Did you or your family members participate in sports or showing animals? If you have participation ribbons collecting dust or stashed away in a box in the attic, you can recycle them. The nonprofit organization Ribbon Recycling wants your used show ribbons. It cleans them up and distributes them to organizations that use horse therapy (through riding) to help people with developmental disabilities. Since many of these groups are fully staffed by volunteers, they do not have the funds to award ribbons. This is a way to reuse your old ribbons for something good. Learn more at ribbonrecycling.com.

The average amount of time we spend in the shower is about 10 minutes, which is about five minutes too long. But it's understandable: It's hard to tell how long you've been in the shower ... unless you time it. Bring the kitchen timer into the bathroom and set it to five minutes. When your time is up, so is your shower. You can also sync your smartphone to a speaker and suds up to your favorite song. The average showerhead uses about 5 gallons of water per minute, so reducing your shower time saves 25 gallons per shower, per person.

Appliances are not built to last forever, and eventually they need to be replaced. Think about your washing machine or dishwasher: They are some of the biggest users of water in the home and can become less efficient and technologically outdated the older they get. The rule of thumb is this: If either of these is more than 10 years old, consider getting them replaced. New appliances feature new technology that not only uses significantly less water, but also does a better job at cleaning your clothes and dishes. Just switching to a new model dishwasher can save you as much as 25 gallons of water per load.