Tag Archive for save

A Cool Way to Save Money

Be cooler in summer and save up to 25% annual energy costs.  Get summer shade by planting deciduous shrubs and trees on the south and west sides of your house. When you want the warmth (in the winter), the sun peeks in through the north and east.

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[For more easy, money-saving, Earth-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to www.Smashwords.com/books/view/7000 or your favorite e-book seller and download to your computer or e-book device. Totally free, with no strings attached.]

Know How to Boil Water?

When boiling water, cover the pan.  This prevents evaporation and makes the water boil faster, thus saving both water and energy.

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[For more easy, money-saving, Earth-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to www.Smashwords.com/books/view/7000 or your favorite e-book seller and download to your computer or e-book device. Totally free, with no strings attached.]

Cool AC Savings

Keep your AC unit cool.  Loosely cover the condenser or window-mounted unit (don’t restrict air-flow, which will increase electricity use); put an awning over it; or plant a tree that will shade the unit.  Any of these measures can save energy and up to 10% on your AC costs.

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[For more easy, money-saving, Earth-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to www.Smashwords.com/books/view/7000 or your favorite e-book seller and download to your computer or e-book device. Totally free, with no strings attached.]

About that Garbage Disposal…

Use the garbage disposal less. Between faucets washing scraps down the drain while they’re being ground up and the water used to process sewage in treatment plants, some 500,000 gallons of water are wasted daily.  Choose and cook foods which produce little waste, be creative with leftovers, and turn what remains into compost to nourish your plants without a trip to the nursery for plant food.

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[For more easy, money-saving, Eco-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to www.Smashwords.com/books/ view/7000, choose a format, and download to your computer or e-book device. Or download a free copy from your favorite e-tailer. For a FREE paperback copy, email [email protected]. Details at My Free Books.]

Beat the Heat!

Beat the heat with skylights that reflect sunlight, low-E coatings on windows facing south and west, and awnings over windows. In the summer, a non-heated house is more comfortable than blasting air conditioning and avoids unnecessary energy usage.

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[For more easy, money-saving, Earth-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to www.Smashwords.com/books/view/7000 or your favorite e-book seller and download to your computer or e-book device. Totally free, with no strings attached.]

       

Saving Can Be Cool in the Summer

Here are a few hints to keep your house–and so yourself–cool this summer: 1) Open up the window coverings when sunlight isn’t streaming through, then close when the sun hits the windows. 2) Use light-colored, loose-weave mesh shades to let in light and keep out heat. 3) Apply reflective (also called low-emissivity, or “low-e”) coatings to the outside of windows. Then, sit back, relax, and enjoy the comfort, knowing that, by not using your AC, you’re saving energy and money.

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[For more easy, money-saving, Earth-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to www.Smashwords.com/books/view/7000 or your favorite e-book seller and download to your computer or e-book device. Totally free, with no strings attached.]

Save Bread (Both Types)

So much bread goes stale, then into the garbage. It’s a waste of money and natural resources to grow the grain to make it. Check out the video How to Waste Less Bread.  It gives tips on keeping bread fresh and on ways to use it when it goes stale.

 

Swaps and Saved Trash

Thanks to Tina Blease for this great chart.

Too Good to Waste

Want to save money on your food bill and be kinder to the Earth at the same time? You’d be surprised how much good food we just toss away.Take the I Value Food challenge to find out where the food waste is in your home and what changes you can make to reduce waste and save money.

[For more easy, money-saving, Earth-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to www.Smashwords.com/books/view/7000 or your favorite e-book seller and download to your computer or e-book device. Totally free, with no strings attached.]

The Family Budget as a Weapon

Here, in the middle of the year, many of us are reviewing our family budget to make sure we’re okay until January.  This is a good time to take a close look, to see if our spending habits reflect what we say we believe.  For example, I believe in human dignity, so shouldn’t I stop buying at that huge discount chain that has been in the news often for mistreating and intimidating their non-documented immigrant employees?  I respect how hard local farmers work, so why not buy at farmers’ markets and through co-ops?  I may have to pay a little more.  But I can save money (and the environment) by walking or car-pooling sometimes.  Or by exchanging one night out a month for a family-centered game-night in.  I need to make my priorities clear to myself and to the stores and corporations I buy from.  They notice how we spend our money.  That makes our family budget a potential weapon of mass instruction!