I have a cast-iron tub in the garage that contains one old computer monitor dumped on our lawn by some jerk last spring, a broken clock radio, and a broken VCR.  Inside, I have three plastic bins filled with functioning, but technically obsolete cameras, old cell phones, video recorders, old blackberries, at least five remotes, and lots and lots of cords.  We even have the “ornamental” computer—it still looks good sitting in the kitchen, but hasn’t worked very well for months.  We are a mountain of e-waste waiting to happen, especially with spring cleaning fever beginning to set in.

The temptation is to dump it all at the town recycling center–and declare victory for managing to find it during the 4 hours it’s open on a weekend. But that doesn’t seem very green—so what to do?

1.  The first decision is to fix it or nix it.  Greenerchoices.org is part of the Consumer Reports family and provides a useful “Fix it or Nix it” guide of whether you should bother fixing an item and a surprising number of ways to fix stuff. It also suggests repair and upgrade options. Alternatively, if you decide to nix the item, the site suggests where you can donate or sell the item or recycle it responsibly.

We are fixing the computer, one DVR, and one camera. Everything else is on the nix list.

2.  OK–now for nix list.  Should you sell, donate, or recycle?

To determine whether any of your electronics have value, you can visit gazelle.com or yourenew.com. They also offer e-recycling options for those products that don’t have any value.  Thanks to those sites I have confirmed my stuff is totally worthless…at least to them.  You may find some luck on eBay or Craigslist, but my personal opinion is the $2 I’m likely to clear isn’t worth the effort.

The next stop for anything working, or perhaps even something that isn’t, can either be the charitable route (earth911.com has a fabulous zip code based list of charities that accept electronics) or the neighborly route through freecycle.org. Freecycle has worked well for us for most items and the only downside is coordinating pick-up times.

And last, but not least–there is the recycling option.  I love that BestBuy will take one item back a day, whether you bought it there or not, and the majority for free.  Staples also has a pretty comprehensive program although only the Dell branded items are totally free. And then, if you are fortunate to have access to one, there is the town recycling center.  Most aren’t open as often as Best Buy, but now that you’ve winnowed down the load, you can also add the broken chair, CFL bulbs, and old paint cans piling up in the garage to the trip.

What’s piling up in your home?  Have you found any “impossible to recycle” electronics items?  Good ideas for donating or reuse of electronics?  Let us know…

I love take-out.  In fact, during a two year stretch in New York City, I think I had take-out every night that I wasn’t dining out.  It’s now 18 years later and I still get gifts from people saying things like “Keep a Clean Kitchen–Dine Out” and “My favorite thing to make for dinner is reservations.”  You get the point.

Unfortunately, take-out is just so not green. The plastic and styrofoam containers, plastic forks, and napkin piles are brutal.  But there are ways to make it GREENER and here are some good tips from GristTV.

Got any other tips for greening take out? Share away–they will go to good use.

This week, I took public transportation several times when I would normally drive and was feeling very virtuous. But yesterday I blew all that green goodness by stepping onto one of the biggest carbon contributors out there–an airplane.  For a cross-country flight.  And I’m not alone–there were 809MM passengers on airplanes in 2008.

Why does flying have such a big environmental impact?  Planes emit carbon dioxide & nitrous oxide, very potent greenhouse gasses.  According to Greenskies.org, a single flight across the Atlantic would produce the same amount of carbon per person as their home does in a year.  In addition, the CO2 and water vapors emitted at high altitude also has a bigger environmental impact–experts suggest anywhere from 2-2.7X the impact at ground level.

Yes, reducing your flights is the biggest way to reduce that impact, but that is often not practical.  Are there other ways to green your flying?  Pattie Prairie, the CEO of Brighter Planet, had some good tips in a post this week that included packing lightly, fly non-stop, picking the greenest airline you can (JetBlue is the best of the major carriers), and flying during the day.  I hit two for four on my trip–going non-stop with a small carry on.  But my airline was mediocre and the flight was at night.  Now what?

Brighter Planet also sells carbon offsets and their mantra is to conserve what you can and offset the rest.  My flight offset is $28 and that money goes to projects like the Greensburg Windfarm.  Carbon offsets have gotten some mixed reviews recently, but that’s not entirely surprising given how new the market is.  If you want to make sure you are purchasing a high quality offset, here is a ranking of providers.

I have to be honest and say I’m not 100% there yet on offsets. I like that the calculations give me a number that I should “contribute” to offset something ungreen and make it easy.  But I wish I had a better sense for where the money is going and more transparency about “middle man” costs.  So I’ve purchased them here and there, but am by no means a regular.

What about you?  Do you purchase offsets?  Who do you buy from? What do you think?

On Saturday night, I had a huge craving for a burger.  I don’t eat burgers a ton, but primarily so my pants will continue to fit than for any directly green reason. I visited one of my favorite Boston spots and the burger was delicious. But I also decided I needed to figure out one thing.  How not green, really, is that burger?

Honestly?  Worse than I expected.

1.  Livestock farming generates 18% of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions — by comparison, all the world’s cars, trains, planes and boats account for a combined 13% of greenhouse gas emissions. Worse than cars and planes?  Had no idea….

2. The average person in the industrialized world (that’s you and me!) eats 176 pounds of meat versus 66 pounds in the developing world. Scientists believe that if every American cut their meat consumption by 20%, it would be the same benefit on global warming as switching from a regular sedan to a Prius.

Why is livestock farming so bad? Primarily, the land it takes to graze and feed the animals. The demand for land is a major contributor to deforestation, which in turn impacts global warming.  But it is also the methane and nitrous oxide, which comes from the manure and yes, the farts. We already know the health effects of red meat range from clogged arteries to obesity, but also, unless you are eating organic meat—there are the antibiotics and hormones to contend with. Here’s an easy to read article with the gory details from Time Magazine.

While I now understand why vegetarian/vegan eating is big among super green people, there is honestly no way that I’m going to forgo red meat and pork altogether. I understand the green benefit. Not practical. So what to do?

Cut Back.

Practical?  Yes. I estimate we are down to about 88 pounds per adult per year — or down 50% versus the average and maybe 25% versus where we were. Perhaps no coincidence, I’ve lost about 10 pounds in that time and our dining out/grocery budget is lower. So at least for me, it’s been good for the planet, health/wardrobe AND the wallet. I call that the hat trick of green living!

Here are a few ways we’ve been able to do it:

1.  Dark turkey burger is a good substitute for ground beef.  Not necessarily for burgers—but we use it for tacos, pasta dishes, and anything else that calls for ground meat.  If you can’t take the plunge immediately, try going 50/50.

2.  Go ethnic a few nights a week–we’ve had fun with Vietnamese and Mexican chicken/vegetarian dishes–and my standby lunch is chicken tikka masala.  I’ve yet to be able to appreciate Tofu–all recipes/recommended dishes welcome!

3.  Rethink your relationship with carbs.  I was on a low carb diet for years and hated it, even though it seemed to work.  I’ve been really enjoying my new found relationship with pizza and pasta—they are, relatively speaking, green foods!

4.  Eat more (sustainably raised) fish. I don’t generally like fish.  I know it’s good for me, but I don’t like fishy tasting fish and then the mercury and pollution freaked me out.  But the Monterey Aquarium has a wallet sized “good fish” list , regionally tailored, that is helpful and I’ve found a few I like–particularly Tilapia.

5.  When you do eat meat & pork, choose as healthfully raised as you can. Go for organic meat–or at least without antibiotics & hormones—and ideally from family farms versus factory farms.  If that doesn’t feel “in the budget”, consider recipes that stretch smaller quantities of meat further.  I’m a big believer in stir fries & entree salads.

6.  Eat that burger—just not that often AND when you do, make sure you love it! What cutting back on red meat has done is make me appreciate it more when I do eat it.  So that burger was delicious.  I loved it–and I’ll definitely eat another one.

Just not this week….

It’s Superbowl Weekend, right?  I don’t know too many moms who get a full three hours to actually watch the game, but it is still a great excuse for a party, even if it’s just you and the kids watching the funny ads and a few downs in between bathtime and loads of laundry.  But if you do get to throw a party, it’s actually pretty easy to green the game. Here are three practical, simple ways to do it:

1.  Save Energy:  serve a local beer

There are over 1,500 breweries in the US so one of them has to be near you.  In Boston, that’s Harpoon Brewery and yes, Sam Adams still brews a little bit in Jamaica Plain.  In San Francisco, Anchor Steam is found pretty easily. In NYC, Brooklyn Beer is the most popular.  Here’s a site where you can find local breweries and brewpubs by zip.

2.  Improve health:  choose healthier, but still delicious chips & dips

I love Fritos.  But they are so not healthy, scoring a 2.3 in health from the GoodGuide (but we knew that already). But there are some tasty and healthy options that don’t taste like a side of cardboard with some salt. Trader Joe’s soy & flaxseed tortilla chips scored a perfect 10 in health.  We’re also fans of Green Mountain Gringo and Wild Harvest Organic Tortilla chips for the big people and Newman’s Own pretzels for the little ones.  In terms of dips, Whole Foods has a really good store-branded organic jarred salsa and  black bean dip.  I also loved this recipe for sour cream & onion dip that gets rid of the MSG and other nasty stuff from the packaged onion powders without tasting bland.

3.  Reduce Stuff:  Use recycled plastic or biodegradable serving ware

Preserve Products makes fun and colorful tableware that has all the benefits of plasticware (no breakage), but can be reused hundreds of times and is made from 100% recycled plastic.  You can find them at Target, Trader Joe’s & Whole Foods.  If you don’t want to go the reusable route, new disposable plates, cups and utensils made of cornstarch or sugar cane fibers can biodegrade in 180 days.  These are a bit harder to find offline, but one of our local Whole Foods has carried them.  If you know of where to get them nationally–let us know!  And last, but not least–use reusable napkins, or at least recycled paper ones.

Do you have other ways you are greening the game?  Let us know!  (And also, here’s a cheer to the underdog–Go Saints!)

It’s February and in Boston that means two activities are on many parent’s list:  skating and skiing.  Personally, I’m torn on skiing and not just because my knees are awful. First, the pros.  You are enjoying the outdoors and nature, having fun, using your own energy for at least part of the effort, they have daycare & ski school, and who doesn’t love apres ski!  And many skiiers are pretty green people.  After all, global warming really ruins the skiing.

But then you consider how they actually operate ski slopes.  Cut down trees or bulldoze runs, throw up high energy using lifts, serve pretty bad food in styrofoam, and when nature doesn’t cooperate, make a lot of snow.  Not so green.

Fortunately, the Ski Area Citizen’s Coalition has a site for those of us who want to TRY to be as green as possible while skiing.  My only complaint is that it doesn’t have Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine, but if you are out West or headed out West, you are in luck.

Every year, they rank ski areas on a series of environmental factors to produce a scorecard (kind of like what Practically Green is going to do for you…).  The grades are based on four criteria:  Habitat Protection, Protecting Watersheds, Addressing Global Climate Change, and Environmental Practices and Polices, which then form a overall grade.  Their work is endorsed by major conservation organizations and they publicize a Top 10 Best and Top 10 Worst list.

The winner for greenest ski area?  Squaw Valley, California.  The least green?  Breckenridge, Colorado.  You can also search for the place you choose to ski on the site specifically.

So no, I readily admit downhill skiing isn’t the greenest way to enjoy the outdoors (this is where all you hikers and cross-country skiiers get to remind me how virtuous you are relatively speaking).  But you can still support green living by voting with your lift ticket or encouraging your local mountain to lift their grade–their eco-grade that is.

Danny Seo’s blog entry today was devoted to the topic of laundry and had some truly stunning statistics about how much time and money is devoted to laundry (and a some good tips too).

The Environmental Protection Agency says the average family washes nearly 400 loads of laundry a year — more than load a day — and Americans spend more than $3 billion on detergent.

Who knew?  Well, you did.  Because you likely do some, if not all, of that laundry.  So why does going green with laundry matter?  Four possible reasons:  you can save energy and water, reduce stuff, and improve health.  And by greening your laundry, you can make green strides in all these areas.

1.  Switch to an eco-friendly detergent:  improve your health and your planet’s health

A typical laundry detergent contains a number of chemicals, some of which have negative environmental and health effects.  The most direct negative impact is due to chemicals in the waste water harming plants and fish, although some chemicals, particularly phthalates, can aggravate or trigger chemical sensitivities, are being found in breast milk, and research is showing some impact of exposure to phthalates on infant development.

2.  Turn to cold water and line dry (or at least clean your filter and throw in a towel!):  save energy

The majority of energy used in laundry is heating the water.  By switching to cold water, you will reduce nearly 90% of the energy used versus washing in hot.  According to the Green Book, if every house switched even to warm-cold, the US would reduce oil usage by 100,000 barrels A DAY.  The other energy hog is your dryer.  Line drying is obviously super green, but not always practical, particularly in the cold weather parts of the country.  You can save drying time, and thus energy by making sure your filter is clean and throwing in a dry towel to speed drying times.

3.  Switch to a front-loading washer–and/or wash with the washer full:  save water

An Energy Star model uses 50% less water than a standard model, and there are “Tier 3″ models that cut down an additional 40% of water usage.  You want to look for a “Water Factor” score that is under 4.5 for the most water efficient models.  And if you haven’t switched over yet, the new Cash for Appliances rebate program is either already in effect, or will be in effect, in your state this year.  But if switching just isn’t in the cards, the most water efficient thing to do is make sure the washer is full before you run it and reduce overall quantity of loads.

4.  Buy concentrated green detergent in smaller packaging:  reduce stuff

Walmart actually drove the downsizing of laundry packaging several years ago by insisting that every manufacturer double concentration.  We are now entering the era of tinier and tinier bottles–just make sure you don’t over use the detergent or it defeats the purpose.  Yes, it requires a 15 minute “laundry primer” for anyone else who might help you–kids, cleaning person, babysitter, and the spouse.  But it will cut down on packaging significantly.  And of course, recycle the bottle if you can.

Most importantly, is green laundry clean laundry?  For us, yes.  Granted, we are not working construction, but we do have lots of grass-stains and as my family and co-workers can attest,  I spill wine, coffee, balsamic vinaigrette, and Indian food on myself a decent amount.  We are fans of both Costco’s Environmentally Friendly Detergent and Seventh Generation Free & Clear.  Here also is a fun road “test” of six different detergents from Grist.org.

These ten steps will not involve drinking less wine or running 3 miles a day.  Yes, we all know that will make us more healthy, but my knees are bad and the mental health benefits of a glass of wine have to be considered somewhere in life.

These ten steps are about reducing toxins and chemicals–in your food, your air, your playroom, and the stuff you put on yourself and your kids everyday like lotions, make-up, and hair products.

1.  Eat more organic foods

Organic foods are grown without putting pesticides into the ground or water, and as a result, they aren’t in the food.  They also don’t have anti-biotics or hormones which may prove to have unintended, harmful consequences (This is where I think I need to say “there is no discernible difference between milk with rGBH and that without” or I risk being sued for food slander.  If you think I’m kidding, go see Food Inc and check out your Stonyfield Farm yogurt package).

Organic foods do cost more and my order of priority is to focus first on dairy and meat, then fruits and vegetables (particularly the “dirty dozen”), and then other items as budget permits.  I’ve also found that we can eat organic more affordably by eating less red meat, having a few vegetarian meals a week, and upping quantity of fruits and vegetables–all eating changes that are better for the diet and health as well.

2.  Audit your personal care products

The Environmental Working Group has a great tool called the Safe Cosmetics Database.  You can put in your brand of lotion, shampoo, soap, make-up, hair product, etc and it will come back with a score–green is low risk, yellow is moderate risk, and red is high risk.  I was horrified when I put in my sunscreen and it came back a high risk #8.  It can also help direct you to the safest choices for each product–and don’t assume just because it is made by a “all natural” brand that it is super safe.  Even Burt’s Bees, for example, has products that scored a 7.

3.  Know your plastics–and don’t put them in the microwave and the dishwasher

Plastics are convenient and tough to ditch all together (check out Fake Plastic Fish for one mom’s amazing attempts).  But we are beginning to learn that some are not great for health, particularly those labeled #3, #6, and #7 because they can leach chemicals into food and drinks.  Some countries have banned plastics with chemicals like BPA in them, but so far, the US has not done so.  Fortunately, more and more BPA free plastics are on the market and better information is available when deciding what to get.

4.  Avoid pesticides, inside and out

In your own home, you can take steps to avoid pest entry in the first place (Here’s a great checklist) and if they do show up, get rid of them using non-toxic products or strategies.  You can also ask people remove shoes when coming inside and have a mat to wipe off feet.  Those two steps can reduce the introduction of dirt containing chemicals in the house by nearly 70%.  Once you’ve eliminated them from your own home, start advocating at the school and in your town’s parks departments or other places your children spend lots of time.

5.  Avoid furnishings, clothes with flame retardants

While flame retardants have contributed to safety, the EPA states that the PBDE chemicals used (Plybrominated diphenyletherether) may have had unintended negative consequences for the environment and for health, citing accumulation found in breast milk and wildlife.  Exposure can cause liver, neurological, and thyroid toxicity.  And recently, the three major manufacturers have committed to phasing one type out over three years, but others will still be in use.

They are all over a home—computers, foam furnishings, etc—but the place to focus most is the kid’s bedroom given how much time they spend in bed and in pajamas.  You can easily put kids in long john type pajamas, which often do not have flame retardants (GAP sells them for babies and kids.  If you want organic, Hanna Andersson has a good assortment and great sales) and if you are buying a new mattress, look for one that is made with all natural flame retardants versus PDBEs.

6.  Clean with all-natural products

Some of the chemicals in conventional cleaning products are really toxic, not just to the water that goes down the drain, but also for the people using them and assumedly, at least some of the time, that’s you and your family.  The good news is that all natural products do work just as well.  You can buy all-natural cleaning products from companies like Seventh Generation or you can even make your own.

7.  Learn more about other VOC’s and when to avoid them

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) are organic chemicals that may be natural or synthetic and produce vapors. Generally, if you can smell it, it counts as a VOC.  VOCs have many uses, including in fuels, solvents, paints, scents, refrigerants, pesticides, and resins.   Many VOCs are hazardous air pollutants and regulated.  The release of VOC’s into the air is called off-gassing, but you may recognize it more as “new paint or carpet” smell.

The problem is that the release of VOC’s into the indoors of a home causes the concentration of chemicals to be 2-5X that of outdoor air.  Depending on the chemical and the concentration, the symptoms could be from watery eyes or mild skin irritations to more serious issues like asthma and the long term effects of VOC exposure could be much more serious.  If you’ve heard of Sick Building Syndrome, that’s generally caused by high concentrations of VOCs and a poor ventilation system.

The best way to combat VOC’s is good ventilation and fresh air.  The next is to avoid products that off-gas known toxic chemicals, including regular paints, furniture made with foam or fiberboard, synthetic carpet, pesticides, floor finishes, etc.  A good rule of thumb is that if it’s made from all-natural materials (wood, wool, natural fibers, etc), the VOCs released are likely to be very low risk.

You can check to find out the chemicals in thousands of household products using this website from the US Department of Health & Human Services.  It’s a little complicated, but many products have health and safety ratings and it does list all chemicals in a product.

8.  Reduce the amount of fake stuff in your food

Food labels are confusing–and believe me, with a child who is allergic to nuts, sesame, shellfish and eggs, I read a lot of them.  I’ve decided that the longer the food label with the more words I don’t understand, the more likely the food is to be not so great for you.  In particular, we try to avoid foods that have been shown to potentially contribute to obesity (like transfats and HFCS), as well as artificial colors and flavors, preservatives like sodium benzoate, artificial sweeteners like phenylketonurics, etc.  Why?

Basically because you can eat just fine without them and we’re finding out more everyday that the fake stuff in food may be contributing to health issues.  For example, there are reports of soda containing more benzene (byproduct of sodium benzoate that in high doses contributes to cancer) than it’s supposed to and that preservatives are causing hyperactivity.  Whole towns in Massachusetts are banning transfats and Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivores Dilemma definitely makes you think hard about the health impact of high fructose corn syrup.  We aren’t zealots.  We love Oreos and every now and then I break down and buy everyone Apple Jacks, generally to big cheers and “yeah mom!!!”.  But we try to keep it to low doses figuring better safe than sorry.

9.  Be smart about anti-bacterials and antibiotics

With a child with asthma, I’m as freaked out about H1N1 and the flu as you are.  But I have tried really hard to avoid the constant use chemical hand sanitizer and anti-bacterial wipes because if you want to see freaked out, mention drug-resistant bacteria to a physician.   So when you or your child needs antibiotics, finish the dose as directed. Use soap and water whenever possible and when you can’t find soap and water (like the train), use all-natural hand sanitizer.  The use of antibiotics in farming is also a contributor to drug resistant bacteria so that is another health benefit of buying organic meat and dairy.

10.  Get the lead out

I still remember the day in 2007 I had to take James, the red Thomas the Train pal, and throw him out because he was on the list of toys from China that had unsafe levels of lead in them.  My son was in tears and I was royally pissed off.  I had just spent thousands on a lead paint abatement so he didn’t get exposed when we raised and lowered our windows and in the end, it was the darn train?!

But the reality is that lead is still a major risk for kids and hundreds of thousands of kids test positive for elevated lead in their blood every year.  It can wind up in your air or in your products in unsuspected ways, particularly during a home renovation project of a home painted before 1950.  But it can also be in soil, get into your water through old pipes, be found in imported or older toys, art supplies, and even some imported candies.  The CDC maintains a good site about childhood lead exposure to learn more.

Think you need to purchase all new appliances, redo your windows or install solar to save energy?  You’d be surprised at how little changes, often simple and inexpensive, can add up to a decent chunk of energy savings.  And just think, if you could save 10%, the average family would have an extra $190 a year for something way more fun than the electric bill– and feel good about doing your part for the planet.

So before you tackle those bigger projects, make sure you’ve checked these items off the list.

1.  Turn down your water heater to 120 degrees.

Don’t worry, I didn’t know how to do that either.  It’s actually pretty simple. If you have gas, it’s near the bottom of the tank.  If you have electric, it’s often behind a panel.  If you have the manual, it will explain how.  There are also good “How To’s’ for this online.  Here’s one good explanation from EnergySavers.gov.

2.  Turn your heat down to 67 (or lower if you are a hearty soul).

You would be surprised how your body adjusts to the lower temperature.  The first few days may feel a bit chilly so grab a sweater, but you’ll get used to it over time and anything higher will start to feel hot.

3.  Use drapes, blinds and shutters proactively.

If it’s hot, shut them during the day.  If it’s cold, open them during the day to gain heat from the sun and close them at night to keep warm air in.

4.  Skip the “Dry” cycle or use the “No Heat” dry button on your dishwasher.

I didn’t believe it at first, but my dishes actually look fine and are equally clean—and it reduces energy used for washing dishes by 7%.

5.  Turn off your computer & monitor and unplug those chargers

The “sleep” mode lulls you into thinking it isn’t using electricity, but one day with a watt meter attached and you’ll realize how much energy drains even in that mode.  And unplug your chargers when they are not in use.  It’s a hard habit to break, but just picture a river of electricity flowing out of the cord every time you see one still attached to the wall.

6.  Install smart power strips.

While you’re tackling the computer, don’t forget your TV, sound system, etc.  Flat-screen Plasma/HiDef TV’s consume a significant amount of energy, even in passive mode.  There are smart power strips that enable you to turn off the TV, but keep the DVR going so you can still have the latest episodse of Wonderpets and American Idol and save energy.

7.  Switch from incandescents to LEDs and CFLs.

Yes, I know—you are tired of hearing about them, hate the color, the mercury freaks you out, the thought of paying $39.95 for an LED light-bulb is unfathomable, etc.  But they really do save a lot of energy–a whopping 80% by most life cycle assessments and the average home has dozens of lights so you will save money.  They also last a really long time, so it’s a huge bonus to use them for any light that requires a ladder.

And of course, turn off the lights when you leave a room.  My husband is laughing as I write this because I seem to always leave one on somewhere and he is a light-turning-off zealot.  What’s worked well for sloppy light-turner-offers like me are motion sensor in places like closets and timers for outside lights.

8.  Try and reduce your auto miles.

Whether it’s through combining trips, telecommuting more, carpooling one day a week to school/work/activities, picking places to go closer to home, or figuring out that bus/train schedule near you, less driving offers one of the biggest opportunities to reduce energy and save money–and if you are walking or biking–get healthy.  If you are struggling to find a way to share rides or stay organized when you do, check out GoLoco, an online service that connects you to your friends and friends of friends for ride sharing.

9.  Wash your clothes in cold water; clean the lint filter in your dryer.

Even if you just moved from hot to warm water, you would cut energy use by 50% in the washer.  And if you don’t have a dryer with a moisture sensor, be careful not to overdry.  And always clean the lint trap to keep drying times shorter.  If you are in a warm climate area or it’s summer time, consider line drying.  I haven’t made the leap, but it’s on my list for the future.

10.  Get a professional energy audit.

Sometimes the biggest energy losses in a home are hidden behind the walls or near the pipes.  A professional audit will give you a roadmap for where your greatest efficient opportunities might exist and you might be surprised how a little investment will produce a big return. Our audit highlighted opportunities to wrap our ductwork, seal up cracks, and improve insulation in several spots.  Some companies will even do some of the work after the audit and some of that work qualifies for a tax credit this year.

To get more ideas, there are great energy saving resources online including the US Department of Energy’s Energy Saver’s website and the Natural Resources Defense Councils Simple Steps site.

Water Use It Wisely is a friendly, easy to use site with 100+ ideas to save water that range from big ideas like dual-flush toilets and rainwater harvesting systems to littler ideas like bathing your young children together or taking the ice from a drink you’ve finished and putting it on a plant.  They have a water saving “tip” widget you can add to your site or blog and a kids section, with games and downloads that they can have fun with and learn to reduce water around the house.

A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact our daily choices, actions, and activities have on the environment and climate change. It also measures the amount of greenhouse gases (e.g., carbon dioxide) each person individually produces.

To learn more, go to:
http://www.carbonfootprint.com/carbonfootprint.html