If you start your mornings with a steaming mug of tea, there are plenty of uses for the leaves when you're done sipping. Since tea is loaded with natural tannins with extraordinary deodorizing properties, you can use them around the house. Let used teabags dry out, and drop them into the bottom of garbage cans (before you put in a bag). Or stuff them in smelly sneakers. Even loose tealeaves can be mixed with kitty litter to help it smell fresher. When you're finally done with the teabags and leaves, compost, compost, compost!

Do you have a musty, smelly car? While you could pay a small fortune to have it scrubbed and detailed, try this simple DIY idea instead: Use newspaper. Since newspaper is designed to absorb ink, it also does a great job of absorbing other things. The porous nature of newsprint absorbs excess moisture and odor, so cover the entire interior with a single layer of newspaper -- a good use for the large Sunday edition -- and let it sit overnight.

Here's something in the trash that's worth cash: wine corks. Craft enthusiasts have gone mad for turning wine corks into decorative items. There's even a growing market for old wine corks on resell sites like eBay. Selling for about 10 cents a cork, if you have saved an impressive collection, you can sell them online and make some serious change. You can also recycle your corks; visit recork.org to find a collection box near you.