Many recipes call for preheating an oven to roast, bake or broil whatever you’re making to perfection. But unless you’re making baked goods like breads or pastries, preheating your oven before you begin cooking is just wasting energy. A few minutes before you’re ready to toss your casserole or other dish into the oven, turn it on. It’ll get hot enough to get the dish started, and you won’t be wasting so much energy waiting for your oven to get to the desired temperature.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Did you know most airlines recycle the aluminum cans that beverages come in? Since aluminum is not only easily recyclable and valuable, airlines have an incentive to keep the environment in mind even at 35,000 feet in the air. One way you can green your travel is to ask for the whole can to drink, with no cup. This eliminates any plastic waste, and you can be assured the can will be recycled when you're done.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

If you're tired of discovering wasp nests on your home, don't call the exterminator or use chemical sprays to remove them -- prevent them from being built in the first place. An all-natural device called a "wasp deterrent" looks like a pretty outdoor lantern, but it's actually designed to play on a wasp's natural territorial instinct to avoid building a new nest where one already exists. The fake nest will keep wasps about 200 feet away, so place a few around the house in the spring to prevent nests from being built.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION