Solar panels are a great way to save money. Yes there is an upfront cost, and a small amount of regular maintenance that is required, but beyond that, the energy flows freely. Depending on your usage levels, you can actually sell power back into the grid and MAKE money by having solar panels. [Save More with Solar]
Every day in the United States, about 65 million newspapers are printed. Of the newspapers printed and distributed (trucked, shipped, etc), 45 million, or about 70%, of them will be thrown in teh garbage instead of the recycling bin. Recycling just the Sunday papers would save more than half a million trees every week. Also-- all of the best papers have an online edition that is more current, and less 'made of trees'. Plus, much of the content is FREE![Read online]
You can reuse gift bags, bows and event paper, but you can also make something unique by using old maps, cloth or even a newspaper. Flip a paper grocery bag inside out and give your child stamps or markers to create their own wrapping paper that's environmentally friendly and extra special for the recipient. Admit it- we mostly just rip it off and throw it away anyway? [Find an alternative]
Nearly 90% of plastic water bottles are not recycled, instead taking thousands of years to decompose. Buy a reusable container and fill it with tap water, a great choice for the environment, your wallet, and possibly your health. The EPA and other international governments' standards for tap water are always more stringent than the FDA's standards for bottled water. hard to believe, but Water is still more expensive that gasoline when bought by the litre. Go jump in the lake. [More in the tap]
Saving energy means saving money. In addition to adjusting your thermostat a little cooler in the winter and a little warmer in the summer, consider installing a digital thermostat with timers and time-of-day functionality. You can drop the temperature of the house a few degrees while nobody is home, and bring it back up right before everyone gets back.
The average household is estimated to use around 330 glass bottles and jars annually but only around 30% of these are currently recycled. Collecting and recycling all your bottles and jars used around the home can make a big impact on reducing this huge volume of waste. Make sure all your bottles and jars are empty, have their tops removed and are washed, sorted and sent to the curb. To save money, try saving the 'good' jars for stuff like soups, left-overs and other things that you would use plastic for. [What to do]
Staples such as rice, corn and beans can make trips to a grocery store less expensive. But the biggest savings may come in health-care costs years later. In a world of $1 double cheeseburgers, it's no wonder that many people suspect that a vegetarian diet is more expensive than one that includes meat. But that's generally not true. And though it's difficult to tally the savings of illnesses or diseases avoided with a plant-based diet, the financial worth of good health is unquestionable.[Further Reading]
How do you easily save 1% on national CO2 emissions as well as over $3 billion in energy costs? According to some studies, this could happen if we all simply wash our clothes in cold water. Most of us are unaware of the full extent of energy required to wash our clothes. A staggering 85-90% of this energy is used by the water heater. Only 10-15% actually goes to running the washing machine. A switch of all washers to cold water would mean a savings of about 30 million tons of CO2 per year and a bundle of cash. [Why do it?]
You can save thousands of dollars using cloth diapers over the course of three years, and even more if you use the same cloth diapers for a second child. Plus, you won't be spending money on expensive diaper rash creams, diaper pail liners or wasting gas running to the store each week to buy diapers. There are environmental trade-offs though, when it comes to water usage and detergents, as well as the 'ick' factor, but as parent, you'll weigh al these options anyway. The savings really add up! [Where to get them]
You paid for those extra buttons in your car, so put them to work! When using cruise control your vehicle could get up to 15% better mileage. Considering today's gasoline prices, this is a boon not only for the environment but your budget as well. [Keep on, keepin' on] [What is hypermiling?]
If you start every morning with a steamy cup, a quick tabulation can show you that the waste is piling up. Invest in a reusable cup, which not only cuts down on waste, but keeps your beverage hot for a much longer time. Most coffee shops will happily fill your own cup, and many even offer you a discount in exchange! [Green Upgrader's Reuseable Mug Story]
Consider buying items from a second-hand store. Toys, bicycles, roller blades, and other age and size-specific items are quickly outgrown. Second hand stores often sell these items in excellent condition since they are used for such a short period of time, and will generally buy them back when you no longer need them. 
Ignore cookbooks! It is usually unnecessary to pre-heat your oven before cooking, except when baking bread or pastries. Just turn on the oven at the same time you put the dish in. During cooking, rather than opening the oven door to check on your food, just look at it through the oven window. Why? Opening the oven door results in a significant loss of energy. [Who says so?]
If every home in the North America replaced one regular lightbulb with one of those new compact fluorescent bulbs, or even better, a Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulb, the energy reduction would be equivalent to removing over one million cars from the road. These bulbs are available in many different 'temperatures' from cool blue white to warm yellow and orange whites. You can save about $600 a year in energy costs by making the switch [Find them]
