Recycling BinsBy Lori Bongiorno

You already know if newspapers, tin cans, or plastic bottles get picked up on your curb for recycling, but what about similar items?

Chances are phone books, aluminum foil, and other hard-to-know-what-to-do-with items can be mixed in with your curbside recycling.

Every town has different rules so you'll need to check with your local waste or sanitation department to find out the specifics for your area.

In most cases, it's easier to recycle these five unexpected items than you might think.

1. Phone books. If your city takes mixed paper, then phonebooks can generally be recycled, according to Jennifer Berry at Earth911. Be sure to remove magnetic inserts or any other non-paper elements before you toss. Has the Internet rendered the yellow pages obsolete in your home? You can choose not to have directories delivered in the first place or limit how many you receive. Here are 17 creative things to do with phone books for those who prefer to reuse or

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By Steve Graham, Hometalk

(Photo: Getty Images)Running marathons and swimming laps are not the only way to burn calories. Housekeeping and yard work can also help you keep off the pounds. Here are 12 of the most common, calorie-burning home and garden chores, with estimated hourly calorie-burn rates for an average 145-pound person. Of course, each person mows, mops, and dusts at a different pace and burns a different number of calories, so these are general estimates.

The first number is provided by the Livestrong Foundation, which lists the number of calories burned for a wide variety of jobs, sports, and other activities. Wherever possible, a second number is provided by My Fitness Pal, which offers tracking for both caloric intake and caloric burn, online or with iPhone and Android apps.

My Fitness Pal has a smaller list of activities, so not all chores have two estimates. For example, the site does not break down specific cleaning activities but estimates that cleaning burns between 164 and

(Photo: Getty Images)Put down that light yogurt, it may be making you fat. As it turns out, a number of foods that are commonly thought to be great for weight loss can actually stimulate the appetite. We spoke with Marjorie Nolan, R.D., National Spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, to get the skinny on foods that can trigger hunger and sabotage your diet.

1. Light yogurt

The blast of sweet (often artificial) flavor causes the stomach to start producing gastric juices. With only four to six ounces of yogurt and no fat in a typical container, the body doesn't have enough food to digest leaving the tummy rumbling for more.

Better choice: Nolan likes the creaminess and high protein content of plain, low-fat Greek yogurt. Add fruit and a sprinkle of cinnamon for flavor. If you choose the non-fat variety, add a tablespoon of sunflower seeds for crunch and satisfaction-the fat in nuts and seeds is slow to digest so a small serving keeps you feeling full.

2. Puffed cereal with skim

More from Care2:

• 12 foods with super-healing powers

• 7 foods that keep us fat

• 7 tips for eating to look younger that actually work

• Top 10 worst foods in America

By Kym McNicolas, Forbes.com

What you didn't know about energy efficiency could hurt your pocketbook.

Though it seems that closing vents in unused rooms would save energy, the energy consumed by the system is at the unit itself, and restricting conditioned air at a vent termination redirects it to other locations in the house or through leaks in your duct system. Closing vents also puts backpressure on the fan that pushes the air through the system, causing it to work harder, use more energy, and wear out faster.

Replacing single-pane windows for Energy-Star rated dual-pane windows will save energy. That energy savings, however, is a function of the size and number of windows in your home, their orientation and overhangs, and the location of your house and the climate zone you are live in. This typically amounts to a small fraction of your total energy use, and given the expense of

By Adam Verwymeren, Networx
More from Guest Bloggers blog

Between the squalor and the haphazard design choices, the average bachelor pad is not a pretty sight. Most bachelors give little thought to crafting a stylish home, either because they think it's not worth the effort or they think it is beyond their means to achieve.

But by avoiding a few simple design mistakes, a good-looking home is pretty easy to achieve.

Adam Verwymeren is a Networx writer. Read more articles like this one on Networx.com.

Related links:

• Top 10 bachelor pad mistakes
• Renovating a rental
• Five ways to improve your kitchen without remodeling
• How to live in off-campus housing
• For football fans, a spinning wall turns a yard into an ampitheater

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By Stephanie Rogers, EcoSalon
More from Guest Bloggers blog

(Photo: Stephanie Rogers)

Chances are you've got a big bottle of vinegar in your pantry right now that you only use it as a condiment. Prized for thousands of years, this fermented liquid was discovered by accident when products like wine, beer, and cider spoiled, turning them sour. But did you know that vinegar -- particularly the distilled white and apple cider varieties -- has hundreds of household, beauty, medicinal and even horticultural uses?

Here are 20 unusual, thrifty, and eco-friendly uses for vinegar that you may not have thought of.

1. Condition hair
Silky, shiny, buildup-free hair using a single cheap, natural product? Sign me up! It may sound odd, but using apple cider vinegar as a rinse after shampooing really does work like a dream. It removes residue from the hair shaft and closes the cuticles. Just add half a tablespoon of vinegar to a cup of water, plus a few drops of essential oil if you like. Pour it on in the