JuniorMint wrote:

I think that's a great idea. Looking forward to reading what people
have to say. My little tip, and its kind of silly, is to offer up dust
bunnies to the birds. I have a Dirt Dog, a robotic vacuum that runs
around my garage and picks up everything in its way, think heavy duty
Roomba! When I clean it out, I pick out the dust bunnies and put them
on an old tree stump in our yard. The wind usually blows them away, but
I know birds can use them to make their nests. I'm on John Audobon, but
I like knowing my dirt and dust fuzz is helping them. I've been doing
this for a year now and last spring, my son and I found an old nest with
some fuzz in it. We thought that was pretty cool! JuniorMint

I do that with dog hair. An ice storm a month ago broke the top half
off a tree in the front yard; the tree had a small birds' nest made
almost entirely of dog hair.

I try to reduce the consumption of vacuum bags by collecting dog hair
and tossing it outside every few days. The hair tends to collect at
the edges of walls and it's easy to gather.

Centers in the region recycle paperboard, corrugated cardboard, steel
cans, glass, and #1 and #2 plastic. There are tons of areas with
dumpsters for most kinds of paper, and they claim the recycling raises
funds for the schools or whatever is the entity. I sell the aluminum.
If something can be literally recycled, I do so, rarely making some
home use from the material, though I did make a funnel from a 2-liter
bottle.

The recycling center gives exceptions for the #1 and #2 plastic,
including motor oil, which is understandable as it might contain
contaminants. They also say not to include the containers from
microwaveable frozen dinners; anyone know what's wrong with those other
than food particles?

One item I always reuse is dog food bags. Because they're sturdy and
immune to water and to sharp objects, they're great for trash that's
sharp or wet. They're good for picking up outdoor litter. Most
plastic retail/grocery bags have several "afterlives", for example they
might be a lunch bag for a week before being turned in at the entrance
to stores that recycle them. I use brown paper bags for months to
collect other recyclable items, and the brown paper bags eventually end
up as trash bags for light/dry items.