On a bright, sunny day, use the natural warming power of the sun to fluff up your flattened down pillows. Find a sunny place outdoors, and place a large towel or clean tarp on the ground. Lay your pillows -- bed pillows, decorative throw and even comforters -- on top. Let the hot sun do its magic: It’ll warm the down feathers and help evaporate the trapped moisture inside. As the pillows dry out, they’ll magically fluff up. The sun will naturally deodorize your items, too.

Growing rosebushes in your yard has its rewards when the plant matures and thrives. But in the early stages, it’s key to do whatever you can do to protect the bushes from disease. One handy natural idea is to place banana peels around the perimeter of the plant. The peel is an easily compostable material that will break down and give the rosebush potassium-rich nutrients. This boosts the bush's natural immune system and lets it fend off frost, drought and other threats that can hurt it in the early stages.

Are you looking to go green in a big way, like getting a new energy-efficient refrigerator, or in a smaller way, like swapping out a few lightbulbs for LED ones? Your good deed can lead to immediate cash savings in the form of rebates with your local utility company. On the Energy Star Rebate Finder website (energystar.gov/rebate-finder), type in the ZIP code of your home, and the site will generate all the rebates from your local utility providers. A search for this author resulted in 47 offers ranging from a $400 rebate on the purchase of a heat-pump system for my home to $2 when I replaced my inefficient Christmas lights with LED versions.