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7 Things in Your Garage You Should Never Throw Away

ByStan S.

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If decluttering the garage is one of your house projects to tackle this season, there are a few things you should think twice about tossing. The garage often becomes a dumping ground for leftover building materials, old paint, and items that no longer work, but you don’t necessarily want to get rid of. These things can take up valuable storage room, so a seasonal garage declutter is always a good idea.

As you take inventory of the space, consider this list of items you shouldn’t throw away. It includes items that need to be disposed of in a specific way because they are considered hazardous waste, as well as things you could need down the road and would regret getting rid of.

1. Leftover Paint

If there are half-empty cans of leftover paint sitting on your garage shelves, avoid throwing them in the trash. Oil-based paints are flammable and can pose a serious environmental risk and fire hazard. Any cans of leftover oil-based paint, solvents, and thinners are considered hazardous waste and need to be disposed of safely. Check your town’s guidelines for hazardous waste disposal—some municipalities have a designated drop-off location for these items while others collect them periodically throughout the year.

2. Materials from Home Improvement Projects

It’s tempting to throw out leftover materials once you’re done with a home improvement project, especially if they are cluttering your garage. Whether it’s extra quarter-rounds or leftover floorboards, avoid throwing building materials away as you may need them down the road if something needs to be replaced or repaired. This is especially important if the materials are not standard size and can’t easily be repurchased, if they have been discontinued, or if you had them custom made.

3. Gasoline Cans

For maximum safety, gasoline cans should not be stored in a garage that is attached to your home given their flammability. If you have extra containers of gasoline in a detached garage that are old and taking up valuable storage space, don’t just throw them in the garbage can. Because gasoline can easily catch on fire inside your trash can or once it’s in the garbage truck, safe disposal is essential. Drop gasoline cans off at your local hazardous waste collection site, at a recycling center if they accept them, or your local fire station.

4. Infrequently Used Tools

The best solution for a cluttered garage isn’t always to toss everything that’s not used frequently, sometimes it’s just implementing a better organizational system. You may want to throw away tools and garden equipment you don’t use frequently, however chances are you will need to repurchase the tool once you need it again. Instead of throwing these items away, store them on a high shelf or other out-of-the-way location in the garage so they are not taking up prime real estate but remain accessible when needed.

5. Sentimental Items

If you have boxes of sentimental items in the garage, don’t throw them out because you may regret it later. Instead, figure out the best way to store the meaningful items so they don’t take up excessive room and are safe from weather-related damage. If your garage is not temperature regulated, transfer sentimental things like photos, old letters, and textiles into plastic tubs or airtight storage bags instead of keeping them in cardboard boxes. This will help prevent moisture-related damage as well as keep pests and odors away.

6. Old Electronics

The garage often becomes a dumping ground for old electronics that no longer work. Whether it’s a VCR you haven’t used in decades or a bag of old remote controls, these items waste valuable storage space, but shouldn’t be thrown in the garbage can. Because of their internal mechanisms and batteries that they use, electronics can be flammable and should be disposed of safely. Do a walkthrough of your garage and collect all unused electronics that need to be discarded, then check your local guidelines for safely getting rid of them at a recycling site or other collection center.

7.Light Bulbs

Old and extra light bulbs seem to always end up in a box on a garage shelf, wasting storage space that could be used for other items. Before you go ahead and throw them away however, check to see what type of light bulbs they are. If they are fluorescent bulbs or any type of light bulb that contains mercury, they should not be thrown in the garbage can. Not only can they break and the shattered glass cause damage, the mercury content, however small, can be harmful to humans and the environment.

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    NDP on TMX pipeline: We didn’t want it. They built it. So let’s use its full potential

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    Article content Eby and Sharma exaggerate the degree to which the TMX is “underused … with capacity to spare” after one year of operation. Article content The Canadian Energy Regulator reports that the line has operated at about 80 per cent of its 890,000 barrel-per-day capacity since coming online in May 2024. Moreover, the performance improved in the first quarter of this year. Article content “The pipeline ran at about 85 per cent capacity during the three-month period ending in March,” Chris Varcoe reported in the Calgary Herald this week. The Globe and Mail’s Emma Garney further reported that the line “hit a high of 90 per cent” in March. Article content The demand is such that Trans Mountain has already begun test work to boost capacity by up to 10 per cent by the end of 2026. A longer-term project would add pumping stations to boost it to 1.14 million barrels a day, later in the decade. Article content So much for the B.C. NDP notion that the $34 billion pipeline is languishing through insufficient use. Article content Article content But rather than consult the country’s energy regulator or the national newspapers, perhaps Eby and Sharma were taking their lead from Steven Guilbeault. Article content Guilbeault served as environment minister in the Justin Trudeau Liberal government, where he flourished as a fan of carbon taxation and an opponent of fossil fuel expansion. Article content Carney reassigned him to the Canadian Heritage Department at about the same time as the PM reduced the carbon tax to zero and began talking up the need to expand resource production. Article content It didn’t stop the new heritage minister from wandering outside his lane last month to announce that Canada has no need of more pipelines because TMX was operating at “40 per cent capacity” and the world was approaching “peak oil production.” Article content In the first instance, Guilbeault clearly didn’t know what he was talking about and in the second, there’s much room to debate about when peak oil will be reached. Article content Article content Still, there is a capacity issue regarding the TMX terminal in Burnaby, though not one that involves the pipeline. Article content The terminal is already busy with tankers, having loaded some 741 in the first quarter of the year at a rate that fell just short of one a day in March. But tankers are unable to load fully because of the risk of grounding in Burrard Inlet. Article content The New Democrats have recognized the limitation and come out in support of a federal proposal to dredge Burrard Inlet to a depth that full tankers can traverse. Article content Leading the call is Energy Minister Adrian Dix. As NDP leader, Dix’s snap decision to oppose TMX in the midst of the 2013 election campaign contributed to his loss to Christy Clark. Article content Now that the line is running, Dix supports maximizing its use. “We built it. We paid for it. We should use it,” he says, taking a realistic view of a project that cost him much. Article content Article content Article content

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    How to declutter your home: comprehensive, room-by-room tips

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    Clearing out your house can be an exhausting process: so many decisions to make, so much stuff to move around, and so much research into the best ways to donate or recycle your unwanted things. Tackling one room at a time is logical and helps to make things manageable, and there are few rooms that will take more than one day to clear and reorganise. Some people take to decluttering like a duck to water, but others need a little more guidance. As a general rule, we find that if you can’t remember the last time you used something, or if it takes a while to dive down and find that memory, it’s time to get rid of the item in question. We’ve broken it down room by room, so you can follow along with the process, and find tips on the easiest and most convenient ways to get rid of things (if you live in the UK, at any rate). Some general principles Take everything out of the drawer/cupboard/wardrobe before you start sorting and group it. You need to see all your shirts/tins of food/chargers in one place before you make decisions. When you put it back, keep the groups! If all of the same kinds of thing are together, it makes it much easier to keep track of what you have. If you can’t remember the last time you used an item (assuming it’s something functional), or retrieving the memory takes some effort, it’s time to get rid of it. If it’s expired (for food or bathroom products), if it’s been in the freezer for longer than three months (some might say six months), or it hasn’t fit you in the last year, get rid of it. Create seasonal storage, so that winter duvets, woolly jumpers and puffer coats are out of sight when you don’t need them. Underbed boxes are perfect for this. If you have a large house and lots of different places where things could be, it can be helpful to make a map or diagram of where everything is, and keep it somewhere easily accessible. Have a plan for what you’re going to do with unwanted items. It is overwhelming to pull everything out of your cupboards and have no idea what to do with them. Don’t throw things away unless you absolutely have to. Most things can be recycled, and there are more and more facilities to do so easily. As you begin with any given room, set up a box for things to throw away (keep it to a minimum), things to recycle, things to donate, and things to sell. This will make it easier to take action once the room is in order. Setting up a halfway house box in your house can also be helpful for ambiguous items. If you’re hesitating about donating something or putting it in the rubbish, relegate it to the box for a week or two, and then go through the box and see if your feelings have changed. Many retailers have started offering facilities to recycle old electrical items and textiles, or even buy back old furniture, and some offer vouchers in return. IKEA’s scheme to buy back assembled pieces of furniture is particularly worth knowing about, since old IKEA furniture can be hard to shift in other ways, and they will give you in-store credit for new pieces. John Lewis has promised to have similar schemes in place in every category by 2025, and currently recycle small tech appliances. Listing something for free on Gumtree is very often the quickest way to get rid of something. If you’re tempted to list an item for a small sum, but you want to prioritise getting it out of the house quickly, think about giving it away instead. People become remarkably unfussy when something is free, and they’ll come and collect it without a peep. For whole house clear-outs that involve multiple kinds of item (furniture, clothes, books, etc), booking a collection with the British Heart Foundation (which is great for furniture) or icollectclothes.com (which takes clothes, books, toys and small homewares) is a hassle-free way to go. How to dispose of different types of clutter If the thought of lugging old books and DVDs down to the charity shop is a dispiriting one, Ziffit (run by second-hand book moguls World of Books) is an excellent option for disposing of them, and you can regain a few pennies at the same time. Scan the ISBN or barcode with the camera on your phone, and the Ziffit app tells you how much they’re willing to pay you for it (usually somewhere between 50p and £5). You can then package them up, and organise a collection: minimal effort and a tiny bit of money back, hurrah! Electrical and electronic items Small electrical items like hairdryers/DVD players can be a pain to recycle. Looking at your local council website is a sensible place to start, as they will have the location of big recycling centres as well as any nearby WEEE (Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment) bins. These are usually located on major roads or in car parks, and take small devices that plug in. Some retailers also offer WEEE recycling: Currys is one of the best, and will take pretty much anything and give you a small voucher in return. Find out more here. You can also take small

