Beauty & personal care
Use an electric razor instead of a disposable.
Way to cool off is to slather lotion on & put the fan on. It’s better than AC! Plus it helps keep your skin supple.
Buy concentrated forms of soaps, cleansers, etc. Just add water which is free!
Bills
Pay bills online. Those who make electronic payments spend just 15 min. a month on the task compared to check writers who spend 2 hours a month. Plus check writers pay more for stamps & late fees- NACHA The Electronic Payments Association
Energy & electricity
www.energystar.gov & click on Rebate Finder. You'll find promotions that snag you cash back on purchases.
Call Electric or Gas company & ask for a free energy audit. They’ll send an expert to inspect your home for hidden energy drains from Paul Scheckel author of “The home energy diet”. Can save at least 5%/ $150 annually.
Computer- use Energy Star feature to conserve power
Pull the plug- Unplug your TV when it’s not in use. Some models may consume more electricity in 20 hours of being off than they do in 4 hours of being on. In other words, “off” isn’t really off. Most TV’s remain in low-energy standby modes when turned off, so that they can instantly respond to remote controls. If you have more than one item to plug in for power, such as a TV & DVD player, use a power strip. This makes it easier to turn off all items at once when not in use, saving energy. -National Geographic Green Guide book.
Prepared using a microwave, the same meal you'd cook for one hour in your electric oven uses 80% less energy. Free gourmet microwave recipes at www.recipezaar.com/browse/top/144
Entertainment
Rent books, movies, magazines, CD’s from library. Have a swap w/ others. Read the newspaper online instead of having it delivered. Most are available nowadays.
Food & water
Make your own soymilk, baked goods, pasta sauce, breads…
Use a local farmer’s market.
Buy largest package when possible. Why? ‘cos you get more for your money for one, & two, less waste goes into the smaller packagings.
Bring a coffee mug or water bottle & reuse them.
Garden/ outdoors
Don’t throw organic matter in trash- compost it instead. It’s not hard. Plus it makes for good natural CHEAP! fertilizer for your garden & plants.
House & Home
Use a wire hanger to unclog drains.
Turn off lights when you leave the room
Unplug electricals when not in use. Even at a motel. People think, Well hey I’m not paying for it. True. But… this WORLD is paying for it.
Change the lightbulbs to CFL’s, compact fluorescent light bulbs. Yes, they do contain mercury but only a small amount. These are the things you need to weigh the pros & cons. Either have a lightbulb you need to replace often or one that will last for years!
Clothes- line dry instead of using the dryer. We have 2 clotheslines so we can line dry all year long.
Rethink your laundry. If you just wear a shirt once & it’s not dirty, don’t throw it in the laundry hamper! Wear it again!
Cut rags in half to extend them. Most times we don’t need a whole rag for washing up.
$100 to use electric dryer a year. Accounts for 6% of electricity we use.- ABC news
Leave shoes at the door to reduce seasonal allergy flare ups by keeping you from tracking pollen & mold spores into your home from the outdoors. – Woman’s World mag.
Next time you spot a household staple on sale, pick up enough to last 12 weeks, that's 'bout how long you'll have to wait for the product to be marked down again.- Woman's World mag.
Mail
Use junk mail as scrap paper. Or better yet, take the minute & call them to have your name taken off. Can also just mail it back to them, unopened. www.catalogchoice.org to opt out
www.greendimes.com to remove for free junk mail
Office
Use both sides of printing paper.
Phone
www.donotcall.gov toput your name on the Do Not Call Government’s list.
Rags
Use old, tattered, stained clothes as cleaning rags.
Restaurant
Take in your own containers for carryout.
School
Free e-book sites like www.planetbook.com & www.freeloadpress.com/booklist.aspx
Log on to www.printablepaper.net & download what you need for graph pads, music & other speciality paper when you need only a few sheets. Then simply print it on your regular printer paper.
Metal free stapler, injury proof. Staple free stapler that joins up to 5 pages together thru tiny cuts & folds www.thinkgeek.com $6. Staples interfere w/ paper recycling & are dangerous to animals in landfills.
Get a new looking backpack for nothing. By revamping last year's. Most manufacturers offer a "lifetime warranty" & will fix zippers, seams, & straps for free or give you a new bag at no charge. Look for your bag's manufacturer online & call the company.
Stains, remove from plasticware
Set outside for a couple of hours tilting so sunlight hits stains. Stains will be bleached away.
Fill container w/ warm water & drop in 2 denture tabs for 2 hours.
Squeeze half a lemon's worth of juice onto stain, shake some BS & let sit overnight. Wipe away w/ soft cloth.
Prevent stains from forming in first place by spritzing containers w/ cooking spray before filling. Won't affect taste.
Store
Bring canvas bag with you to a store. If you have a lot of items, try to get a box from the store to put them in. What we also do at Wal-Mart is just leave them in the cart at checkout. We be sure to have the receipt w/ us when we go out.
Vehicle/ gas
Don’t idle longer than 30 seconds. http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/09/pf/gas_myths/index.htm
“But because of modern fuel-injection technology, drivers actually save gas by turning off their engine than letting their car needlessly idle, says Consumer Reports' Paul. Granted it's probably not sensible shutting down the engine every time you get stuck in traffic, but if it looks like you might be at the drive-thru for more than 30 seconds to a minute, it's worth turning off your car, says Paul.”
Combine trips to save on gas.
Save at gas pump. A fuel efficient car reduces air pollution too!
Lighten your load. For every extra 50#’s of weight you carry, you lose 1% of gas mileage.
Follow these a/c rules- Have a car made before 2000? You’ll save loads by cooling off w/ open windows when you’re driving below 45 mph. For maximum efficiency, roll down all 4 windows to reduce wind drag. Have a car made after 2000? Turn on the air whenever you want. In recent years, manufacturers figured out how to reduce the a/c drag on your car’s engine so it won’t burn extra fuel at lower speeds. Lauren Fix “Lauren Fix’s guide to loving your car”
Check your cap to stop this gas thief. The sun. Nearly 1 in 5 cars has gas evaporating out of the tank due to loose or damaged gas caps. Turns out, once that airtight seal is broken, the sun sucks fuel right out. You can lose 30 gallons of gas a year to evaporation. Inspect your cap for cracks & breaks & be sure it fits securely. Turn it until you hear it click 3 times. You can replace it for $10. Not sure if yours is leaking? Any repair shop that performs emissions tests will likely have cap testing equipment on hand too. – Woman’s World mag.
Top off tank in the a.m. Heat causes fuel to expand so if you wait until afternoon, you'll actually pump less into your tank while still paying top dollar.- Woman's World mag.
www.edmunds.com Cut fuel consumption by 31% by not zipping in & out of lanes. Skip drive thru eateries too. Not idling can save up to 19% of fuel. Use cruise control to avoid gas stops, to reduce gas consumption by up to 14%.
The truth about hybrids- Are they worth the extra money? Yes! If you’re keeping the car for over a year, it’ll save you up to $3,750 in fuel & reduce annual carbon dioxide output by 16,000 pounds.
Use multigrade motor oil which can boost your mileage by 2.7%. If you fill up once a week, it’s like getting 7 miles for free.
The emptier the tank, the lighter your car, which gives you better mileage. So fill up only when you’re under a ¼ of a tank.
Major supermarket chains like Price Chopper & Supervalu offer gas saving coupons on the back of receipts.
Slow down! Driving over 60mph cuts into gas efficiency.
Women personal
Instead of tampons or pads, use a Diva cup or similar product. It pays for itself, is reusable, & not messy when you get the hang of it. Plus, there’s no odor as the blood is kept inside the body. Can go to www.divacup.com for more info. It’s environmentally friendly, safe, effective & nothing to throw away.
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