12/8/13

Sure, you could recycle your old wine cork collection into a wreath, bathmat or handy kitchen trivet, but if you aren’t crafty or don't have the time, you can also recycle them for free. Whole Foods Markets have partnered with Cork ReHarvest to collect real corks in all of its stores. Simply drop your collection of wine corks into the box, and it'll handle the rest: Old corks are ground up and made into new products like recycled flooring tiles. With more than 13 billion wine corks made every year, it’s important to save and recycle your corks to help cut down on waste. To learn more, visit corkforest.org.

12/7/13

Millions of people visit our national parks every year, and the U.S. National Park Service has some easy tips for how you can help preserve them when you visit. While an unusual rock, gorgeous flower, starfish or even shed antlers found in the woods may seem like the perfect souvenir to bring home -- don’t. Not only is it illegal, but imagine if every person who visited the park took just one thing: It would significantly degrade the park and impact wild animals. Instead of driving to a park and fighting for a parking space, research if commuter buses exist that can drive you to and from the park. Less traffic, less hassle -- and you’ll have more time to enjoy your visit to the park.

12/6/13

If bringing outdoor plants indoors to protect them from the cold winter months is out of the question, plant them in the ground instead. Leaving container plants in their pots -- plastic, ceramic or terra cotta -- is a guaranteed death sentence. As the temperatures dip, their roots will freeze, and even the hardiest of plants will die. If it’s impossible to transfer them into the ground, transfer your container plants to a warmer area, like a garage, and cover them with burlap or an old bed sheet. Come spring, your plants will thrive and bring you beautiful flowers.