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52 Easy Ways to Save Money and the Planet

  • If you follow all, or even just some of the following money saving tips, you’ll be surprised at just how much money you’ll save every month. So please don’t discount any of these tips: the actions may seem small and insignificant but trust me, when you add them all up, the money you save in energy and water is a nice chunk of change.

    Plus, when you conserve energy and water you’re also helping save our natural resources which makes you feel even better.

    1. Turn the lights off when you’re not in the room.
    2. When a light bulb goes out, replace it with a compact fluorescent (or CFL).
    3. Instead of buying bottled water, put a filter on your tap water and use re-usable bottles or pitchers.
    4. During the heat of the day, close the shades.
    5. In the winter, open the shades.
    6. In the summer, do not keep the air conditioning below 78⁰F and put the air conditioning to 82⁰F when you are not home.
    7. In the winter, do not keep the heat above 72⁰F and put the heat on 68⁰F when not at home.
    8. When doing the laundry, only wash full loads.
    9. Enroll in a money saving plan with your utility company to use the majority of energy at off-peak hours. (Ok, this technically doesn’t save energy, but it does save you money!)
    10. Unplug small appliances when they are not in use.
    11. Instead of throwing away unused water or ice, save it to water your plants.
    12. Use fans instead of turning down the air conditioning.
    13. When you are done with the computer for the day, shut it off.
    14. Plug your tvs, dvd players, game systems, and computers in surge protector power strips and then shut them off when not in use.
    15. When it rains, turn off your sprinklers and drip systems for a few days.
    16. If you live in hot climates, do not have a lawn.
    17. Landscape with only native plants so you do not have to water them.
    18. Replace outdoor and landscape lights with solar lighting.
    19. Turn the water off when brushing teeth.
    20. Only let the shower run for a few minutes when waiting for the water to heat up.
    21. To speed up the heating of the shower, turn one bathroom faucet on to the “hot” position and run this until the shower turns warm.
    22. Use cloth towels instead of paper towels.
    23. Don’t wash your car that often.
    24. When washing your car, do not let the hose run. Instead, fill a bucket and use that water for cleaning.
    25. Buy concentrated cleaning products.
    26. Always use cold water to wash clothes (yes, even when using regular detergent.)
    27. Run your dishwasher only when it is full.
    28. Purchase recycled paper products.
    29. Properly inflate your tires.
    30. Instead of idling, shut your car off.
    31. Go easy on the brakes when driving.
    32. Avoid drag on your car.
    33. If you’re in the market for a new car, buy a hybrid or purchase one that gets at least 30 mpg.
    34. When you’re in the market for new appliances, buy only energy efficient ones.
    35. Eat less meat.
    36. If you’re in the market for a new water heater, buy a tankless water heater.
    37. Combine errands so you reduce driving.
    38. Walk, ride the bus or bike as often as you can.
    39. Buy products with minimal packaging.
    40. Reuse as many items as you can.
    41. Buy local food when possible from farmer’s markets.
    42. Do not buy leather.
    43. Ask your employer to let you telecommute/work from home at least one day per week.
    44. Purchase a programmable thermostat.
    45. If you’re in the market to buy a new computer, buy a laptop instead of a desktop.
    46. Clean the furnace filters once a month during the winter.
    47. Change your air conditioner filters when dirty.
    48. Change your car’s air filter when dirty.
    49. Weather-strip your windows and doors.
    50. Use timers for outdoor lights so they stay off during the day.
    51. Install a low-flow showerhead
    52. Water your plants and lawn at night (If you absolutely must have a lawn.)


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12 Comments
  1. #1 M
    November 1st, 2008 at 8:40 pm

    Great tips! It really is amazing how quickly the savings can add up, even with just doing the simplest things.

    Ms last blog post..HouseCall Free Scan

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  2. #2 C
    November 1st, 2008 at 10:39 pm

    Our electric bill went down substantially when we changed to compact fluorescent light bulbs — it really does help.

    It is amazing how these little ideas add up the savings.

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  3. #3 Chavy Goh
    November 2nd, 2008 at 10:12 pm

    Thanks for the great tips!
    There are many useful ways to save energy at home and car at http://www.waystosaveenergy.net
    It’s Free! Do drop by.

    Cheers!
    Chavy
    WaystoSaveEnergy.net

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  4. #4 mike
    November 4th, 2008 at 2:28 am

    Very good green money saving tips. I’ve already printed out the list and see if I can’t follow some of these tips in the next little while. I already follow many of these tips to save up my hard earned income but also the environment.

    mikes last blog post..Starting Residual Income Business Opportunities

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  5. #5 Green Tips
    November 6th, 2008 at 11:17 am

    Great tips! I always say that if everyone in the world would make just one change, that would add up to almost 7 BILLION CHANGES. I think that could make a difference, don’t you?

    Green Tipss last blog post..Ten Green Must-Haves for Obama’s New Puppy

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  6. #6 Chris
    November 7th, 2008 at 12:56 pm

    Great list of tips! Most of them are so easy to implement into our daily lifes without much sacrifice which makes it more likely for people to do. As a person who is trying to be more green AND save some cash the info is much appreciated!

    Chriss last blog post..How to Save Money Christmas Shopping

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  7. #7 Petter Hedberg
    November 8th, 2008 at 6:42 am

    Great advices, but I think people need to focus more on the scale of different impacts. Think more about weather you really need to go on a chartertrip to Thailand every year, insted of weather or not your soda is carbonated.

    Petter Hedbergs last blog post..Will Obama´s actions match his words?

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  8. #8 Sarah
    November 14th, 2008 at 11:21 am

    This is great, its amazing how the little things we can do can make such a difference!! Now we just have to do it…. Everyone should take a look at this post that I came across on PetermansEye.com, it is along the same line as this post. And yes Petter, i hope that Obama’s actions can match his words.

    http://www.petermanseye.com/anthologies/who-didn-t-win/376–hot-flat-and-crowded

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  9. #9 George
    November 27th, 2008 at 8:23 pm

    Just a note regarding number 9: 9. Enroll in a money saving plan with your utility company to use the majority of energy at off-peak hours. (Ok, this technically doesn’t save energy, but it does save you money!)


    You may wish to consider not only the amount of energy but the source. In off peak times when the load is at its lowest, the power companies can utilize lower cost at times more sustainable sources of energy such as hydro. In the middle of a hot day at peak demand they may have to turn on the natural gas plants which makes no one happy.

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  10. #10 Vladimir Abramov
    December 18th, 2008 at 8:50 pm

    Hi,
    I sure we have real way to stop excessive emissions from machines by installing earth-friendly gear-transmission, dramatically reduce engine or motor powers existing and new machines according their weight and limit and eliminate acceleration systems. In addition, modernizing of the vehicle, water and air crafts opens opportunity to increase number of jobs.
    54. Buy vehicle such that it with full load nave been moved by first gear (no “drive”) of transmission from stop like heavy-duty truck.
    55. Modernize your vehicle such that it with full load nave been moved by first gear of transmission from stop like heavy-duty truck.

    There is letter below for prove:

    Stop Ignoring the Physics Laws that Influence Motion

    Archimedes (circa 287-212) said: “Give me a point of support and I will turn around the Earth by a lever” more than two thousand years ago.
    However the existing tradition is to focus only on the power of a power source to move vehicles because the use of levers, i.e., gears in a transmission, for moving vehicles is too unconventional. It is much easier to increase the power of an engine or motor by an additional number of cylinders or increased diameter and length of wire than to redesign a transmission to be the source of converting momentum into motion.
    May be engine with increased diameter or number of cylinders more save energy ? This is not true. The potato cannon uses the basic principle behind any reciprocating internal combustion engine: If you put a tiny amount of high-energy fuel (like gasoline) in a small, enclosed space and ignite it, an incredible amount of energy is released in the form of expanding gas. In this case, the energy is translated into potato motion that stops after getting distant dependent to amount of energy. You can also use it for more interesting purposes. For example, if you can create a cycle that allows you to set off explosions like this hundreds of times per minute, and if you can harness that energy in a useful way, what you have is the core of a car engine! Therefore, increasing physical gas valume is increasing gas consumption.
    There is Encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org also proves:
    “Fuel efficiency is normally expressed in terms of power per unit of engine displacement, also known as specific output. It should be noted that despite common usage, “fuel efficiency” is not a synonym for “fuel economy” or “gas mileage”. Modern fuel injected engines are much more efficient at producing power than their carbureted predecessors. For example, power output from Chrysler’s 3.9 L LA V6 engine jumped from 125 hp (93 kW) to 180 hp (134 kW) in 1992 due to the addition of fuel injection and a freer-flowing intake manifold. However, improvements in fuel efficiency achieved over the last 20 years have not been translated into improvements in fuel economy — much of the savings have been offset by the use of heavier and less-aerodynamic body styles (especially SUVs and pickup trucks) and the use of more-powerful engines”.
    Maybe Archimedes is not relevant? This can be easily examined. A shift gearbox of nine shafts has a capability to increase the power of power source or the revolution of engine shaft up to 5×5x5×5x5×5x5×5=390,625 times if the average gear ratio equals five between two adjacent shafts supporting the pairs of gears. This gearbox may reduce power of locomotive engine above one hundred times up to 30 hp.
    However, existing methods of transmission design do not have the freedom to create a transportation system, heavy-duty equipment, and industrial machinery having a shift gearbox with long levers and very small power source.
    Various machinery as varied as, for example, locomotives, ships, submarines, helicopters, propeller airplanes, trucks, cars, CNC machine tools and conveyer systems have propulsions that generally comprise huge power sources directly connected to working organs because energy has been relatively inexpensive until recently- and the environmental costs were largely ignored. For example, a typical locomotive consumes one gallon of hydrocarbon fuel for less than one mile of distant. A large cruise ship achieves only about thirty inches of distance per gallon.
    Maybe the planetary or hydraulic transmissions that are used by heavy-duty equipment propulsions save energy and reduce emission of engine? No, they are not. Please you open books. The heavy-duty equipment propulsions use well-known energy inefficient planetary or hydraulic transmissions comprising few parts that require excessive energy in work process to overcome additional frictions and movements according to Physics Laws.
    This is because locomotives and cruise ships from use basic transmission designs found in land-based vehicle propulsion systems used by individuals - cars and trucks.
    An automatic transmission torque converter and continuous variable transmission are more popular in America than a manual gearbox that requires too much attention to making complex hand movements when vehicle has speed. The torque converter disk or two pullers and belt mechanism are very simple to manufacture. But how do you get high torque in a timely manner or lower revolution of a shaft? There is only one way to cut higher angular moment inertia of converter disk or two pullers and belt masses according to the First Newton‘s Physics Law of inertia. It is with friction brakes installed inside of transmission case. However, they require too much time for maintenance and are too inefficient. Is this technical problem required highest education solved very easy? Yes, it is.
    The engine power of each lightweight vehicle with an existing transmission is increased so that the function of each transmission to help timely the power source to save energy by means of higher torque is eliminated. Present vehicles indirectly ignoring Physics Law of lever. Instead, the power sources with excessive power indirectly are connected to working organs by transmissions that wait for directions from gas engine or magnetic field motor. These transmissions work as clutches.
    However, weight of full loaded heavy-duty truck (max. 80,000 lb) prevents attainment of the potential of the shift gearbox function and the average power of its engine (400 hp) is normal according to use of existing shift gearbox and acceleration system of engine. The eliminating of engine acceleration system is open opportunity to reduce its power up to highest revolution to idle speed ratio of engine shaft and to increase speed of full loaded heavy-duty truck on uphill.
    Do you want to see how your car uses power inefficiently? It is very easy to see in two ways. The first way is that your fully-loaded car initially moves only at lowest gear (first speed) from stop in the same manner as a fully-loaded heavy-duty truck is in initially moved. But as you move faster, your car transmission shifts into a higher gear (“drive”) because you have increased power of engine and transmission works as clutch. The second way is that you can compare the full weight and average power engine power of your car, typically 3,000 lbs and 250 hp, to weight of full loaded heavy-duty truck (80,000 lb) and the average engine power of 400 hp.
    Some may think that the greatly increased engine power for a car is necessary to achieve fast maneuverability of the light weight vehicle on road? This is not true. Too much time is required for the gas to the engine or magnetic field for the motor to increase the torque up to a sufficient magnitude. In comparison, hard gear pairs are capable of increasing speed more quickly by use of overdrive speeds.
    Somebody may think that the greatly increased engine power for a helicopter and propeller airplane is necessary to achieve the light weight? This is not true. The shift gearbox of about 300 lb has a capability to reduce power of engine up to 25 times. There is condition dramatically to reduce fuel consumption of engine. Therefore, weight of air craft is much more reduced by cutting weight of fuel volume than weight of shift gearbox with additional two-three small engines that improve safety of helicopter and propeller airplane.
    In result, much increased powers of power sources (the first steel vehicle of Carl Benes has engine with power 0.9hp at January 29, 1886, patent #37435, Germany) than weight of vehicle or force of resistant in work process are directly and indirectly increasing oil or/and electricity consumption that create excessive emissions providing climate changing.
    What will do to protect life on Earth from excessive emissions of fast increasing number of machines in each year? One way is below.
    The 260 “mutually definite units of energy for forced energy economy” (MDUFEE) shift gearbox families (useful in over 1,000 designs) are described in a patent pending process. Part of full application has been disclosed in WO2008027346 on the European Patent Office website http://ep.espacenet.com or esp@cenet.com. Additional disclosures have not yet been published. The basic apparatus is protected by U.S. Patent No. 7,191,676 that is available on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website http://www.uspto.gov. Each design disclosed has up to 40% of number of gear to achieve a desired range of torques than in gearbox designs using conventional approaches. Also, a lower number of shafts are needed in gear boxes comprising four and more shafts. This revolutionary technology uses well-known parts produced by existing manufactures. This design opens the opportunity to use plastic or non-metal material in transmissions.
    Use of a sufficient number of overdrive speeds of FEE units limits or eliminates the need for a conventional acceleration system. Put another way, the engine shaft has a low revolution up to idle speed in the processes of vehicle acceleration and movement. This allows for a reduction in power requirements and engine wear and permits use of a wider variety of materials for the engine. Simplification of shifting mechanism design opens opportunity to use together three regimes of movement. There is the manual regime switch to the semi-automatic or full automatic regime.
    The unusual MDUFEE gearbox design produces revolutions of engine shaft in speed ranges similar to those of an electric motor. For example MDUFEE gearbox produces 144 forward and 72 reverse torques and overdrive speeds by 27 gears - two gears less than the number of gears for the existing heavy-duty truck gearbox to achieve only 18 forward and 2 reverse speeds. Seven unusual compounds MDUFEE gearbox families are able to drive part time front wheels and rear wheels and then drive two-three pairs of wheels (4×4 - 6×6) both in forward or backward directions. One state-of-art design has two engines with two small power sources used only for acceleration of a vehicle; thus further cutting fuel consumption and emission.
    My innovative invention is a win –win for both the manufacture and the consumer, as well as for the environment. The revolutionary method of designs creates MDUFEE shift gearboxes with significantly reduced manufacturing costs by reducing the numbers of parts for each machine that need to change gears and the machine’s energy consumption. It also permits increased fuel efficiencies of over 50%. Furthermore, reduced fuel consumption translates into reduced emissions. By shifting to gear box designs that save energy according to Physics law of lever, gearboxes can be used to reduce or eliminate the need for acceleration and breaking systems. In addition, each vehicle - whether it is based on land, water and air - has improved maneuverability.
    Please stop ignoring Physics Laws that prevent disasters in life of our planet among 300 billions stars. May be the increased number of disasters on Earth is the serious signs of star Creator?
    I hope people find this post useful and link to it or send it friends.

    Vladimir Abramovs last blog post..Press Release: InventBay.com Launches New Website at International Inventor’s Expo

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  11. #11 Tommy
    January 5th, 2009 at 9:12 pm

    Here’s one to ad to the list: Buy USED cardboard boxes for moving, shipping, packing, and storage! While it’s great that more used cardboard is being recycled everyday, there’s another dimension which is to extend the life of a box. This company (www.usedcardboardboxes.com) actually “rescues, resells, and recycles” used boxes thus giving them an extended life span.

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