Goodwill is a great place to donate a whole variety of household items to be resold for charity. The list of accepted items is long and varied: everything from lightly used cookware to electronics to cars in any condition. When you donate, you can also write off your donation as a tax deduction. To make it easy, Goodwill offers a “donation value guide” that generalizes what most items in a certain category are worth. For example, winter coats have a tax-deductible value of $12.99, and children’s books are worth around 59 cents each. It all adds up!

One of the easiest things you can do to create a healthy kitchen is to make use of the range hood vent. Ventilation can help remove air pollution from gas burners, fat particles from frying food and, of course, strong odors from whatever you’re cooking. To make the best use of your kitchen vents, try to cook on the back burners of your cooktop. This is where your vents are at their maximum performance. Don’t turn off the vents too early; keep them on until the pans you’re cooking with are cool to the touch.

Hand-washing clothing may seem like a time-consuming chore, but for some types of clothing, it’s necessary. Many garments today use rayon fiber to give them stretch. And when rayon becomes wet, it weakens and can lose up to 50 percent of its elasticity. When a rayon garment is put through a washing machine, it can overstretch and essentially destroy the item. By hand-washing it, you help prevent that type of destruction.