Used office paper is recyclable paper no matter what, right? Wrong. When you use a paper shredder, you are shortening the length of the paper's fiber, which decreases its recyclability. So putting shredded paper into the recycling bin with full sheets of paper can decrease the viability of the entire load getting recycled. The best thing is to tear unimportant documents by hand into smaller pieces. Use a paper shredder only for truly confidential and personal information.

Your home coffee maker needs to be periodically cleaned, literally, from the inside out. The good news is that it's pretty simple. If you have hard water, mineral deposits can build up inside, but all you need is white vinegar to clean it out. Pour about 1 quart white vinegar where you normally put cold water to brew your pot of coffee. Wait two hours. The natural acids in the vinegar will break down the mineral deposits. Then brew as normal, allowing the white vinegar to run through the whole coffee maker. Finally, run a whole pot of fresh water through to remove any traces of vinegar.

Do you leave reminders on documents or around the house on Post-it notes? Even though there is an adhesive strip on the back of each note, the good news is that paper sticky notes are easily recyclable with traditional office paper. No matter the color, all of the dye and glue is removed in the pulping and de-inking process. Since the adhesive is water soluble, the little paper squares are perfectly fine to recycle. Even better: You can find sticky notes made from recycled paper, too, to help complete the recycling loop.