70 Ways to Save Energy and Money

Everyday Steps

1. Recycle, Recycle, Recycle. Recycle everything that you can.
2. Turn off lights that are not in use.
3. Turn off bulk freezers when not in use.
4. Take shorter showers, 5 minutes at most.
5. Turn off the water when brushing your teeth
6. Set your hot water heater at the lowest possible setting.
7. Use cold water to wash your laundry.
8. Turn your thermostat down during the day, wear a sweater.
9. Turn your thermostat down at night, use extra blankets.
10. Use a fan instead of an air conditioner during the summer.
11. Close up unused rooms.
12. Turn off dehumidifiers when not needed or buy an Energy Star approved unit.
13. Turn your hot tub down or off when not in use.
14. Turn your computer off when not in use.
15. Use a microwave instead of a stove or oven when possible - they use less energy.
16. Wash and reuse zip lock bags.
17. Use power strips. Appliances often use energy even when they are turned off. Plugging appliances into a power strip and turning the strip off when they are not in use prevents useless energy loss.
18. Replace incandescent light bulbs with CFL’s or LED’s. This will save you money on your electric bill.
19. Use a killawatt meter to learn about where the energy you use is going.
20. Use a clothesline instead of an electric or gas dryer

Shopping

21. Take your own reusable canvas or cloth bags to the store.
22. Purchase products in glass instead of plastic. Glass is easier to recycle and is a fully recyclable material without material loss.
23. Plan your shopping trips with the use of a tool like Google Maps.
24. Look for products with minimal packaging.

Health and Diet

25. Eat lower on the food chain. Eat less meat.
26. Buy bulk products to reduce waste produced by excess packaging.
27. By locally produced foods whenever possible.
28. Reduce the purchase of processed and frozen foods.
29. Purchase at least 10% organic foods
30. Purchase dairy products that do not contain rBST
31. Avoid canned goods due to Bisphenol-A

Gardening

32. Compost - the natural process of decomposition produces less methane emissions than the breakdown of waste a dump or landfill.
33. Rake leaves, do not waste energy by using a leaf blower.
34. Use rain barrels to supply water for gardens and lawns.
35. Plant a tree.
36. Use an electric or push mower for your lawn
37. Use native and drought resistant plants.
38. Reduce the amount of lawn planted.
39. Work on an edible landscape

Home Maintenance and Updates

40. Purchase a programmable thermostat.
41. Caulk and weatherstrip your doors and windows to prevent air leaks
42. Clean your chimneys
43. Shrink wrap your windows during the winter.
44. Purchase easy to use wrap around foam insulaters for your pipes.
45. Insulate your attic.
46. Insulate the duct work in your home.
47. Insulate the joist bays in your home.
48. Have your furnace cleaned and tuned annually.
49. Add solar powered outdoor lamps.
50. Insulate your water heater
51. Insulate your Garage Door
52. Replace your windows with Energy Star rated Windows
53. Use Low or Zero VOC paints in the home
54. Replace the wall-to-wall carpet with environmentally friendly flooring

Traveling

55. Walk or ride a bike - it is healthy!
56. Take public transportation or carpool.
57. Change your car’s oil regularly
58. Make sure your car is properly tuned up
59. Replace the air filter regularly
60. Inflate the tires on your car to the proper level. This increases fuel efficiency.
61. Drive at the speed limit. A speed of 35-55 MPH results in maximum fuels efficiency for most vehicles.
62. Turn your car off when parked. Never leave your vehicle idling.
63. Do not use drive-thru’s. Park your vehicle, turn it off, and walk inside.
64. Avoid having unnecessary weight in your vehicle.

Other

65. Freecyle - giving things away prevents them from ending up in the landfill, where they will end up producing harmful methane emissions as they break down.
66. Check out thrift stores and yard sales for furnishings and accessories
67. See if your favorite magazines have an online or digital edition
68. Use Online Banking from your financial institution and eliminate paper billing
69. Join a video subscription service or use Cable pay-per-view instead of purchasing movies

Use Netflix To Reduce Waste

Are you a movie fan? I know I am. I would rather watch a good movie than mind-numbing television. Because of this I had a movie habit. I was addicted to DVDs. There were times when I would buy 10 movies a week. Some sit on the shelves unwrapped even though I bought them years ago. We have so many movies in the household that friends come to us before going to Blockbuster. So a few months ago, I started thinking about this excess and realized that I was spending up to $500 a month on plastic disks that I was going to use once, or at most a few times over the rest of my life. There is only so much time to watch movies.

So to cut down, I joined Netflix (www.netflix.com). They deliver the movies I want via the USPS and I send them back and get new ones when done. All for a low fee of about $15.00 a month. This allows me to put the rest of that money in my savings account or to offset the purchase of higher quality foods. The great thing about delivery by USPS is that they are coming to my home 6 days a week anyway, so there is no net carbon gain by my movie rentals as opposed to driving to a local video rental store. Plus, I don’t have to worry about storage or disposing of packaging.

10 Quick Water Saving Tips

Here are ten quick water saving tips that can save significant amounts of water over the year and don’t take a lot to implement.

1. Do Not Over-Water Plants and Lawns. Avoid water runoff into streets and gutters and use a moisture meter to monitor waterings.
2. For Best Results Try Morning Watering. Before 9am is best as evaporation loss is at a minimum.
3. Avoid Washing Down Paved Areas. Sweep driveway and sidewalks in garden cleanup. You’ll save water and burn a few extra calories.
4. When Washing the Car… Use a bucket of water. Hose off only to rinse. Use a biodegradable soap and do it on the lawn - maximum efficiency!
5. Repair Faucet Leaks. As much as 15 gallons of water can be lost each day with a slow drip. Dripping water also damages sinks by encouraging rust and mildew.
6. Avoid Toilet Water Waste. Use a toilet tank bank to save water and don’t use the toilet as a trash disposal. Invest in a composter.
7. Don’t Fall Asleep in the Shower. You’ll hurt yourself. Plus, an extra five minutes in the shower could mean another 50 gallons down the drain. Use a moderate stream or, better yet, a low-flow shower head that has maximum force using minimal water.
8. The Automatic Dishwasher… Use it Wisely. Half loads cheat you out of full water use. Who likes being cheated?
9. Watch Those Laundry Loads, Too. Some 50 gallons of water are used to wash a load of clothes. Make every load count.
10. Avoid the Running Faucet. Don’t run water continuously while shaving, brushing teeth, peeling vegetables, or washing dishes. Turn it off! Or, use a handy dandy sink aerator with a nifty flow control to temporarily halt water without losing temperature. Cool!

Use Recyclable Batteries

Save money and resources by using widely available rechargeable batteries, many of which can be reused up to 1,000 times.

More than 15 billion batteries are thrown away each year — enough to make a column to the moon and back. That number continues to grow, as we use more and more electronic devices in our lives.

Thanks to a 1996 federal law, batteries no longer contain highly toxic mercury. However, rechargeables are allowed to have less-toxic metals, such as cadmium and lead, so it is imperative (and legally required) that you dispose of them properly. Used rechargeables can be dropped off for recycling at many retailers, or consult Earth911.org for locations. When possible pick lithium-ion or NiMH (nickel metal hydride) rechargeables over NiCd (nickel-cadmium) rechargeable batteries, which contain more toxic metals.

Adjust the Thermostat

Setting your thermostat to 78 degrees (or higher) in the summer and 65 degress (or lower) in the winter can save you big dollars. I set my thermostat to 80 degrees in the hot months and 65 degrees in the winter months. It may not seem like a lot but in summer months, each degree over 75 can save you $50.00 off your electric bill. In the winter you save both on electricty and natural gas or propane so your savings can actually be higher.

To save even more money, install a programmable thermostat and have the system turned off while you are away at work or school. Then have it come on 30 minutes before you get home to cool or heat the place. In the past it was cheaper to keep the temperature constant and this might be true with older air conditioning and homes. However today’s systems are more efficient and can cool or heat your home fairly quick. With newer homes that are properly insulated and have updated systems, it is more efficient to only use the system when it is needed.

Unplug Your Appliances

Only plug in your small appliances when you need them. Do we really need the clock on the microwave? Unplugging it will save you money every month. The same goes for all other small appliances in your kitchen and around the home. Anything with an LED, power adapter or remote will use power while plugged in, even if turned off. Just leaving these items plugged in can add dozens of dollars to your electric bill every month.

Although certain appliances need constant electricity, like refrigerators of course, those that do not are constantly using a small amount of power to enable them to be instantaneously ready — which is really not necessary. The accumulated effect of unplugging all these non-essential items would make a substantial difference in energy consumption. The list of things to unplug when not in use should include cellphone and battery chargers, televisions, DVD players, video games, computers, stereos, coffee pots, and toasters. Though in today’s society, anything with a plug is reasonably suspect of being a power vampire in your home. Many devices such as televisions can actually use almost as much power when turned off as they do when turned on.

If you cannot unplug these devices invest in smart surge protectors. These devices will allow you to easily cut the power to multiple devices when a master device such as a television is turned off. This can easily be used to turn off DVD players, surround sound systems and video game consoles with one click of the remote. They can be used throughout the home where groupings of appliances or applications are used together.

However when planning your power off scheme in the home, make sure that critical devices continue to receive power. For instance, if you use an Internet Telephone company like Vonage, you need to make sure that power to your modem and router is uninterruped to maintain service. The same could be said for the DVR in your entertainment system. It can’t work if there is no power. This is what I like about the Smart Power Surge. It allows you to designate some devices as always on while others are turned off. While the ultimate goal is that our homes wouldn’t use power at all when we don’t need it to, for most people that isn’t likely to happen. Being able to finetune your power consumption to your needs though is a big bonus that can save on the monthly energy bill and the environment with little impact on your modern lifestyle.

Skip the Drive-Thru

When picking up food instead of driving through, go in and order. This will save you fuel and reduce your emissions. Over time, little steps like this add up and it don’t really impact the quality of your life. Another tip to speed up your food but improve quality is to frequent restaurants that allow you to call your order in ahead of time. When you park and go in, your food will already be ready so all you have to do is pick it up. No waiting and you cut down on the drive through.

While you are inside tell them to skip the napkins and plastic silverware if you are simply taking the food home with you. You already have utensils and napkins so why add to the clutter and waste? Another tip is to bring your own bag here as well. Canvas shopping bags aren’t just for the supermarket. You can use them anywhere that bags are used.

This is a simple step that can save money and the environment.

Pets and Halloween

Ghosts, goblins and creatures of the night will soon be prowling the streets.

Halloween will soon be upon us, small children will be dressed in out landish costumes and the world may turn scary for your dog or cat. Cats, generally have sense to hide when things get a bit much for them, but dogs on the other hand seem to want to stick around and defend the household from the strange intruders.

Halloween can be a dangerous time for our pets. As Halloween gets closer, and daylight savings time ends, the evenings are suddenly much darker and with that, sometimes “strange behaviors” occur.

What do I mean by that? Without trying to frighten anyone, I want to make you aware that even in the “best” of neighborhoods as it gets close to Halloween strange things happen, especially in regard to cats.

There are people that during this time of year, get some sort of a “kick” out of hurting small animals, mainly black cats and other cats. Maybe it is the spirit of witchcraft that fills the air. Whatever it is, it is best to keep kitty and other small pets in the house as it begins to get dark.

Dogs, too, face a stressful time, as children in strange costumes and false faces present a scary picture to a dog. Granted some dogs will just bark, but others might try to attack the “creature.”
So acting on the side of caution it is wise to keep your dog inside the house.

What other things should you consider as Halloween approaches? Halloween decorations with candles inside are pretty and cute, but tails on dogs and curious cats can mean serious problems like a fire or hot wax spilled on a pet. Cats can get serious burns and not realize it, until it is too late, as they like heat.

What would Halloween be without candy? Chocolate and pets is a no-no. Candy wrappers, especially the foil ones, can be ingested and cause your pet some serious problems.

Trick or treaters at the door, I love seeing the children all dressed up, but your cat or dog can make a quick escape out the door, while you are distracted handing out goodies. Again, on the side of caution keep your pet in a “safe room” while all this is going on. The dark of night is no time to go looking for a scared pet.

If you are planning on dressing up your pet for the occasion, first be certain it will not stress the pet out.

Secondly, if you want your pet to greet people at the door, do yourself a favor and the pet, too put your pet’s leach on and fasten it to your wrist. Why? Just to make certain when Halloween is all over, the two of you are still together.

An ounce of prevention is worth the effort it takes to ensure the safety of your pet and the others who come to your door.

Raising Eco-Conscious Kids While Helping the Planet

Having a child is often a motivating factor for protecting the environment, as most parents go green in order to improve their children’s future.  If you are like many eco-conscious parents, you hope to raise children who will have a positive impact on the environment.  However, true eco-parenting involves much more than teaching your children about recycling.

Babies and children create more waste each than several adults, which means you must begin by reducing the carbon footprints of your children.  Moreover, you must teach your children by example, and extend your green activism into your community.  Buying organic baby food and fair-trade toys is not enough.  You must reduce your family’s waste, create an environmentally friendly home, and educate your community about green living.

One common reason that parents are hesitant about going green is the belief that green living is expensive.  However, green living is often cheaper, and it can save you money both in the short term and in the long-term.

Eliminating disposable products from your home is an easy way to help the environment, and it is one eco-friendly option that will also save you a significant amount of money.  Disposable cups, plates, paper towels, diapers, and napkins are convenient items that can have a negative impact on the environment.  By decreasing the amount of these products used in your home, or eliminating the use of these items altogether, you are saving money and teaching your children an environmentally friendly alternative that they will likely carry over into their own adult lives.

Another excellent way of saving your family money while helping the environment is to reduce your family’s consumption of energy.  Turning off appliances at the wall, consolidating car trips, and using energy efficient light bulbs are simple ways to reduce energy usage that will likely turn into lifelong habits in your children.  Installing solar heating panels and reducing the temperature setting on your hot water heater are additional ways to improve the energy efficiency of your home.

Protecting the environment means making changes to more than just your home, though.  To truly have a positive impact on your environment, you need to reach out to your community.  Educate your local schools on how to go green, and become involved with an organization that plants trees or lobbies for eco-friendly legislation.  Visit organic farms with your children, and speak with your local grocery stores about increasing their stock of organic and sustainable products.

Of course, living green does not mean you cannot enjoy spending time with your family.  It simply means you need to do what you can to protect the environment.  Whether you choose to use cloth diapers instead of disposables, buy toys and furniture second-hand, carpool, plant trees, or lobby for community recycling containers, your ultimate goal should be to reduce the carbon footprint of your family, teach your children about green living, and produce more than you waste.

Environmentally Friendly Computer Use That Saves You Money

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