While munching on an organic apple during your drive to work, you may think it’s perfectly fine to toss the core out the window of your car. It’s 100 percent biodegradable, and it may give a wild animal something to eat, right? But while the apple core is less polluting than, say, a candy wrapper, it’s still trash. Wild animals who find the apple core will discover it by the road, where they are in danger of being struck by a car. There is no appropriate litter to discard from your car, so dispose of all of it -- including apple cores -- in the compost, recycling bin or trash can.

If you have pets or small children, there may be a good reason to remove magnets from your house. Small, powerful magnets called “neodymium” magnets come in tiny shapes and sizes, but have incredible strength because their magnetization is saturated. If more than two of these magnets are accidentally swallowed, they are naturally magnetized toward each other inside the body, which can puncture and rip intestinal tissue and cause serious punctures and wounds. Since powerful magnets are hard to recycle, it’s best to give them away if you want to dispose of them.

Do you want to prevent soap scum and hard water deposits from marking up your glass shower doors? There are chemical sprays that can create a siliconelike surface on them, which makes water bead and helps the doors dry more quickly. But you can also use an item from your pantry to get the same results: a potato. Simply cut a potato in half and rub it all over the inside of your shower door. The natural starch from the potato will act like an invisible barrier and help keep your shower doors clean.