Photo by Harm Wimmenhove

Gardening -- you should excuse the pun -- is rapidly growing into the number-one American hobby. Maybe we're trying to save money by growing our own vegetables or maybe gardeners are returning to the soil as a means of working off stress. Whatever the reason, gardening is one of the most "fruitful" returns on investment one can make. 

Unfortunately, novice gardeners can end up spending more on seeds, tools and the other doo-dads required for a start-up patch. The good news is there are a few tricks that can save you money while still turning out a good crop. Here are nine tips to get you going.

1. Plan Early
Plot out your garden before turning the first spade of earth. Several websites make it easy to plan your garden either at no cost or free for the first 30 days. I'm particularly partial to GrowVeg.com, which helps you plot out the amount of space you'll need for each plant and where each should go in relation to other plants. The Farmers' Almanac is still one of your best guides to when you should start planting and what kind of weather you can anticipate for the growing year.

2. Understand Your Land
Before you shell out a ton of cash for new plants, ask your neighbors what plants thrive in the soil of your region. Keep in mind plants appropriate for your growing zone might not work in your garden due to variations in soil composition, micro-climate, pests, sunlight exposure and water availability. Your local USDA Extension Specialist or Master Gardener can analyze your soil and recommend amendments and suitable plants.

Photo by craftapalooza

Opening presents is great, cleaning up after Christmas isn't so great. It seems foolish to spend all that money preparing for one day a year then just stuff the remnants into a trash bag. (Hopefully, we're not talking about this year's gifts.)

A little planning can help keep your post-Christmas garbage-bag count down and put some cash back into your pocket. These 20 tips will help you repurpose everything from Christmas lights and wrapping supplies to cards and candy canes.


CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

1. Get cash back: Don't just shove those non-LED or worn-out light strings into a box to deal with next year. Pack them up and send them off to a Christmas light recycling program. They'll shred your old strands and send you a 15-percent off coupon in return.

2. Repurpose: If you don't want to bother mailing your old lights in, consider cutting up the wire into various lengths for use in the kitchen as twisty-ties or in the garden as plant ties.


PACKING PEANUTS

3. Pot drainage: This is especially useful when you're using large pots. Pour the peanuts in the bottom of your pot, filling it a quarter to half full, then pile on the soil.

4. Stuffing: Not stuffing for the turkey, stuffing for for decorative pillows, pet beds, etc.

5. Sell them: Packing peanuts are expensive, so stockpile bags full until you have enough to sell on eBay or Craigslist.com.


CHRISTMAS CARDS

6. Placemats: This is a good way to keep the kids busy when they tire of Christmas toys. Take two Plexiglas sheets, glue cards onto one sheet and secure the second sheet on top. Seal edges with colorful plastic tape or a glue gun.

7. Garlands: Decorate next year's tree, a staircase rail or curtain rods by cutting Christmas cards into various shapes, such as stars, hearts, circles, half moons, etc. Punch a hole in the middle of each shape and string them together on a fishing line. You could add to this every year. For easier garlands, cut the cards into strips and make old-fashioned paper chains by gluing the strips into circles and interconnecting them.

8. Napkin rings: Make napkin rings by cutting one-inch rings from a paper-towel or toilet-paper tube and gluing card cut-outs onto each ring. Color coordinate or mix-and-match.

9. Gift boxes: This one takes a bit of work. Make little custom gift boxes for small presents. Follow the Paper and More template. Be sure to make the lid a tiny bit larger than the bottom so that the lid will fit over the outside of the main part of the box. Cut the lid piece from the pretty front of the card, centering it on whatever part of the design you want to feature. Cut the bottom piece from the inside of the card. Use glue or tape to assemble the boxes.

10. Send to St. Jude's Ranch: Residents of this home for abused, neglected and abandoned children recycle old greeting cards to make new custom cards, which they sell for pocket money. Cards are accepted this year through Feb. 28. For more info about the program, visit the St. Jude's ranch Web page.

Photo by Scott Ableman

Taking the garbage out used to be so easy. Everything went into one big container and you hauled it to the curb.

With the advent of recycling, everything changed. At first we dragged our newspapers, bottles and plastic to recycling centers. Curbside recycling made things a lot easier, but also brought up more questions. What do we do with batteries? What type of plastics can we toss in the bin? How do we dispose of outdated electronics.

Since November 15 is the official America Recycles Day, we thought it a good time to review some recycling Do's and Don'ts.

DO'S
1. DO review recycling requirements of your trash hauler, particularly what can be placed in the bin and which types of plastic they accept.
2. DO Ask your local recycling center or town dump if they accept recyclables not accepted by your trash hauler, particularly electronics and batteries.
3. DO remember paper products also include junk mail
4. DO rinse all cans and bottles.
5. DO keep boxes out of the weather, making them easier to process.
6. DO recycle clean cardboard, not greasy pizza boxes. 
7. DO remove bottle and jar lids, unless made from a No. 1 or 2 plastic.
8. DO look for bins at stores that accept plastic bags, paper grocery bags and dry cleaning bags. (Learn more about plastic bags.)
9. DO use canvas bags or bags made from recycled materials when you shop.
10. DO remember to take your own bags when Christmas shopping.
11. DO put unrecyclable shredded paper in the yard waste bin, where it can be turned into compost.
12. DO return plastic pots to the nursery or gardening center from which you purchased them.

Photo by Chandra Marsono

Who wouldn't be interested in saving the earth while saving money on utilities these days? Few of us, however, consider installing solar panel systems because the return on a $20,000 to $50,000 investment is so far down the road. Even after tax rebates, it takes years for that investment to pay off in locally generated electricity.

As a result, the American solar industry has never really taken off...until now. Several years ago, three photovoltaic companies got together and came up with a plan to offer leasing programs so homeowners could begin receiving savings almost immediately.


Primary rental companies
Three primary companies presently offer leasing programs:
Citizenrē has received the bulk of attention among solar leasing companies as Citizenrē REnU was the first available program in the United States.
freEner-g is a Minnesota-based program, initially developed to serve the Minneapolis/St. Paul Area.
SolarCity serves portions of Arizona, California and Oregon


How it works
Not every home design is suitable for solar panels, so the leasing company first must evaluate your particular home. If they find your home will work, you pay a deposit (frequently $500) and sign a lease for anywhere between one to 25 years. The company files all the necessary permits and design the system appropriate for you. They then purchase and installs the system.

Here are 10 ways to cut back on your family’s use of both electricity and water that will save you money:

AIR CONDITIONING
Since air conditioning is often the biggest culprit in high energy bills focusing your efforts on cutting back will cause the most dramatic drop in your monthly usage of electricity.

Auto: Keep your air conditioning on the “auto” setting for best economy and humidity control, even if you adjust the temperature settings.

Open doors: Your central air unit is designed to cool a home when all the interior doors are open. By closing vents and doors to rooms, you’re handicapping your unit’s ability to properly cool, which can cause overuse very quickly.

Temperature: Keep the temperature setting on the threshold of your comfort level. Each degree above or below recommended settings (70 for heat; 78 for cooling) can cost 7-10 percent more.

Ceiling fans: Installing and running indoor ceiling fans cost one-half cent per hour. That’s one-half of one tiny, red cent! The advantages are better air circulation and preservation of conditioned air. By simply keeping your fans running throughout the house, you can cut your air conditioning time in half and still feel just as comfortable.  

Gasket seals: Install gasket seals behind switch plates and outlets to prevent air leakage.

WATER

How low can you go? Install water flow restrictors or low-flow shower heads and you can reduce the amount of water by 60 percent without hardly even noticing it. When you wash, turn the water off while you set away to lather up taking a shower.

Catch it: Use a bucket to collect the water that runs while you’re waiting on it to heat up before stepping in the shower. Use this water for plants, landscaping or problem areas on your lawn.

If it’s yellow, let it mellow. Older toilets may use four or more gallons when flushed. Newer models use 1.6 or less. Place a gallon plastic bottle with water and in your toilet tank to reduce the amount of water used in each flush. Or consider installing a high-efficiency toilet to conserve even more.

Fill er up! Running the dishwasher only when it’s full saves the electricity used to heat the water and run the machine.

Brrrr: Using cold water only to wash clothes reduces the cost per load from 54 cents to just 4 cents per load.
Overall, just being more conscious of your daily usage of energy and water will go a long way toward conservation and savings on your monthly bill.

Residential solar electric systems work with your home’s utility system to provide electricity converted from the energy collected in solar panels mounted to the roof. They can cut your electric bill by up to half, but they cannot provide all the energy you’ll need to run your home.  The home’s regular utility picks up the slack when the energy use exceeds the solar energy collected.  

In addition to the savings on your electric bill, some companies allow net metering or credits to your account for excess energy collected that’s not used.

Residential solar electric systems are available from a variety of dealers and can be used in just about any home with appropriate space for solar panels. Check with your state agency and municipal utilities to see if they offer rebates and incentive programs for the installation of renewable energy equipment. You can save thousands and even cut your costs in half this way. Here’s Maryland’s grant process outlined as an example.

Maintenance is low on these systems, so costs should be minimal. Batteries used as backups during a power failure may need to be replaced every 10 years. Solar energy is used to recharge these on a regular basis.

National standards exist on how these systems should be installed to ensure the installation is safe and legal. Homeowners associations should be contacted prior to purchasing a system, but some states prohibit HOAs from placing restrictions on solar devices.

Find a specialist in your area to discuss costs of installation. For DIYers, self-starter kits are available online for about $1,000. These include a diagram detailing how the system will need to be connected in order to connect to the grid.

I have a fancy electric can opener that I hardly ever use. It started when my daughter was born and I needed a quiet way to open cans. I bought a manual can opener. I didn’t even know they were being made these days. I like using it better because it’s cleaner and quieter.

If you’re looking for ways to become more “eco-thrifty,” consider using some old-fashioned contraptions that don’t use electricity. There are quite a few and you may have many of these already on hand. If not, look for them at yard sales or thrift stores when it comes time to replace your current appliances.

1. Hand beater – mix anything your electric beater can.

2. Ice Cream Maker – crank it by hand and you’ll get the better texture and flavor.

3. Clothesline – it’s the first place we think of saving electricity, and they’ve made quite a comeback.

4. Alarm clocks – you don’t have to worry about the electricity going off and not waking up on time!

5. Carpet sweeper – these have been used in commercial establishments for years. Use them for quick pickups between vacuuming.