This holiday season, instead of choosing between a live or an artificial Christmas tree, consider renting one instead. Live balled trees can be rented from local landscaping stores, and they will often deliver the tree and take it back after the Christmas holiday. If your local store doesn't have such a program, why not propose it and see if they'll go for it? It's a win-win for them: They get revenue for a tree they can't plant now and they also get it back. If you prefer an artificial tree, local prop houses (typically used by set designers) will often rent trees to the public at a tiny fraction of the cost. The benefit? When the holiday season is over, you can return it and not deal with storing it.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Did you know over 1 billion plastic toothbrushes are used every year in the United States, and almost all of them end up in landfills? One way to help avoid this waste is to look for more environmentally friendly alternatives, like brushes with renewable bamboo in lieu of plastic for the handles, which are biodegradable and a much greener choice than conventional brushes. If you do have plastic brushes, consider using them around the house when they are too worn for your teeth. Save them for scrubbing hard-to-clean areas on tile grout and keyboards; you can even use them to give your jewelry and shoes a good cleaning.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

You may not realize it, but a wrapper that once held a chocolate bar or a piece of candy can be all too tempting to your family pet. And while a small wrapper may get eaten and easily pass through the digestive system, there is still the chance a wrapper could attach itself to the lining of your pet's stomach. If this happens, call your veterinarian; the situation is even more emergent if the candy was chocolate or made with the sugar substitute xylitol (which can be fatal). Generally, treat wrappers as if they are dangerous items: Discard them so your pet can never, ever find them.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION