Pages
Use washable cleaning rags, dish sponges and napkins
by
Nov 25, 2010
Throwing away paper products like napkins and paper towels is such a waste -- filling up landfills and taking trees. We bought cheap and attractive...
Vinegar, baking soda and hot water are your friends
by
Nov 25, 2010
Baking soda cleans, deodorizes, softens water and scours (say goodbye to Comet!). Vinegar cuts grease and removes mildew, odors, some stains and...
Don't rinse plates; scrape food off instead. Most dishwashers remove food residues and pre-rinsing can waste as much as 20 gallons per load
by
Nov 25, 2010
After a large meal at home, opening up the tap to rinse away food residues can seem like the quickest way to flush the remains down the garbage...
Only run the dishwasher on full loads. No matter how efficient your washer is, running it half full wastes twice the water. Load up.
by
Nov 25, 2010
Dishwashers have become much more efficient over the last decade, with new EPA Energy Star-rated machines using as little as three gallons per load...
Don't pay to heat the outdoors. Seal and insulate your home to keep warm air inside. You could save up to $400 annually
by
Nov 25, 2010
Most people can handle sealing jobs if they have good quality caulk (i.e, not too watery) and learn to handle a caulk gun. Weather stripping is...
Fix leaky toilets, they can waste an extra 200 gallons of fresh water every day
by
Nov 27, 2010
Toilets can be the greatest water waster in a home, and inefficient toilets can use up to 20 gallons a day. But if the toilet is leaking water, the...
Switch to a low flow showerhead. Choose one that "aerates the water" and you can keep up the pressure while halving water use
by
Nov 25, 2010
Using less water in the shower saves you the expense of heating it while also helping stave off drought, a serious problem, particularly in the...
Find creative cooling solutions
by
Nov 27, 2010
To control heat intake, and effectively, energy-consumption, consider covering windows that receive a lot of sun with semi-opaque polycarbonate...
Build walls with dirt
by
Nov 25, 2010
When in construction mode, consider using pneumatically impacted stabilized earth (PISE), which is a nearly perfect building material. The...
Alternate heating systems
by
Nov 25, 2010
There are alternatives to forced-air heating systems, particularly in mild climates such as California. Consider a grid-tied photovoltaic approach,...
