After you’ve whipped up some stir-fry or fried an egg in butter or oil, it may seem silly to scrape away the little bit of oil in the pan into the trash. But oil, butter and other fats used for cooking should never be disposed of down the drain, no matter how small the amount. Over time, melted fat solidifies, collects and gels, clogging your drains and municipal sewer lines. Large pipes get clogged, and sewage can back up and overflow into the streets. So be sure to use a spatula to scrape all the fat into the trash.

Even the best vacuum will break down and need to be replaced. So what to do with your old one? You can recycle it. Best Buy will take your old vacuum (in addition to a whole host of other electronics) and recycle it, free of charge. Just bring it to one of the store's retail locations, and it'll handle the rest. And if you’re in the market for a new vacuum, follow Best Buy on social media (@bestbuy), where it periodically announces discounts if you recycle an electronic. A recent post offered a 20 percent discount on a new Dyson if you brought in your old vacuum to be recycled.

Most Little League Baseball groups have taken steps to ban metal baseball bats in games because they can cause extreme head injuries to players. And like most antiquated sporting equipment, these bats may be collecting dust in the basement or in the storage spaces of athletic groups. The good news? They are easily recyclable, since the majority of a metal bat is aluminum. To recycle them, all you have to do is remove the grip, which is likely to be plastic. Then toss the bat into your curbside recycling bin.