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    6 Ways to Unstick Windows That Have Been Painted Shut

    ByStan S.

    Credit: Getty Images / Vicki Smith Opening windows that have been painted shut can prove challenging, as dried paint creates a surprisingly strong hold. Whether it was a simple window painting mishap or your home got the “landlord special,” where every surface was covered with layers upon layers of white paint, you’ll need to break the seemingly impenetrable seal that the dried paint creates. To help you get started, this guide explains various methods for opening a window that has been painted shut, along with the necessary safety measures to use. How to Unstick Windows That Have Been Painted Shut To open windows that have been painted shut, you need to break through the paint holding the window shut. While this may sound simple, it can be difficult. Here are a few different effective methods, but you need to choose the one that is right for your situation. For example, if you want to preserve the paint on the window, choose a method that disturbs it as little as possible. 1. Apply Heat A heat gun is useful for warming and loosening the paint bond, which allows you to easily scrape it off the window and remove it from the sash so you can open the window. It can be challenging to pinpoint precisely where to apply the heat, so you should only rely on heat application if you aren’t looking to preserve the surrounding paint. Before using a heat gun, ensure there’s nothing nearby that can be damaged and refrain from using heat on plastic window sashes, as they may warp and melt. 2. Score the Paint With a Multitool Painter’s multitools, such as a 5-in-1 tool, are effective for scoring and cutting out paint that’s holding a window shut, as they’re both strong and sharp. However, the thicker blade might damage the surrounding paint, so choose this option only if you’re looking to replace the surrounding paint. 3. Score the Paint With a Utility Knife If you want to preserve the paint finish while also unsticking the window, scoring the seal with a razor blade or a utility knife can offer the cleanest cut. However, if your paint is old, brittle, or has several layers, it can be difficult to score it cleanly. If this is the case, a heat gun can be effective for warming and softening the paint, allowing you to score it more easily and cleanly. To preserve the paint on the window, avoid applying too much direct heat, as it can cause the paint to bubble and compromise its integrity. 4. Break Deeper Seals With a Putty Knife If you’ve scored the paint along the window sash, but the window still won’t budge, dried paint may have seeped deeper into the sash. To break this invisible paint’s hold, place a thin, flexible putty knife in the gap and lightly tap it with a hammer. Work your way around the window until you’ve fully broken the seal and the window opens. If the window has been painted shut, there’s a good chance it hasn’t been operable for years. To aid in future operation and prevent your window from getting stuck again, apply a spray lubricant, such as silicone spray, to the tracks. 5. Use Wood Shims to Open the Gap As you work your way around the window, slide thin wood shims into the gap to slightly hold the gap open, lightly tapping them into place with a hammer if needed. Be careful not to push the shims in too far, as this may stress the window and could even break the glass. 6. Score the Outside of the Window Still no luck? If you haven’t already, check the outside of the window to ensure it hasn’t been painted shut as well. Window Paint Removal Safety Tips Before attempting to remove paint, take the necessary safety precautions to keep you and those around you safe during the paint removal process. Test for lead paint. Removing lead paint requires a higher level of precaution . Most experts recommend skipping lead paint removal and instead opting for encapsulation, so your safest bet may be to score the paint enough to open the window without removing it altogether. Wear the appropriate safety gear. Whenever removing paint, wear the proper respirator to protect against both particles and fumes. Additionally, wear safety glasses and gloves when working with tools for paint removal. Use caution when scoring paint. Whenever you’re using a blade to score paint, use extreme caution and do so slowly and steadily. Moving too quickly or applying too much force may result in injury or damage to the surrounding materials. Consider masking the glass. When working around windows with hand tools, there’s a risk of broken glass. To protect your windows, consider taping cardboard to cover the glass while you work.

