When shopping for a snow shovel, go for one with an aluminum or steel blade. Metal shovels can withstand heavier loads of snow than plastic and will keep a clean edge through hard use; plastic ones can chip and shatter, quickly making them unusable. Durable metal shovels last season after season, and perhaps best of all, when they do finally need to be replaced, aluminum and steel blades are recyclable.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

If you use your fireplace and/or an outdoor fire pit, listen up: Save your ashes! One cord of wood can produce about 50 pounds of ashes, and these ashes have a number of beneficial uses around your property. If you grow tomatoes, sprinkle ashes and rake them into the soil; tomatoes thrive on the natural calcium in wood ashes. You can also spread the ashes as a border around the garden; they act as a natural barrier to damaging slugs and other pests. And finally, save the ashes in a metal garbage container and use them as a natural de-icer for your driveway.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

If you've gotten junk mail and thought you can just write "Return to Sender" on it and mail it back to the sender on their dime, think again. Junk mail is actually considered third-class mail by the U.S. Postal Service. Because it's in the lowest-priority category, any junk mail that is re-sent this way is automatically discarded. It's best to recycle unwanted junk mail and make efforts to remove your name from bulk mailing lists. There are many free ways to register your address to be taken off these mailing lists.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION