New homes today are designed to be as airtight as possible to make them as energy-efficient as possible. While that’s good for conserving natural resources, it can be bad for indoor air quality. Even in the harshest of bitterly cold winter stretches, it’s important to at least open a door or window once a day to help ventilate your home. It only needs to be for a minute or two; open a window in the front and one in the back of the house to help flush out old air and welcome in fresh new air.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

When it’s time to clean your aquarium at home, never throw the old water down the drain. Water from freshwater aquariums is nutrient-dense from rotting fish food, fish excrement and other organic matter. Use this nutrient-rich water to fertilize your houseplants, or give seedlings a good start by saturating their growing medium with the old aquarium water. One note: Don’t water plants using old saltwater aquarium water! The salt will dry out and kill plants.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Bamboo is a wonderful eco-friendly material that can be used for a great variety of things, but bamboo cookware may not be the best option for your green kitchen. Since bamboo spatulas and large spoons are glued together in strips, overheating them in bubbly pots of sauce or boiling water could actually cause the glue to melt and seep into your food. Instead of bamboo, invest in solid wood or metal kitchen tools that are intact and free of glues.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION