Natural and Sustainable

1. Plug your computer, fax machine, copier, scanner, TV, DVD player, and even your Ipod and phone chargers onto a power strip and then simply switch it off when you are not suing them.

2. Replace 10 incandescent bulbs in your home or office with CFLs. Carpool to the office; donate used gear and sporting goods and even well worn older shoes that are good condition as well.

3. Turn down your water heater, air-dry your dishes and even use rechargeable batteries when you can.

4. Replace your clogged car filter; recycle plastics, paper, metals and glass no matter what. Look for recycled products as well and keep them in circulation.

5. Remove your car’s roof rack when you aren’t using it, drink filtered tap water instead of water that has been bottled and BYOB, bring your own bottle to places and refill it. Eat vegetarian twice a week at your home or at the office. Turn off the lights with you leave a room and turn off the ceiling fan when you aren’t in a room as well. Bike to most of your in-town errands and walk to places close like a friend’s house, or the library.

6. Cut down on your car washing, and sweep your driveway off instead of using the hose to spray it. Accelerate your speed gradually in your car to help save gas as well. Use the cruise control on the interstate and open highways. Always drive the speed limit, it’s better to be late then over-use your gas and even get a ticket.

7. Take a Navy shower by turning off the water while you soap up. Shave in the sink and not in the shower to help save water as well. Don’t overfill the bathtub.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Use environmentally friendly insulation on your home. It will help cut your heating and cooling cost as well as helps with your impact on the earth as well.

• Collect rainwater from downspouts and use it to water your won garden and plants.

• Say no to carpeting. Carpet contains more contaminants and pollen and dust than anything else in your home.

• Buy green power when you can and ask your utility company to off it if they don’t already. The typical U.S. household uses about 10,000 KWH a year.

• Repair, and don’t replace appliances. Each fix means your won’t be buying a new one and it will keep your old one out of landfills. IF you feel you must replace, then donate the broken or semi-broken one to a company that refurbishes or repairs then and resells then.

• Buy energy-efficient appliance when you do replace. Energy Star appliance use 10 to up to 50% less energy and water and must meet EPA efficiency guidelines.

• Dry your dishes on the dishwasher rack and if your dishwasher offers the air dry option, use that as well.

• Buy secondhand clothing or household items as tag sales and save the carbon cost of new production.

• Hang your laundry out to dry on a clothes line and eliminate one dryer cycle per week or more.

• Clean AC filters or replace them when necessary to keep your AC unit running smoothly.

• Run ceiling fans instead of the air conditioner in hot climates; this can save you more than a ton of CO2 waste within your won home.

• Use cold water to wash and rinse your clothes, only use hot water when the laundry is very dirty and always wash your bedding in hot water to kill bed bugs and dust mites.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Go for low flow showerheads, this switch can save you 1800 in eclectic cost and 43o in natural gas depending on how your water is heated. Not to mention the savings in water cost and waste as well. Consider putting in a low-flow toilet as well.

Plastic Grocery Bag Draft Stopper: This project is great for keeping plastic bags out of land fills and ending up in our streams and water ways.

What you will need:• Wool tights or Cotton mesh
• 40-100 plastic grocery bags
• Twine or cotton string
• Glue
• Colored ribbon (optional)
• Buttons (optional)

What you will need to do:
With the 40-100 plastic grocery bags, wrinkle the bags one by one and stuff them into the tights or cotton mesh bag. Pile as many as you can into the tights and make sure the tights can move a bit freely into a shape that you want so that it will rest against your leaking or drafty door crack or window. Also make sure that it is the same length of your doorway or window. You don’t want it hanging over the sides and giving gaps for air to leak through. Once the tights are stuffed tie off the end and use the twine to close the opening. If you choose you can also sew a straight stitch across the opening to make sure the opening does stay shut for the life of the draft stopper. Once the opening is close, cut off the remaining leg and the rest of the excess that is left from the tights. If using a mess bag or mesh material, you will need to use the sewing machine to cut a small rectangle size piece from the material and sew up the sides and both ends to create a legging-type shape.

Using the glue you can attack ribbons or other designs to the draft-stopper to give as gifts or just to decorate to use in a child’s room or play room.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Here is a simple list of helpful and very useful links:
1. EPA
2. Grist
3. Treehugger
4. Ideal Bite
Check out these links to learn more about what you can do as an individual in order to help out the environment and yourself.

