If you brew a pot of coffee every morning and have leftover java, save the brew to give your grill a good cleaning. The natural acids in coffee help break down grease, grime and other baked-on messes that have collected on your grill grates. Just pour lots of leftover coffee into a basin and soak the grill grates. Let them sit overnight, and rinse them off the next day. They'll be clean and ready for some barbecue.

In the spring and summer months, you may keep lighter fluid or oil for tiki torches outdoors to make last-minute backyard soirees a breeze to put together. But these items are considered hazardous chemicals and should not be stored outside. According to the EPA, hazardous chemicals should be stored in covered areas to avoid rainfall. When rainwater mixes with flammable or toxic chemicals, it can carry the chemical mixture into the ground or make it nearly impossible to clean up.

A common barrier to recycling in the bathroom is the fact that most homeowners have a recycling bin only in their kitchen or garage. Luckily, there are many easy fixes to make recycling that shampoo bottle a routine habit. One way is to conceal plastic bins inside stylish baskets. Look for inexpensive recycling bins and find baskets that the bins fit snugly inside. If your bathroom has the space, designate one bin for extra storage (rolls of toilet paper or extra towels) and the other for recyclables. My go-to website, CareToRecycle.com, has tons more tips on how to be a more efficient recycler.