With the hot summer months finally here, there’s one thing you should never leave in your car: your smartphone. According to Apple, its phones perform best in room temperature ranges between 62 to 72 degrees, and extreme cold and extreme heat can really impact your phone. When your phone is in an environment hotter than 93 degrees, not only can it impact your phone’s performance, it can also damage it permanently. So leaving a phone charging in a hot car can be a quick way to break it for good. Luckily, when it comes to freezing temps, it won’t ruin the phone; once it warms up to the ideal temperature, it should perform as good as new.

Is your closet full of neckties that you no longer wear? As our workplace attire becomes more casual, neckties can do more than gather dust. The organization Prairie Moon Quilts wants your old ties. It upcycles the ties and uses the silky fabric to make beautiful color-blocked quilts. When the handmade blankets are finished, the organization donates them to charity. You’ll even be acknowledged as of tie donor when the quilt is donated! You can donate your old neckties by visiting prairiemoonquilts.com.

A green and money-saving way to furnish your home is to look for secondhand furniture at thrift stores, flea markets and through online sites like Craigslist. But since you don’t know where or how the furniture was stored, you should consider giving it a thorough cleaning before bringing it into your home. For wood furniture, pour 1/2 cup white vinegar, 1/4 cup baking soda, 1 cup ammonia and a gallon of warm water into a bucket. This mixture will remove grime and dirt and completely disinfect the piece of furniture. Just use a damp towel with the mixture and wipe thoroughly. It’ll clean and disinfect, and it won’t damage the finish of the wood.