When installing new carpet in a home, that smell that comes from carpet is actually something called a volatile organic compound, or a VOC. The VOCs come from the glues and dyes used to make the carpet and can lead to poor indoor air quality. One way to help lessen your exposure to VOCs is to ask the carpet installer to unroll and air out the carpet for 48 hours at their warehouse before bringing it to your home. This will help significantly reduce the amount of VOCs released in your house.

One of the biggest users of energy in the kitchen is the oven, but if you have to use it to cook something tasty, be sure it is working as efficiently as possible. Remove the drip pans and grate and give them a good soaking with baking soda and white vinegar. Then wipe the grime away, rinse them with running water and wipe them dry before placing back in the oven. Clean surfaces mean your oven will heat up more quickly and be more efficient, so be sure to make cleaning the inside a regular part of your schedule.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says there are anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 commercial facilities around the country that breed dogs -- you might know these places as puppy mills. Here, thousands of dogs spend their entire lives being used to breed puppies, which are then sold to pet shops through a broker and marketed to the public. If you object to puppy mills, one step you can make to help end this abuse and neglect is to not buy dogs from a pet store and also to not buy any merchandise from pet shops that sell puppies from breeders. Instead, buy supplies from stores that support the adoption of dogs and cats instead.