If you have a home office or sit near a laser printer at work, consider moving it far away from you. When a laser printer prints out documents, it works by passing paper over hot printer rolls, which have chemicals. As the warm printouts come out of the printer, tiny particles called volatile organic compounds are also emitted into the air. These ultrafine particles contribute to an unhealthy air environment and can be potentially harmful because they can be breathed deep into your lungs. To prevent this, keep laser printers away from you and in a well-ventilated space. And avoid standing over the printer when using it; wait for it to finish printing before retrieving your documents.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Who doesn’t love the smell, sound and heat from a crackling fireplace on a cold winter’s day? While it may not be the most efficient way to heat a home, it sure is nice. To maximize the potential of your fireplace, consider investing in something called a C-shaped metal tube grate. It holds the firewood, but it’s designed to draw cool air from the room into the tubes and circulate hot air from the fire back into the room. There’s no special assembly to use it; it comes fully assembled, and you simply place it inside your fireplace.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

When choosing flights for travel, there are a few things you can do to minimize your environmental impact. One thing is to choose nonstop flights; multiple flights with connections or layovers contribute more air pollution. But here’s one you may not have heard of: Avoid red-eye or nighttime flights. The pollution emitted from planes at night has a more detrimental impact on the environment. Scientists have found that CO2 emissions at night aren’t offset by their “tendency to reflect incoming sunlight,” so they are basically twice as bad for the atmosphere.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION