Turn down your water heater to 120 degrees (that’s around halfway between medium and low settings). It will still provide an adequate amount of hot water for your household needs. Better yet, install a tankless or solar-powered hot water heater for the utmost in energy efficiency!!!

Change your furnace filters on a regular basis and make sure to choose high quality filters to maintain your heating/cooling system’s efficiency and ability to provide you with clean indoor air.  Also, don’t forget to turn off the a/c and open your windows on pleasant days to bring in some fresh air and save electricity!!

Use natural cleaning products and air fresheners rather than harsh chemical-based ones. It’ll improve the air quality in your home!!!

Change your lightbulbs to compact fluorescents when they burn out!  Compact fluorescents or CFLs use a fraction of the energy that incandescents use which reduces greenhouse gases.  Also, they last much longer; and they’ll save you money$$ on your utility bills!!!!!

Turn off the ‘heated dry’ cycle on your dishwasher to save energy, It’s not needed anyways.  Also, scrape dishes rather than rinsing before adding them to the dishwasher!  Given today’s technology, dishwashers today can handle it!  Most importantly, be sure to run the washer only when full!!

Consider using real dishes, glasses, flatware and napkins for meals, even for parties (your guests will feel special!).  If you must use disposables, look for ones made of recycled content at your local grocery store.  Paper products like tissues, paper towels, napkins, and toilet paper made from recycled paper are also easily found.  Please do your part!

Instead of using countless plastic bags to hold food items (like leftovers), please use reusable glass or porcelain storage containers. They’re safe for the microwave, oven and dishwasher (minus the plastic lids), plus they don’t leach harmful chemicals into your food!!  It’s a win-win!!

A great way to recycle your old newpapers is to bring them to your local animal shelter.

Unplug your electronics when they are not in use!… 10% of the electricity used in your home is burned by communication devices and appliances—when they are turned off, but still plugged in! Americans would save over $100 million in electricity just by unplugging!

Use cold water instead of hot to do a load of laundry… most loads don’t need hot water…. the higher the water temperature – higher costs for you and our planet earth!

Use old towels or cotton clothing as rags in the kitchen, and toss them in the wash. Also, once you’ve done the dishes, use the water in the sink to water plants. Your environmentally friendly dish soap will not hurt your beautiful plants.

Save & Try using lemons to clean up your kitchen counter tops!! Cut the lemon in half and squeeze out the juice on your counter stain for ONLY a few minutes and then scrub the area with baking soda and watch your tough stains magically disappear!  You will have a kitchen smelling like fresh lemons!  Note: Lemons are more POWERFUL than you think!… so dont leave on the counter too long!