We often hear about volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the importance of reducing our exposure to them. These are chemicals that are commonly found in things like paint, carpeting and furniture that vaporize easily into pollutants. VOCs can make you and your family sick and contribute to an unhealthy indoor air environment. One way to minimize your exposure is to let new furniture off-gas before bringing it indoors. Leave new cabinets and couches in the garage for a few days to let the VOCs vaporize away.

Have a collection of flower vases stashed under your sink or in the basement? Give them a good cleaning and donate them to the nonprofit Random Acts of Flowers. This growing organization delivers fresh flower bouquets to people in health care facilities around the country. Random Acts of Flowers accepts fresh flowers and vases from wholesale vendors and private citizens alike, so your old vase or leftover wedding flowers can be used to brighten someone else's day. To learn how to give -- and to see if there's a branch in your community -- visit randomactsofflowers.org.

Here's something you probably didn't know you can compost: your clothing. Backyard compost piles are designed to break down organic matter into beneficial mulch, and while items like apple cores, leaves and grass clippings make sense, so do garments that are made from 100 percent wool or 100 percent cotton. The key is to keep things like rayon, polyester and buttons out of the pile. If you cut the pure wool or cotton garments into small pieces, they can be safely added to the compost bin.