The holidays are over. Now, it's time to get rid of your tree and figure out what to do with all the extra stuff accumulating in your home. Resist the temptation to just pile everything into big black garbage bags and send it to the dump.

Here are suggestions for post-holiday disposal that's light on the planet.

Christmas trees can't biodegrade in landfills so take advantage of tree recycling events. Many communities offer curbside pick-up or have established places where you can bring your tree for recycling. Find out what your nearby options are at Earth911. Consider starting a Christmas tree recycling program if need be.

Take the time to remove everything from your tree. "Tinsel is a no-no for Christmas tree recycling because the trees will be composted or mulched, and the tinsel won't break down in this process," says Trey Granger at Earth911. "The same thing goes for the artificial snow that can be added to make trees white." If you leave tinsel on, it will be removed by hand so your tree can still be recycled. It's a different story for trees with spray-painted snow. Granger says they'll be sent to a landfill.   

Skip the tree bag. Instead, the Natural Resources Defense Council suggests wrapping your tree in a sheet to avoid a trail of pine needles when you carry it out of your home.

You can also reuse your tree. Some ideas: Consider placing it in your backyard or in a pond as a refuge for wildlife. Lay the branches as mulch on planting beds when the weather warms up. Turn dried pine needles into a potpourri.

Here are some ideas for the most common waste associated with the holidays.  A general rule of thumb: Finding a way to reuse something is always best for the planet. Recycling comes in at a close second.  

• Old incandescent holiday lights can be recycled through HolidayLEDs' free mail-in program.
• Donate glass ornaments or see if you local recycler accepts them. Paint, feathers, sequins, glitter, and other decorations may make them difficult to recycle.
• Greeting cards are accepted by most curbside programs. Restrictions may apply for those that have electronic parts or metallic coatings, according to Earth911.
• Wrapping paper and gift bags are not great candidates for recycling, although it all depends on what they're made of and what your local recycler takes back. Follow these guidelines to make sure your gift boxes are properly recycled.
• Electronic waste can really pile up after the holidays. Many retailers now take back old cell phones, laptops, and other unwanted stuff. There are also options for those who prefer to recycle by mail. See Earth911 for more ideas.

Environmental journalist Lori Bongiorno shares green-living tips and product reviews with Yahoo! Green's users. Send Lori a question or suggestion for potential use in a future column. Her book, Green Greener Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-smart Choices a Part of Your Life is available on Yahoo! Shopping and Amazon.com.

For a while there, I was getting worried. While 90% of me hoped that the world would immediately switch over to compact fluorescent light bulbs, there was 10% that was getting very worried that recycling them would never be easy, so they would end up breaking in landfills and increasing the amount of elemental mercury loose in the world.

It seemed that some companies would launch pilot projects, and then I'd never hear of it again. The only "nation-wide" effort that existed was IKEA. Unfortunately, the nearest IKEA to my house is about 11 hours away. I feared that the expense of recycling CFLs would forever keep it inconvenient. Then ACE Hardware launched their recycling program, which seemed a little too good to be true.

Free recycling of all CFLs and most fluorescent tubes at all stores in America. It seemed too good to be true, so I grabbed a couple of CFLs before I went to ACE to get a couple of screws I needed. I didn't see any bins or signs advertising the effort, which is a little discouraging, but when I asked an employee, he simply opened his palms, and I passed off the bulbs.

The recycling bin is backstage, apparently for safety reasons (I guess you don't want to have a bunch of fragile glass bulbs of mercury hanging around where someone could drop a pant can on them).

A simple process, yes, but I wish it were more widely publicized and well known. The fact that there were no messages advertising the program in the store was a little discouraging, but I salute ACE, as a coast-to-coast retailer who is the first to provide CFL recycling in a town near you. There are over 4,300 ACE stores, if you want to see if there's one near you, check out this handy utility.