Reusable coffee filters and reusable coffee cups are great items to incorporate into your daily fix without dealing with the daily trash.

 

In the kitchen and bathroom, use a hand towel. If you spill something undesirable, use rags made from old clothes or old hand towels.

 

Bottled water is the biggest joke today. You already pay for the water that comes out of your tap, and it costs a hundred times less than bottled stuff. In addition, it's constantly monitored by the public health sector and cross-checked by the local enforcers of the EPA. Bottled water is checked less frequently by the Food and Drug Administration.

 

In taste tests, people cannot tell the difference between tap and bottled water, not even when they claim to prefer one particular brand of bottled water.

 

I had never thought about this one before. However, after a quick Google search, I was able to find information on "Desktop vs. Laptop" on on the Energy Star site. According to the site, laptops run at around 30W while PCs can take 120W and require an additional 80W for the monitor. If additional space on your computer is an issue, you may want to consider purchasing an external hard drive to use for backing up files.

 

The U.S. Department of Energy states that adding insulation can reduce heat losses by up to 45 percent. That could mean a lot of savings for you!

 

According to "365 Ways to Save Gas" author Ronald M. Weiers, PhD, under-inflated tires increase friction and decrease your fuel efficiency. Not only does this mean you'll have to buy gas more, but also your tires will wear out faster.

 

Having your own garden is more than just a hobby. It's a way to ensure the produce your family enjoys is pesticide free and picked during season, not artificially ripened. The First Lady, Michelle Obama, made headline news with her goal of planting an organic White House Garden.

 

This is a big no-no. These things are not meant to go through the typical trash because they are not disposed of in typical ways. Each of these contain chemicals that are combustible, can leak into ground water, or both.

 

Your best bet with these is to check your local facilities for the proper method of disposal. Then have the entire family collect these in one common area and dispose of them all at once. Tip: Most places that sell motor oil are now required to provide the facilities to dispose of it.

 

Oh, the simple joys of getting outside and getting dirty. A well-placed tree not only can shade your residence, but it can also absorb 1 tonne (about 2,700 lbs) of carbon dioxide in its first 50 years.

 

I mentioned this before in part one.

There is no reason to keep electronics plugged in for extended periods of time, especially after they are fully charged.