When your microwave oven is beyond repair, how do you dispose of or recycle it properly? It’s not as easy it as seems, since many communities do not allow you to throw it away in your curbside trash. Microwaves are considered e-waste, much like old computers and televisions. Since there are some hazardous materials inside a microwave oven, the best approach is to drop it off when your community has a household hazardous waste (HHW) collection day. Store your old microwave in a safe place (in a dry, covered area, like the garage) and wait until your next HHW day to properly dispose of it.

When you’re putting used office paper into the recycling bin, be mindful of one thing: Keep deeply dyed or brightly colored paper out. Imagine a new red sock going into a load of white laundry. Brightly colored paper will leave ink all over the white pulped paper, making the recyclable paper worthless. This means keeping construction paper and crafting paper supplies out of the recycling bin. The only kinds of colored paper that are really acceptable are lightly colored in the pastel shade color spectrum. But you know the rule: When in doubt, toss it out.

Ever wonder if you can reuse cardboard egg cartons? There are myriad craft ideas online, but if you’re not crafty, you can still divert them from the trash. One thing to do is save them and use them as packing filler when you’re shipping items. Empty space in shipping boxes is a big no-no when mailing things, and the stiff but lightweight cartons are great to fill up space and protect the box's contents. You can also save cartons and bring them to neighbors who sell eggs or to local farmers markets; they’ll gladly take them and reuse them for eggs. And of course the easiest of all: Tear your cartons into small pieces and add them to your compost bin. They will break down into beneficial mulch.