If you have a little red wine left in your glass, don’t toss it down the drain; instead, give your houseplant a sip. Wine is rich in nitrogen, which is a natural fertilizer plants love to drink up. Just dilute the wine -- it doesn’t matter if it’s red or white -- with cool water, then give your plant a drink. You can also toss extra wine into the compost bin. The good bacteria that help break down matter in compost bins love wine; adding it to your compost can help re-energize and speed up the decomposition process.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

It’s easy to find energy-efficient LED lightbulbs almost anywhere now, but it can be difficult to understand what color output an LED “soft light” or “daylight” bulb emits. It may sound like a “daylight” bulb mimics the yellow color of the sun, but in reality it means it’s a clean, white light that’s very bright and suited for when you need as much illumination as possible. For some people, this style of light can feel too sterile or clinical. If you want to mimic the soft, yellow glow that came from incandescent bulbs, go for “soft light” LED bulbs. They cast the golden glow that most people want for their indoor light fixtures.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Butterflies are more than beautiful creatures; they are essential to flower pollination and are also an important food source for birds. To help butterflies thrive in your garden, you can do a few simple things. First, avoid using insecticides in your yard altogether. Second, plant milkweed flowers in your yard. Monarch caterpillars, for example, feed exclusively on the leaves of milkweed; over the past few years, milkweed has been decimated due to urban sprawl and suburban landscaping. Adding milkweed to your yard is easy: Just plant native varieties by seed in the spring and let them thrive.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION