16 Eco-Suggestions

1. Stop Idling

Every moment you spend idling your car's engine means needlessly wasting gas, as well as rougher wear on your vehicle. Idling for more than 10 seconds wastes more gas than is needed for start-up. Overall, Americans idle away 2.9 billion gallons of gas a year, worth around $78.2 billion.

2. Replace outside lighting with Solar Lights

This is mainly for home owners but it makes a big difference over the course of a year to lower your electric bill and reduce your carbon footprint when switching out your incandescent and halogen lights with Solar lighting. Obviously you can purchase these lights here at Yonofoco.com

3. Use a PowerGard Power Saver

You can reduce 10% of your power usage and electric bill; while extending the life of your major appliances by a year or more. You can purchase the PowerGard Power Saver here.

4. Use a Solar Battery Charger

A Solar Battery Charger is great as a back up battery or as a regular charger for your small electronic devices. These include cell phones, mp4 players, PDAs, and cameras. And yes you may purchase any of 5 different colors here.

5. Wash Your Laundry in Cold Water

An easy way to clean green is to turn the dial on your washing machine to cold. Most loads don't need hot water, and 90% of the energy used by washing machines goes into heating. The higher the water temperature, the higher the cost to you and the planet.

6. Pay Bills Online

Save natural resources - as well as late fees - by enrolling in online bill-paying options. Paperless billing not only saves trees; it also eliminates the fossil fuel needed to get all those billing envelopes from them to you and back again. Plus, you'll save money on stamps.

7. Jettison Junk Mail (Precycle)

Around 100 million trees and 28 billion gallons of water are used to send junk mail to Americans every year, according to Tonic.com where you can stop most junk mail. Or you can stop 75% of unsolicited mail by registering on the Mail Preference Service on the Direct Marketing Association Website (for a fee of $1). Within 90 days, most unsolicited mail will stop.

8. Print on Two Sides

Know what? It's not that hard to print two sides on your computer. But even though most software programs give that option, most of us still print only on one side of the page. Consider this: the U.S. alone uses 4 million tons of copy paper annually, about 27 pounds per person. Save dough and your local landfill. Print 2-sides.

9. Carpool It!

If your drive to work is 25 miles each way and at least half is in typical stop-and-go traffic, you'll save almost 10 percent of your monthly carbon emissions by carpooling. Not to mention the gas dollars you'll save and the fun you'll have sharing office gossip with your friends.

10. Use a Solar Flashlight

Instead of battery operated flashlights, use a solar powered flashlight. Saves you both money and the waste of throwing the batteries away. Buy your solar flashlight here.

11. Add a little water to your shampoo, conditioner and soap containers.

You will be surprised how much shampoo, conditioner and soap are left. The water will stretch it out and allow you to get the remaining amount out and clean the container for recycling. It will save you money and will mean less containers in the trash.

12. Replace incandescent, halogen or even fluorescent light bulbs with LED Light Bulbs.

LED Light Bulbs will last 50x longer than incandescent and 6x longer than fluorescent. LED Light Bulbs use only 10% of the energy that incandescent (40% of CFLs) use and will generate 10% of the heat of an incandescent (50% of CFLs). All comparisons are for the same brightness.

13. Turn Off Your Computer

Save energy and wear and tear on your hardware by shutting down your computer at night. You'll save an average of $90 of electricity a year. The Department of Energy recommends shutting off your monitor if you aren't going to use it for more than 20 minutes, and the whole system if you're not going to use it for more than two hours.

14. Sign Up for Green Energy

More than half of all electricity consumers in the U.S. now have the option of purchasing green power from their utility. Find out how you can buy it by visiting the Department of Energy's state-by-state list of providers. You can also check with your own utility to see what's available.

15. Turn Down the Thermostat

It definitely pays to give a thought to your thermostat, since most households shell out 50 to 70% of their energy budgets on heating and cooling. For every degree you lower the thermostat, you'll save between 1 and 3% of your heating bill. Do the same thing in reverse with air conditioning.

16. Cut the toothpaste in half

You will be surprised how much toothpaste is left. It will save you money and will mean less toothpaste containers in the trash.

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