For many, backyard fun may include filling up balloons with water and having a water balloon fight. But when the balloons burst, fragments from the inflatables can end up being dispersed all over the yard. These rubbery pieces are often left where wild animals can mistake them for food and ingest them. Even the materials in so-called "biodegradable" balloons can take up to four years to properly degrade, which leaves plenty of time for wild animals to find and ingest the pieces. Instead of balloons, consider water guns, which provide all the fun and none of the waste.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Whether you're mowing the lawn or using a trimmer to cut down overgrown grass or weeds, there's really no reason to bag up the trimmings -- they're perfect staying right on your lawn. Whether it's grass or weeds, the trimmed organic matter is what makes a healthy lawn thrive. When the clippings decompose, they put nutrients like nitrogen back into your lawn. And decomposed organic matter becomes unnoticeable in very little time, as it breaks down and goes underneath the lush green lawn and feeds the soil.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Overripe fruits and vegetables can make you feel wasteful if you don't get around to eating them in time. But just because something is a little too mushy doesn't mean it's no longer edible. Overripe berries can be frozen and saved to be used in smoothies or pureed into a berry sauce for dessert toppings. Vegetables like carrots, celery, mushrooms and corn (on the cob) can be simmered into delicious broth. And squishy tomatoes are the perfect candidate to be made into homemade sauces that can be canned or frozen. You can even freeze overripe tomatoes and grate them on a box grater to cook when you want to add "fresh" tomatoes to a dish.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION