Illustration: Mark Matcho for Newsweek

Working part time can be good for your life and your checking account. But you need to know how to do it.

Louise Richardson of Parker, Colo., likes to work. But with four teenagers in her house and a firefighter for a husband, she prefers to do it part time. Through a placement service called 10 til 2, she landed a 15-hour-a-week job as an event planner. “It’s given us more financial freedom. My kids don’t see me as the person who cooks and cleans all day. But they also see that my family is my priority,” she says. “It allows you to have that balance between work and family.”

More than 25 million Americans—twice as many women as men—work part time. They’re moms, dads, retirees and people who are sick of the rat race. Employers are making it easier to work fewer hours: 36 percent now give employees the chance to work part time, according to a survey of 90 employers released last week by Hewitt Associates, a human-resources consulting company. The survey also found that 31 percent of employers now offer flextime, 46 percent permit job sharing and 39 percent allow telecommuting. TIP SHEET gives some tips on how to work part time successfully:

Not so long ago, ecofriendly cleaning products were expensive, didn’t work as well as regular cleaners and were available only in health-food stores. No longer. That’s good news for the environment and for anyone who’s ever gotten a headache from scrubbing the bathroom with traditional cleaners. “People who clean houses for a living have twice the rate of asthma,” says Alexandra Scranton, director of science and research at Women’s Voices for the Earth.

Even Clorox has gotten the message. In January, it launched an ecofriendly line called Green Works, which includes toilet-bowl, glass and all-purpose surface cleaners. Made with lemon oil, citric acid and coconut-derived surfactants, Green Works carries the EPA’s Design for the Environment logo. Last month the Sierra Club put its logo on the products, too, having vetted the ingredients, production process and even the source of the ingredients ($2.99 to $3.39 wherever Clorox is sold).

Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Pa.: Climb to the top of three large treehouses (one is handicapped-accessible) and look out over some of the garden’s 1,050 acres. Through Nov. 23. Price: $16 for adults, $6 for kids over 4 (longwood gardens.org).

Oregon Zoo, Portland, Ore.: Go back millions of years with an outdoor exhibit of 14 dinosaur species that roar, snarl and move; open May 17 through Labor Day. Walk through a rain forest and dig for “fossils.” Price: $4 plus regular zoo admission—$9.75 for adults, $6.75 for kids 3 and up (www.oregonzoo.org).

Subaru enthusiasts love their machines. While the redesigned Forester may keep them happy, it probably won’t attract converts. This compact crossover is loaded with cargo space and new safety features, but its pronounced sluggishness is a deal breaker.

Engine: The standard motor screams on hilly ascents but fails to gain any momentum. The 2.5-liter, 170hp boxer engine just doesn’t cut it. A larger turbocharged engine with 224hp is available.

Rent “I’m Not There,” Todd Haynes’s playful, puzzling fantasia on the slippery myth of Bob Dylan, out Tuesday on DVD. He casts six actors, including the astonishing Cate Blanchett, to represent both real and imaginary aspects of the icon.

Hear “Les Artistes,” by Santogold, on myspace.com/ santogold. Singer Santi White offers fresh, addictive beats infused with an ’80s vibe. On an album where each track differs from the last, blending new wave with soul, Santogold is the funk “it” girl to watch. Play it once, then hit repeat.