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 How do we dispose of outdated electronics.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.

The sleek, new hybrid vehicles and effortless front-loading laundry machines are quickly becoming the standard.  But it doesn't take a math whiz to compare their price tags with traditional electronics.  Buyers have little clue as to their investment costs and the return value.  How much will you save on investing in these energy efficient products in the long haul?  

Front Loaders
Before discussing which machine to buy, you might be interested to know that you can reduce the cost of each load to just $.14 if you wash with cold water.  Both electric ($.69) and gas ($.55) cost much more per load when using hot water.  I don't notice much of a difference--and we are experts at filthifying clothes.  If you wash with mainly hot water you'll spend $226 per year as opposed to $11 on cold loads.  Add $.11 per load for water.

If you opt to purchase those quiet, energy efficient front loaders be prepared to fork over the cash.  The average front loader is $270 more than a top loader (that's $540 for a pair).  Not only do front loaders use less water they also use less energy.  Your clothes aren't agitated as much and don't need to be dried as long.  If you currently use a lot of hot water for laundry, you'll save as much as $137 each year with a front loader.  Cold water savings are much less at $28.  If you average out the price of laundry for a front loader, you'll save roughly $75--so in about four years the up-front costs will be recouped.

Bottom Line: Keep your current washer and drier spinning for as long as possible.  Your biggest savings in the laundry business is the cost to heat your water.  Wash on cold and hang dry whenever possible.  Save money for a new unit while you wait for them to expire and then consider buying the front loaders.  Also research repair centers in your area to make sure they will repair your machines--one large manufacturer has been dabbling in bankruptcy court for quite some time, so don't bank on any warranty.

Last time we talked about wonderful ways to be frugal with your children over the summer and I wanted to expand on that, but also include a way to be frugal to your stomach as well! We all know that eating healthy isn’t a choice, it has to be a priority. But leafy greens and those bright red apples you buy at the store are not always the best for your wallet. Not only do they expire quickly in your home forcing you to buy fresh consistently, but even at your favorite value store the prices can creep quite high throughout the season.

One fun and frugal way to bring in the spring is to plant a vegetable garden. While spending time with your child is a definite plus, it has the added benefit of going green in your kitchen. Allowing your child to grow a garden  makes them feel accomplished, helpful, and maybe-just maybe- you wont struggle as much getting them to eat something healthy.

The easy way out:

1. For the very smallest child
For children that enjoy a little more dirt but are not quite ready to understand the seeding, you can buy preseeded mats and tapes for a perfect measure every time. You cut and your kids cover with soil and water. Voila! You can pick out a variety of seeded tapes and mats that also include gorgeous flowers. Perfect sowing every time and practically mistake proof.

As a child, I vividly recall Mrs. Godfrey's magical backyard. Whereas mine was a scorched wasteland of dry weeds and doggie doo, our neighbor's was a flourishing Garden of Eden. From squash and aloe to strawberries and lettuce, there was no greater treat than an invitation to pick produce from her fertile plot. Perhaps memory exaggerated too much, but I'm convinced her fruits and vegetables were juicier, more flavorful, and bigger than any we'd comb through at the local grocer.

If you have absolutely no margin carved out in your life to consider establishing and maintaining a home garden, by all means, continue buying the bland, hyper-colored produce from national chains. Or maybe shopping the local farmer's market is a better solution for you. But, after your initial investment of time (and minimal funds), you can truly reap the rewards of growing your own garden.

Warning: If you react to this idea with haste and disregard planning and research, your efforts will be wasted in vane. We've compiled several helpful hints to kick start your project, but the most thorough advice will come from seasoned growers in your area. Be neighborly; make them a batch of cookies and pick their brains about the soil and climate.

7 Tips to Planting a Successful Garden

1. Establish a specific area in your yard that has full sun. Avoid planting in shady areas.

2. Keep your garden moist with compost. Get a few buckets of dark sweet smelling stuff from a fellow gardener that is dense with worms and other soil organisms.

Another Earth Day may be behind us, but that’s no reason to stop thinking green. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite eco-frugal posts from this week - Enjoy!

• Wisebread addresses some nagging questions about balancing an eco-friendly, and frugal life via “Grocery Store Earth Angst.”
• Frugal Village tells us how to replace those toxic household cleaning products with safe, green alternatives that are as easy on your wallet as they are on Mother Earth.
• 3r Living is a wonderful resource for environmentally-friendly home decor and furnishings. Eco Buying sat down with owner Mark Caserta for a special Earth Day session of “10 Questions With” to get the scoop on the business-side of being green

When was the last time you evaluated the cost of household items and transportation? Small changes make big impacts--and they almost always lead to greater savings.

1. Proper Home Insulation
If you've ever lived in a poorly insulated home or apartment, you know that trying to cool a Texas abode in late July is like bailing water from the Titanic. Usually the ductwork is to blame--it has leaks or the home was not vented correctly. The AC unit might be in tip-top shape, but it is part of a larger system that needs to function properly together. You can crank the air up to blistering in attempt to save on your bill, but the foundational problems won't go away.

If you plan on living in your home for more than five years, giving your ductwork and AC unit an overhaul will definitely save money and keep your home properly heated and cooled. Most homeowners just try to make do and choke down hundreds of extra bucks each month because the initial costs of installation are so high. The energy costs however climb even higher. Help save on environmental impact and, just as importantly, your comfort by doing it correctly. Hopefully all this green talk buzzing about will inspire builders to properly install AC systems that work efficiently.

2. Light Bulbs
I am probably one of the last people in North America to catch the fluorescent bulb train. When they first hit the stores I tried a couple and absolutely hated them. They have a delay turning on and flash me back to an overlit 1st period class in junior high (which isn't exactly a fond memory). Not to mention they just look funny with all the coils. Fluorescents really weren't my cup of tea.