Clean your light bulbs

for light up to 25% brighter. October is National Energy Month, so look for sales on compact florescent light bulbs. By replacing 5 incandescent bulbs you can save $150 annually on utility costs.

Filed under: energy, energy

Cooking green

Glass and ceramic pans heat more quickly than their metal counterparts, requiring less heat (though the same amount of time) to cook. That translates to saving $ on your utility bills. Lids on pots and using smaller pans also help food cook more quickly.

Did you know you don’t actually have to preheat? Just use this when baking bread or pastries. If anything, you’ll actually only need a few more minutes to cook, but not as many as preheating would require.

Every time you peek into that pot to see if the water’s boiling, you lose heat and therefore cost yourself money.

Don’t use foil on oven shelves– it blocks heat, therefore costing more money over time.

If you’re cooking small meals use the smallest appliance you have, such as a toaster oven or crockpot rather than the whole oven/stove.

Keeping your microwave clean inside actually helps its efficiency.

For more energy-savign tips, go to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy Consumer Resources web site.

Filed under: Uncategorized, energy

Keep it safe

Keep the area around your heating unit clear. These things need air to work at their peak ability.

Don’t overload outlets by filling them up with large appliances.

Filed under: Uncategorized, energy

Cheap warmth

Each degree you turn your thermostat down saves 2% on your utilities bill.

Filed under: Uncategorized, energy

Clean & cheap

Doing laundry in cold water saves $. If your outside dryer exhaust is clogged moisture seeps into your house, leading to mold, mildew, insects and other unealthy air quality issues.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Green + technology= Fun

What a treasured memory to help a friend’s 7-year-old hone her reading skills with Go Green, a sort of tip-of-the-day application available for free for PDAs.
I pulled out my iPhone to show her the kewl new game I had promised for hours.
“Will you help me read it?” I asked the blonde whose fine hair was frizzing up like one of those trick light bulbs because of the dry Chicago winter.
“Use power strips to… conservation?”
“Conserve.”
“Conserve. One flick… of the switch…cuts electricity?”
“Energy.”
“Energy to sev- seven?”
We sounded out the words several, then different then electronic then devices.
“One flick of the switch cuts off energy to several different electronic devices…” she continued.
“Yay, we’ve almost got it!” I felt like a proud auntie.
“As if they were all un…unplouged?”
“Unplugged.”
“Unplugged at once.”
By virtue of the mini reading lesson she also got a green lesson from her auntie Nichole, the treehugger: Use power strips to conserve. One flick of the switch cuts off energy to several different electronic devices– as if they were all unplugged at once.
Being green can be as fun and as easy. Go to the iTunes store to find and download your own free application. The tips are good refreshers for veteran e-friendlies or a simple little goodies for green neoph

ytes.
One complaint: even on this little PDA application American capitalism will not let you escape commercialism. There is an ad atop every page. However, like a video game, you scale a hierarchy as you read (and implement) more tips.
<a href=”http://guidancegreen.blogspot.com/2008/10/iphone-applications-for-environmentally.html”>Get Go Green and other free green PDA applications.</a>

Go Green, a free MP3 app

Filed under: Uncategorized