Old Electronics

Having broken down electronic equipment in your home can be stressful. It clutters up your house, taking up valuable space.

But don't just throw these items away! Many electronics have hazardous substances in them -- like lead and mercury -- that you definitely don't want seeping into the earth via landfills. (In fact, disposing of electronic waste in the regular garbage is illegal in some states.)

So what's a person to do? Recycle your electronics! Some brands -- like Apple and Dell -- take back their products once you are done with them. See a good list of such retailers here. If your product doesn't qualify, you still have lots of easy options.

Staples and Best Buy take back and recycle all sorts of electronics, regardless of the brand. While Staples charges $10 for every non-Dell product you bring in, Best Buy's recycling program is essentially free for all products they accept.

Electronics recycling is a big deal these days, so information and options abound out there. Even Comedy Central can help you with their Address the Mess campaign. Slate also recently ran a helpful article called "How to Dispose of Old Electronics in a Responsible Way." So, happy de-cluttering!

NOTE: For information specific to cell phones, which can be reused for great causes like giving people suffering from domestic violence a lifeline to call the police, see this article from green is sexy.

How to dry your hands

How should you dry your hands after washing them?

At home, you should always use a cloth towel. This is plenty sanitary and oh-so-much-greener than paper towels. This part's a no-brainer.

But what about a public restroom? Your two obvious options will often be paper towels or an air blower. If you get to choose, go with the air blower. Yes, it uses electricity. But it doesn't cut down trees, which then need fossil fuels to transport them to a factory, which then needs energy to turn the trees into paper towels, which then must be transported again with fossil fuels and then go into a plastic bag, which then uses fossil fuels again to transport it to a landfill, where it never biodegrades... You see?

The best idea, though, is to follow No Impact Man's recommendation: carry a small towel with you to dry your hands or wrap things with. Seriously. Consider it.