12/12/13

Since 2005, office supply store Staples has been accepting old ink and toner cartridges for recycling and rewarded customers with $2 in store credit for each one. Now there’s no need to visit a store to recycle. Visit Staples.com, and you can recycle your used ink and other toner cartridges through its online recycling program. It’s simple: You can recycle up to 10 cartridges at a time, and Staples will provide a free prepaid shipping label to ship the store the cartridges. And you still get the $2 reward for each item you recycle.

12/11/13

Here’s a simple way to create a fire starter to get your wood-burning fireplace roaring this winter season: Save cardboard tubes from toilet paper and fill them with dryer lint and shredded paper, like brown kraft paper or junk mail. Roll the tubes in a sheet of scrap paper and tie each end with natural twine or jute. Place the package under the wood in the fireplace and light the ends; the slow-burning fire starters will give a constant flame to the firewood so it has a chance to catch.

12/10/13

Many DIY winter bird-feeding projects involve taking a piece of bread -- like a stale bagel -- and coating it in peanut butter and bird seed to hang from a tree. Top bird experts agree that this practice should be avoided because the bread offers few nutrients to birds; they need fat to survive, not carbohydrates. If you want to help, you can still coat natural peanut butter and seed all over a pinecone and hang that from a tree; it’ll provide valuable nutrition without carbo-loading our feathered friends.