a kettle or a stove. Simply heat up your iron as if you were ironing some shirts and get your sealed envelope ready. Check the surface is clean with nothing that might mark the envelope. Place your envelope on a surface that will not burn or scorch under a heated iron, an ironing board is ideal. Be sure that you have the side of the envelope with the opening flap and seal facing up towards the iron. With the iron on a medium-low temperature, pass it over the envelope backwards and forwards gently pressing down. The heat from the iron will melt the adhesive that holds the envelope's sealing flap down. If the iron temperature is high the glue will melt quicker, but you risk burning or scorching the envelope, so don't rush it. As with the other steaming techniques, once the glue has been melted you can carefully slide a dull knife under the flap and ease the envelope open. It's best not to use a sharper knife as there is a greater risk of you tearing or damaging the envelope. As always, don't force it open if it is still sticking, instead give it some more time in the heat.

Summary: Put some water in your iron and plug it in. Put the envelope on a suitable surface. Iron your letter. Using a flat blade, break the seal.

Go through your list of items and begin filling in descriptions. This will help you get organized before taking your inventory counts. When looking over your items and filling in your descriptions, start organizing your items into groups to make counting stock faster. There are multiple ways you can do this. Organize your stock room by item alphabetically. Pull the items you have an excess of into the front. Order them by serial number. Inventory reports should be filled out on a consistent basis: weekly, monthly, or annually. Be sure to label the time frame that you're using before taking count of your items. Go through your inventory and list the amount of stock you have for each item. Be sure to label your stock review with a unit of measurement if needed. Also, list "0" for any items that you've run out of. Don't leave the space empty. Once you've filled out your inventory report, double check your stock review. A proper review will give an accurate account of expenses, stock items, and damaged items. If everything is accounted for and labeled properly, sign and date the report.

Summary: Fill out descriptions. Select a time frame. List inventory. Sign and date.

Keep track of the length of this side so you can make all four sides the same length. Thus the end points of the side drawn in the previous step would also be the two vertices of these right angles. Join these two points. Erase any extraneous constructions if you so wish.

Summary: Draw a side of the square using ruler. Considering the side drawn in the previous step as one of the arms, construct a right angle on each end of it. Mark a point on each of the newly drawn arms (of the two right angles), at a distance (measured from the respective vertex of the right angle) which is same as the length of the side drawn initially. You just drew a perfect square!

This cylinder can be either glass or plastic, and should be at least 12 inches tall. The shape is important: if the top is wider than the bottom (or narrower) it will require much more calculation and measurement. It doesn't actually matter how wide container is, so long as it's the same diameter all the way through. As the volume of the container gets biggerfrom say, a coke can to a mop bucketso does the area which collects the rain. Because of this, one inch of rainfall will be recorded consistently between cylinders of varying sizes. If you don't have a cylinder on hand, you can make an equally effective gauge with an empty 2-liter soda bottle and little work. Using scissors or a knife, cut the top 4 inches of the bottle off. Don't worry about the uneven bottom of the bottle. That will be taken care of in the next step. Because rain will often be accompanied by wind, you'll want to steady your gauge so that it can stay upright through a storm. Fill the bottom with pebbles or marbles, but don't go higher than an inch or so. Once that's been done, you'll want to fill your container with water, to provide a level starting point for your scale. Your weights will be taking up volume, and so we don't want them included in the measurable area. Rocks, stones, marbles: any small, relatively heavy objects will do, as long as it won't absorb any of the water. If you've created your own gauge with a soda bottle, make sure the entire bottom (the four separated points of the base) is filled with water and stones, to provide a flat starting point for your scale. As an alternative to placing pebbles in your gauge, you could place it within a sturdy container, such as a heavy bucket or flowerpot. This can be done with a waterproof sharpie. Hold a ruler or measuring tape up against your bottle, and line its zero up with the current water level of your gauge. Your scale's zero should also be at this water level. If you've opted to go pebble-free and are going to place your rain gauge inside a flower pot, you won't have any water in your gauge yet. In this case, zero will be at the bottom of your container. You need level ground to lessen the chance of your gauge tipping over. Ensure your gauge has no obstructions above it, e..g trees or eaves, as these will disrupt your measurements.
Summary: Find a clear, cylindrical container. Make a container. Weigh your gauge down with pebbles. Inscribe a scale upon your container. Place it under the open sky, on level ground.