Most bottled water you purchase is basically just tap water in a mask. Most bottled water manufactures’ market on the idea that the consumer thinks they are buying better water in a bottle, but tap water is held in higher standard than most if not all bottled water is. But with this thought many people depend greatly on bottled water which is taking a great toll on our environment in a big way.

The environmental impact creates fossil fuel consumption, water consumption and ever massive amounts of waste every year. There is approximately 1.5 million gallons of oil, enough to run about 100, 000 cars for a whole year used in making the plastic which holds this water we are consuming. The water we are consuming is effecting nearby farmers that are close to the bottling plant. There are millions of gallons of water used to make the plastic to hold the water and 2 gallons of water are wasted in the purification process as well. The waste is what’s taking a toll the most. There are only about 10 percent of the plastic water bottles being recycled; leaving the rest in a landfill where it takes thousands of years for the materials to decompose completely.

There is a better and cheaper alternative to this ever growing problem. Simply turn on the tap the next time you want a quick drink of water. Installing a faucet-mounted filter or keeping a pitcher filter in your fridge will take out some of the tap-water taste from the city water as well. If you are away from home, be sure and take your own water in a stainless steel or plastic container with the numbers 2, 4 or 5 instead of buying bottled water. Always bring your own water (BOYW) whenever you can.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Use recycled content toilet paper. If everyone in the U.S. used one recycled roll per year it would save 424,000 trees.

Making your own recycled watering jug:

What you will need:
1. 1/2 gallon plastic jug, such as orange juice or milk jugs. Use a jug that has a sturdy handle so you child can easily hold the jug while using it.

2. Hammer and nail; to punch holes in the jug so the water can drain while using it.

4. Colored duct tape or paints (Use non-toxic, no-water-based paints for this project)

5. Small bucket (to collect water to use in the jug for watering the plants with)

What you need to do:

Using a hammer and nails to punch 10 to 15 holes about 1/4-inch apart in the upper corner of the jug on the opposite side of the handle of the jug. Cluster the holes just as you see in a purchased water can.

Kids can design the jug in anyway they want. You want to use water-proof sticker and or water-proof paints. If you use water-based paints, they will dissolve over time, so find some nontoxic paints that will withstand the use of water and your child using the jug.

The bucket can be placed in the shower to collect shower run off and your kids can use that extra water to water their plants with. Or go one step better and have them help you create a rain collection barrel. This will show kids the importance of saving water and also recycling old into something new.

Kids will love this jug project because it is something they made that they can use everyday on their own plants and/or garden plants.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Be smart about the toys your child plays with. Look for second hand toys at yard sales or second hand stores and the wooden toys with nontoxic finishes are the best for your child. Plastic toys aren’t so great all the time. Plus wooden toys last a lot longer than plastic ones do anyway so they are well worth your money and your health in the long run.

Americans alone go through an estimated 70 million plastic bottles daily and over 80% of those go start to the landfill. What is one to do? With the fear of PET in plastic, a lot of people aren’t sure where to turn. Here is a simple list of the reusable bottles that are healthier alternatives to the landfill filling plastic throwaway bottles.

1. BPA-Free: Avoid this danger by steering clear of anything that does not read BPA-Free. You can pick these up from Born Free bottles and even sippy cups are available as well.

2. Stainless Steel/Aluminum: These bottles are guaranteed not to leach any harmful chemicals. They are lightweight and can be taken anywhere. They are also reusable and even recyclable. Try ones by My Sigg.

3. Glass Bottles: Glass is always the top leader in leach-free containers. They reusable and even recyclable like their aluminum counterpart. Never give a glass container to a child though, because of the fear of breakage. There are glass coverings available on the market like ones from Built NY.

4. Biodegradable Plastic Bottles: These are made from corn, bioplastic bottles can be composted and they don’t contain petroleum or even leach the harmful chemicals like most other plastics. Try brand such as Biota or Blue Planet Water.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Make since of your money and make it green sense. General Electric and MasterCard introduce the Earth Rewards credit card. Every time you make a purchase with the card, a portion of your purchase will go to offsetting carbon emissions.

If you are like me you can’t stand those plastic bags the stores seem to push at you when you purchase something. Back in the 50s and the 60s the common phrase at the check outs were, “paper or plastic sir”? Now it seems your only option is the plastic, unless you sate otherwise.

But what to do with all that plastic once it leaves the store and enters your own home?

Here are some tips to steer you in the right direction.

1. Use them as bin liners in your trash cans.

2.Place them in the bottom of plant pots and hanging baskets - they act as great drainage systems.

3. Children can use them for carrying their things to school.

4. Use then when you’re packaging as an alternative to bubble wrap.

5. Use them in the garden to hold your grass cuttings and hedge trimmings before transfer to a compost bin.

5. Use them when packing for a holiday to keep dirty/wet clothes and shoes away from dry clothing.

6. Use them as ‘doggy doo bags’ when out walking your dog!

7. Some supermarkets recycle plastic bags, so you can return plastic bags to them.

8. Use them for car trash pickup bags in your vehicle.

9. Use them, in a decorative way as a rain hat when it’s pouring outside.

10. Use them for your lunch bag at work or at school.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: In this day and age gas prices going up seems to be the norm, so in order to conserve gas, drive under 60 miles per hour. It will save the $ in your pocket book as well.

Americans throw away enough office paper to build a 12-foot-hgh wall from Los Angeles to New York. Recycling one time of paper saves 17 mature trees, 7,000 gallons of water, a 380 gallons of oil. Making new paper from recycled paper used 30 to 50 percent less energy than making paper from trees, and it produces 95 percent less air pollution. Encourage everyone in your office to print and photocopy only when necessary, use both side of the paper when you do print, and try to reuse paper. Fro when you must print, here are a couple of accessories and ideas to help you work more green:

1. Recycled paper with 30 to 35 percent post consumer content, which is available at Office Depot stores.

2. Paper from nonwood fibers, such as Ecopaper made in Costa Rica from agro-waste. Paper made from agricultural residue is pricey, but this does encourage careful paper usage. The price will come down as production increases.

3. Recycled paper with 100 percent post consumer content, processed without chlorine, from The Green Office. Locating a green paper resource near your office will minimize pollution from transportation.

4. Use refillable pens made from recycled plastic.

5. Recycle your printer cartridges-for every ink or laser toner cartridge that is recycle, two quarts of oil are kept out of landfills.

6. Chlorine free and tree-free papers are the most ecofriendly choices to go.
(Source: Organic Gardening 2008)

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Always turn the lights out in a room or closet when you are finished. What’s the point of leaving the light on anyway?

VERY GREEN HOUSE: Building a new home or redecorating a room? Visit the Green House at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. It’s a 7,00-suare-foot re-creation of the Glide House, a low maintenance, affordable modernist home. Guests can check out 60 eco-friendly products from countertops to carpets. If you can’t make the trip visit the website for ides to use in your own home.

As with past postings on building more green, there are many things in which a person wanting to change some minor details in their home currently or to build fresh can use to help with that process. Here are a few other ideas that can be incorporated into those green ideas for your newly green-building project.

• Passive solar orientation with UV-filtering shades on southern side.

• Through tree preservation work by certified arborists.

• Recyled-content steel framing and concrete.

• Energy Start HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system with efficient heat exchanger.

• Floors made of FSC-certified wood and cork.

• Carpet made from natural wool and recycled plastic.

• FSC-certified maple kitchen cabinets with wheatboard interior cores and VOC-free finishes.

• Low- and zero-VOC paints.

• Low-E glazed, double paned, argon-filled, wood-framed casement windows. While these windows cost more than conventional, they’re around the same price as premium, custom-sized designer windows.

• Extra-high R-value formaldehyde-free insulation.

• 100 precent recucled content drywall.

• Decks made of FSC-certified ipê wood and Trex (wood/platic composite.)

• Local stone used in terrace, garden paths, and even use them in landscaping.

• Native specied plants in the gardens to filter driveway runoff before it reach local tributaries.

• Rainwater catchment used for irrigation.

• Rainwater harvesting containers to use to watering plants indoors and outdoors.

• Furniture designed with eco-friendly, natural fabrics.

• Energy-Star appliances.

• Energy-saving light fixtures; Smart Home dimmer system.

• Long-lasting soapstone kitchen counters.

• Bathroom countertops made of salvaged stone and recycled-glass composites.

• Low-flow, motion-activated sink faucets (price in line with conventional Kohler faucets.)

• Low-flow toilets.

• Permanent conservation easement planned.

With Valentine’s Day coming up more and more people are headed to the supermarket for Valentine’s Day card retailer to grab “mass-producted” valentines. At our home we make eco-crafts whenever we can. From dehydrating fruit rings and making our own homemade potporri to handmade crads made with all-natural materials. Here is one craft that I love to make and it doesn’t just have to be made for Valentine’s Day, it can be made for any occasion when you just want to tell the one you care for that you love them.

Materials Needed:
• Freezer paper
• One cup of water, in a bowl
• Paper towels
• Iron and ironing board
• Towels
• Cardstock and envelopes
• Craft glue
• Scissors
• Soy Silk Fusion Kit
• Embroidery floss and needle
• Small paper punch
• Glitter
• Sewing machine and thread (optional)
• Decorative all-natural paper

To make the soy silk for projects:
1. Place a sheet of freezer paper (about 18″) shiny side up, on a flat surface. As if your were pulling apart a cotton ball, seperate the Soy Silk fibers. Lay seperate pieces out on the paper, overlapping and crisscrossing each layer while taking care to leave at least a 1″ border between the fibers and the edge of the paper. Make the final product about 1″ thick. You can also add some glitter or yarn scraps to the top layer.

2. Once you’re happy with the look of the fiber laid out, lay mesh over the whole thing. Mix one part medium to three parts water and sprinkle lightly over the fibers. Starting in the center and working outward, gently massage this mixture into the fibers, adding more water when necessary. Watch the fusion take place.

3. Slowly remove the mesh and set it aside. Keep the fiber backed by the freezer paper. Let it dry for several hours. Then, cover the fusion fiber with a towel and press it with a medium-heat iron for 15-30 seconds. Now you’re ready to create anything you want with the silk creation you just made.

To make a card:

Cut out soy sil in the desired shapes for your card design. Print out messaged in font on yoru computer on plain paper. You can cut a card out of a paper sack and what you don’t use you can print your messages on the discarded paper bag scrap. Use your imagination. To make a cupid’s arrow: Cut our a heart from the soy silk and attach it top a card front with your sewing machine. Just follow the edges of the heart or sew an arrow shape through it in a contrasting color with the soy silk. Use a little glue around the edges if needed.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Replace your lightbulbs in your home and office with compact fluorescent ones.

Bring to your home some of their best eco-friendly kitchen practices.

1. DRINK LOCALLY: Water filtration systems are a great alternative to constantly buying water in plastic bottles. Local water systems are tested daily and contaminates are caught before they reach your water glass. Water bottles sit on store shelves for months before they are purchased and all the while they are being contaminated with chemicals from the plastic they are bottled in.

2. SALVAGE STILL-GOOD FOOD: Cut way bruises or soft spots in otherwise good produce, and use what’s left. By the same token, a little speck of mold needn’t ruin a whole block of chese-remove moldy bits and eat what’s left. Recyle semistale bread into breadcrumbs or bread pudding ingreients. Be creative and generate less waste.

3. SAVOR SCRAPS: Don’t toss vegetable scrps. Bits of carrot, onion. mushrooms, celery, and any other vegetable trimmings make great ingredients to add to soups or stocks. It’s a great way to eliminates unnescessary waste and cut food costs drastically.

4. CLEAN GREEN: Most cheap, store-bought cleaners with harsh chemicals, bleach, and phosphates in favor of biodegradeable products like Simple Green and those that use natural cleaning ingredients like hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and citrus oils. These cleaning solutions may cost a bit more but as far as your health and impact on the earth, you shouln’t mid paying a bit more for those cleaning products.

5. BAG THE PLASTIC: Plastic wrap may be a convenient storage tool, but it’s also am environmental nusiance. Spend more money and buy containers for storage to reduce the amount of unnecessary plastic wrap. You can use recycled bakers’ parchment paper to wrap up your food. IT’s recycled and biodegradeable, so it doesn’t stick around on the earth forever.

6. LOOK FOR THE ENERGY STAR: Next time you buy a new appliance or other household product (even eindows qualify), be sure it bears the blue-and-white Energy Star label. This label tell you the product has net the quality and energy-efficency guidelines of both the Environemental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. That means they use less energy, save your money all around, and protect the environment.

**Toni over at Watching the CW says she was left “hanging” after the last episode. Read her story behind how she felt about it and see if you don’t agree. While you’re there leave her a comment on how you felt as well.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Shred old paper for packing insteadof using Styrofoam peanuts. Even use shredded newspaper or left over material. If it’s soft, pretty much anything will work for packing material.

61. Trade your home: If you trade your home with friends around the country you can enjoy vacations and stay for free.

62. Go camping, or rent a cabin: Don’t over look state parks and national forests, they are often less crowded and less expensive than you think.

63. Tray a local vacation: There are several things in your own town or even own state. Check out your states website and look what’s right in your own backyard.

64. Ask hotels about discounted distressed-traveler rates: If there is inclement weather you may get a discount.

65. There is no law against haggling with a hotel on the room rate: You never know if you don’t ask.

66. Make your vacation pay for you: If you volunteer or do a little helping out while you are on vacation you may get a room or even a cabin for free.

67. Buy food at local supermarkets when traveling: It’s much cheaper than eating at restaurants.

68. Choose a vehicle with fold down seats: If you are traveling and need a quick nap or to snooze for the evening and can’t find lodging, if you have a rental car with fold down seats you have an instant bed.

69. Definately choose used clothes for babies: Unless you receive them as a gift only buy new clothing for special occasions.

70. Trade babysitting time with other couples: This is a great one to use especially on short notices.

71. During the holidays, draw names for gift giving: Use this one for large families or even do a dirty santa or white elephant gift giving way.

72. Invoke a gift giving spending cap: This is a good one to use if you draw names.

73. Give homemade gift certificates: You can even make ones that they can redeem for summer tasks as well, such as mowing the lawn or helping plant a garden.

74. Donate to a good cause: The Heifer International is a great one to give as a gift instead of buying a gift. You can even get that money spent back when you get your taxes done at the end of the year.

75. Swallow you pride and except help when you need it.

**Lessa over at Big Brother Craze has the top ten Big Brother moments for your. And some are quite laughable. Read them here.**

*Natural and Sustianable Living Tip: Buy recycled toilet paper.

46. Campaign for a national health care system: If more and more people demand it, in the future the demand has to be met.

47. For the college bound, take some general classes at a state school ort community college where the tuition is lower: Even if you plan to take most of your classes a a more expensive college it’s a good idea to take the basics at a community college. Just check with the college you plan to go to after the community college to make sure the classes will transfer.

48. Attend an in-state college: Establish residency for a year or two beforehand, if you need to. You will save more money in the long run then just jumping right into a college.

49. Buy you college books online: Don’t give into the cost of the books at the college bookstore, they are there to make money for the college not help you out.

50. Watch for unique scholarship opportunities: Even the ones that help you gain help from other sources than cash. You may even get into opportunities where you get something for making the Dean’s List, or something similar.

51. Audit classes if need be: Especially in classes where you just want the knowledge not the credit.

52. For lessons, try bartering: Such as doing some work in photography in exchange for some dance lessons. Or sewing in exchange for some computer lessons.

53. Discontue your internet service and take advantage of a wireless “hotspot”: You can go in some towns to an internet cafe or even take advantage of someone else’s unsecure wireless. Even the smallest towns are now getting free wireless for residence.

54. Rediscover the radical notion of the library: You can get almost anything at a local library for free with a signed up membership and card. Even DVDs are at the local library.

55. Volunteer to usher: Get into plays, concerts and other events if you ask to volunteer and help out. All you have to do is ask.

56. Find low-cost fun in your local paper: Take full advantage of free concerts, events and even some movies.

57. When at a concert or movie, avoid buying anything to eat or drink while you are there: Some place will even let you bring in your own snacks or drinks.

58. Take turns entertaining with friends or neighbors: Potlucks and parties are a great way to entertain and get others involved.

59. Occasionally, go ahead and spend money: Spend money on things you know you will benefit from in the long run.

60. Volunteer: Organizations such as Willing Workers on Organic Farms

**JM over at Fiction Scribe has her “Thirteen Goals for Next Year”. Read her goals and while you’re there leave her a message and tell her your goals for 2008.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: If your shelves are overstuffed with books you’ve already read, check out BookMooch, a free service that help you trade books with others around the globe. You rack up points for each book you give away. Make a wish list and redee3m your points when a book you want becomes available. And here’s the cool thing: BookMooch has a list of charities it works with, so you can donate your points and shre in the literacy wealth with someone in need.

31. Do as Many Errands as Possible with Each Car Trip: Especially if they are around town. You will save a lot on gas.

32. Book any Airplane Trips Well in Advance: You will get the lowest possible fare.

33. Don’t go Into Stores Unless You Need Something: Always write up a shopping list. Most stores are designed to get you to buy things you don’t really need. The best thing I enjoy doing is window shopping. I can see what the stores carry without going in and I can also get birthday and Christmas present ideas that way as well.