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    5 Summer Habits That Might Be Spiking Your Utility Bills (and What to Do Instead)

    ByStan S.

    Credit: Getty Images / StockSeller_ukr Summer weather is ideal for enjoying the pool, the yard, and the sun, but after being outside for a few hours, it can also be a great relief to step into an air-conditioned home. These hot temperatures often cause many homeowners to adopt certain habits that are more wasteful than helpful. In an attempt to escape the heat, keep the house cool, and maintain the lushness of the yard, it can be all too tempting to try things that actually increase utility bills, costing you more in the long run for minimal relief. Use this guide to discover what summer habits secretly spike utility bills and what to do instead. Scott Levene is the vice president of Levco, a fuel and HVAC solutions company. He is also a licensed HVAC professional with nearly 20 years of experience. Read on to discover the ways you might be increasing your monthly bills without even realizing. 1. Cooling Unused Areas of the House Air conditioners help to cool down the home, but when you aren’t actively using specific rooms, there is no need to keep the doors open to these areas of the home. Central air conditioning systems might still provide some cooling to these areas through the ductwork, but ultimately, the cooling capabilities will be more focused in the central areas of the home where the thermostat is typically located. Closing certain doors allows the temperature to drop more effectively in the areas you are actually using, while saving energy. This particular trick works incredibly well for window and standing air conditioners, since their output is already focused in a single area of the home. 2. Running Fans 24/7 Fans can help move cool air throughout the home and provide direct relief to individuals who are near the fan. However, fans do not actually cool down the house, and their continuous operation can even add heat to the house. “A common habit is leaving fans on in empty rooms. Fans cool people, not rooms, so leaving them on when no one’s around just adds to the electric bill without any benefits,” says Scott Levene, vice president of Levco and licensed HVAC professional. 3. Frequent Lawn Watering Watering the lawn frequently might keep the grass looking lush and the gardens blooming nicely, but it is also a huge use of water that will drastically increase the cost of your water bill throughout the summer. In some areas, watering the lawn and yard might even be against local regulations due to droughts and water conservation efforts. Instead, it’s best to consider possible alternatives that can avoid waste and help save on your water bill. 4. Running the Air Conditioner with the Windows or Doors Open Many homeowners know to turn off the air conditioner if they are opening a window or door. However, this same knowledge might not be as obvious to other people living in the home, like children or teenagers. Additionally, some adults might open the windows on cooler evenings to bring in fresh air, but then forget to turn the AC off, which increases energy waste and leads to higher energy bills. 5. Setting the Thermostat Temperature Too Low Unfortunately, just because you turn the thermostat temperature as low as possible, this does not increase the speed at which the home will be cooled, though this doesn’t stop many homeowners from trying year after year. “The most common habit we see is turning the thermostat down too low, thinking it will cool the house faster. Setting the thermostat to 65°F instead of 75°F doesn’t make it work any faster; it just makes the system run longer and work harder, which drives up utility bills,” explains Levene. How Do These Habits Burn Your Budget? Deciding to put a stop to these habits and making the switch to a more budget-friendly alternative will help keep more money in your wallet and reduce waste. “The examples listed might only cost a few extra bucks a day, but that adds up over time,” Levene says. “Additionally, the extra strain on the HVAC system causes faster wear and tear, which can shorten the lifespan of the equipment. Frequent repairs or premature replacement costs are a major expense.” Related 7 Budget-Friendly Alternatives to Beat the Heat The more unnecessary warm-weather habits you tend to do each year, the higher the cost of your energy bills and the larger your ecological footprint, which is reflected in water and energy waste. Instead, work toward adopting budget-friendly habits that can both keep you cool and reduce your spending this summer season. 1. 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    Things to Never Do with Your AC When the Heat Index Hits Triple Digits

    ByStan S.

    This summer is the hottest on record (for the third year in a row!), so we assume that your home’s air conditioning system has been hard at work for the past few months. While it might seem tempting to crank the temperature as low as it can go during a heatwave, mistakes like these can cause some severe damage to your system over time.  We spoke to Angie Hicks, co-founder of Angi (formerly Angie’s List), for expert advice on the mistakes homeowners might be making with their AC during a heatwave. Avoiding these errors (and following a few other expert tips Hicks recommends) will help keep your home cool while conserving energy. What to Never Do with Your AC During a Heatwave When you leave the house during the summer, do you turn your AC off before you go to conserve energy? If so, you might actually be wasting more energy than you’re saving—not to mention the fact that you’re likely putting extra strain on your air conditioning unit, too.  If you turn your AC off when you leave the house, you might temporarily lower your energy usage while you’re away. However, during that time, you also lose all the cold air your AC has been producing throughout the day, causing your house to return to a very high temperature. When you return and turn your AC unit back on, it has to work twice as hard to cool your home down. This puts unnecessary strain on your home’s air conditioning. The solution? Hicks says that you should increase the temperature your air conditioning is set to when you leave the house. Hicks recommends raising the temperature by 7 to 10 degrees each time you leave, up to a maximum of 85°F. “By keeping the AC at a higher temperature, you save energy and create efficiency, but your home can still be cooled down again without using too much energy,” says Hicks. Once you return home, you can lower the temperature of your AC again. This helps you save energy while you’re out, without putting any extra strain on your AC when you return. What If You’re Leaving Home for a Long Time? “If you’re leaving your home for longer than a few hours, it’s considered a long period,” says Hicks. Her answer stays the same whether you’re gone for the day or a couple of weeks of vacation—keep your AC on, but at a higher temperature. While it might seem like it’s a safe bet to conserve energy by turning off your AC when you’re away on vacation, this can actually encourage other home issues to arise in the heat (like humidity and potentially even mold growth). Keeping your home’s temperature set to a maximum of 85°F can help prevent these problems. How to Prevent Strain on Your AC When you’re at home, you might consider setting your air conditioning to a slightly lower temperature than you think, especially during a heatwave. “A good temperature setting is about 78 degrees when you’re home and awake,” says Hicks. “When you sleep, you might want to lower this to your comfortable sleeping temperature.” “It might be tempting to lower your AC in extreme heat, but this can use a lot of extra energy and shorten the lifespan of your AC,” adds Hicks. Keeping your AC set to a higher but still comfortable temperature can help you save money, conserve energy, and keep your AC running smoothly. Related Other Habits to Maximize Heatwave Energy Efficiency Your AC isn’t the only thing that can help keep your home cool during the summer. The more effort you put into utilizing other cooling solutions along with your AC, the less strain you’ll be putting on it—and the more energy you’ll be able to conserve when the temperature spikes outside. Hicks recommends keeping your blinds closed during the day to block out as much sunlight as possible throughout your home. This will help keep it cooler, especially during extreme heat. She also recommends turning on ceiling fans if you have any; this is a great way to allow cool air to circulate and make your home feel cooler.  According to Hicks, you should also open a window at night if the outside temperature is cooler than the inside temperature. This can help lower the temperature of your space enough that your air conditioning might not even need to turn on during the night. You can also try other solutions to help prepare your home for a heat wave, such as using cooling sheets, avoiding oven use, and utilizing personal fans to help you feel cooler. Signs You’ve Been Putting Too Much Strain on Your AC Your AC has likely been working hard all summer, which means you need to keep a close eye on it and perform regular maintenance to ensure it continues to work correctly. “This means replacing your filters about every three months and getting it tuned up in the fall and spring,” says Hicks. Performing these minor maintenance tasks can help you prevent major issues from arising in the future. Sometimes, bad luck can strike your AC system during the worst times, especially if you’ve had a habit of cranking the temperature down whenever it’s hot outside. “If you feel like your system isn’t cooling properly, there are uneven temperatures, you hear funny noises, or smell something different, it could be a sign it isn’t working properly and

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