Green Your Garage: Recycle the Randoms

For many people, a garage or storage shed is a magnet for clutter: Boxes of old clothes, forgotten toys, and half-empty buckets of toxic goo all converge in a junk pile that would make any mother, especially Mother Nature, shudder. This week's tips feature easy ways to green your garage. 

Tip #2 : Remove and recycle hazardous materials.

Not only do cans of old paint and used motor oil take up shelf space, they also give off toxic fumes, which can leach into your home. Luckily, recycling has become easy — just type the material and your zip code into this locator and it will give you a list of all appropriate recycling facilities within 25 miles. Programs in San Francisco and Portland accept unwanted paint, recycle it into a few colors, then give it away for an affordable price — less than $11 in Portland, free in San Francisco. Habitat for Humanity also takes material donations. 

 -- image courtesy of iStock / spxChrome