34. Hit The End-Of-The Season Sales: When colder seasons hit, summer items will be on sale at the time and when hotter seasons hit, winter items will be on sale.

35. Before You Ship, Try Borrowing: Share large items with a family, friend or even a neighbor. Set up a borrowing co-op with your tools and large farm equipment, such as lawn mowers or Bushhog® tractors.

36. Try to Find it Used: If you shop yard sales, estate sales and thrift stores you may be able to find what you need and it probably will be ten times cheaper. Even though it’s used, it will be new to you.

37. When Buying New, Choose High-Quality, Durable Items: Think long term not quick and easy and cheaply mad. Even if the item cost more, if it last twice as long as it’s cheaper counter part then it will be worth the extra cost.

38. Instead of Shopping Scavenge: Watch the curbs are the end of a semister in a college town. If you live near a school, talk to the janitor the last day of school when the lockers are being cleaned out.

39. Buy Clothing Used Whenever Possible: You may have good luck finding clohtes at garage sales even too. Consignment shops are a great place to find well-made, and even some name-brand clothing.

40. Have a Clothing Exchange Party: It will be fun to trade clothes with friends and family and tell stories behind the clothing you are trading.

41. Try Sewing: Look for cheap material in thrift stores. Or if you get or are really good at sewing turn your outfits into something new.

42. Watch the Clearance Racks: Some stores may mark down even more off the price just to get it out of the store.

43. Ask a doctor or dentist if they have sliding scale fees: Some may even give you a break if you just ask.

44. Look for free or low-cost clinics: Maybe even a medical school. But be careful sometimes you get what you pay for.

45. Do preventive maintenance on your body: Exercise and eat well, try yoga for stress management and quit smoking or using tobacco chew products.

**Over at WWE Daily you can watch a tribute video to John Cena. Scooter has the whole scoop here.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Green Buy: Ship your next package in a recycled box from Used Cardboard Boxes. The online store rescues trash-bound boxes and packing materials and sells them at a discount, so you will save money and trees.

16. Barter for Service with Carpenters: Try Time Banks.org.

17. Buy Into a Piece of Land with another Family or Your Neighborhood: Be sure to check local zoning ordinances to be sure you can legally sudivide a property before you buy it.

18. Build with Natural Materials Found On-Site: If you have wood, the equipment to mill it yourself is relatively inexpensive compared to buying lumber. If you want to really go all-natural build with stone or straw and use clay as plaster.

19. Close Off Unused Rooms: Especially in the summer when you run an air conditioner. It will save on cooling your home in the heat.

20. Be efficient with Your Appliances: Have a big baking night when you are going to use the oven. Let your woodstove also be your dryer and water heater.

21. Take Advantage of Natural Weather Patterns to Heat and Cool your Home: In the summer, open the windows at night and close them again by noon.

22. Place your Refrigerator in the Coldest Part of the House: It will require less energy to keep the temperature low.

23. Wash your Clothes in Cold Water: It’s the friction of the clothes rubbing against each other that does most of the cleaning, not the heat. For serious stains, use hot water only on those clothes.

24. Switch off Your Water Heater: When you are not going to use it for an extended period of time, like going on vacation.

25. Buy Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs: The savings on your electric bill adds up fast when you use these over time.

26. Unplug any Unused Electric Items with Lights, Clocks or Timers: They use some much power just sitting there.

27. Carpool with Friends or a Co-Worker: Some cities maintain online listings to help people connect with other carpoolers.

28. Ask if Your City Has a Carshare Program: Or start one with some people you trust.

29. Covert a Diesel Car to Run on Used Vegetable Oil: You will pay once for the conversion kit, but after that all your fuel will be free. All you have to do is find a restaurant that wants to dispose of their used oil and will let you cart it away.

30. Keep Track of Your Gas Milage: Look for ways to improve it. Keep your tires properly inflated and don’t speed. (Source: NH 2007)

**Ever wonder what else you can use an avacado with besides just for dip? Over at Earthly Eating, there are several recipes given to help you with that. Read them here.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Pass on the paper towels and paper napkins, opt for cloth ones and just wash them. At your favorite restaurant, ask them to switch to cloth napkins instead of the paper ones.