Save Energy

By Susan Seliger

Does this happen to you? Once you start dreaming about exotic places you’d love to escape to – natural wonders of the world where there are no malls or tinsel or shopping lists – you just can’t stop. There are so many things you haven’t done yet in life — like a safari on the Serengeti in Tanzania or swimming with the sea lions in the Galapagos or a trek to the Amazon and Machu Picchu – just puckering up to say Machu Picchu puts me in an adventurous state of mind.

Well, stop dreaming – Natural Habitat Adventures has come to the rescue. This eco-conscious company is offering, not one but FIVE,  big vacations for two – one every year for five years – to the most exciting natural destinations in the world. Beyond those mentioned in my dreams, they’ve also got trips to walk with the penguins in Antarctica and the Falklands as well as a trip to Manitoba to schmooze with the polar bears.

I’ve entered – and so can you – every day up until the deadline, Feb. 28, 2009. Hope to see you there – if not, give the sea lions a smooch for me. Start clicking.

Photo credit: Llama in Macchu Picchuu: from Nurse healthwriter blog

By Susan Seliger

They’re oh so cute – those Mini Coops and fuel-efficient, too. They make you want to tie a ribbon on one and drive it right over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house you go for the holidays. Well, maybe you can – for free.

Champignon Minis is giving away one Mini Cooper, valued at over $18,000, just in time for the holidays. It won’t take a miracle — just a click. So see if you can get lucky before the deadline: 12-31-08.

(Photo credit: The Horse’s Mouth )

By Susan Seliger

1. Buy a live tree – the smell beats plastic — and plant it in your backyard come the New Year. If you’ve given up your car in pursuit of the greener life, you clever soul, here’s a good list of sources for live trees online, delivered to your door.

2. Decorate with solar powered LED Christmas lights – They save power and money and are a step beyond plain old LED lights, which are a step beyond the traditional strings. They can range from $20-60, but here’s a source for $19.99 from Solar Illuminations.

3. Use one present to wrap another present — like a napkin or tea towel or scarf around a ceramic mug or box of organic dark chocolate.

4. Choose 100% recycled wrapping paper – or a decorative bag that you close only with a ribbon so the recipient can then easily recycle the bag for their gift to someone else.

5. Unwrap presents SLOWLY – it helps to savor the delicious moment of anticipation AND you can carefully fold the pretty paper and use it again next year.

6. Buy gifts that use no batteries or rechargeable batteries.

7. If you must go the mall, carpool with friends and family – make it into a little party as you travel there and back.

8. Stock the house and the refrigerator with food that is local and organic – it’s fresher and healthier.

9. Tired of STUFF? Give food and local/organic wine as presents. Who doesn’t like home-baked cookies?! No time for that? A bottle of wine from a local vineyard is always welcome. A good olive oil comes in handy, too – and the mono-unsaturated fatty acids are great for health-conscious friends. Whatever the yummy food, if the label says organic and local, it’ll show you really care.

10. Save money decorating the house with holiday cards – hang a string from one corner to another and hang all the beautiful cards you’ve received from the line – like a laundry line. It’s colorful and festive and a reminder of what the season is really about – nurturing ties to friends and family.

(Photo credit:

By Susan Seliger

What better holiday present for yourself – or a friend you like to drive around with – than a cute, fuel-efficient, smart fortwo car? (This gift will be appreciated by four-legged friends as well. ) Even better — you may be able to get it free. You could be one of the 12 lucky winners in the QVC 12 Days of Christmas Sweepstakes who will drive one away.

And if you don’t win the green car, you still have over 1000 chances to win another form of green — free shopper dollars worth anywhere from $50 to $250. The deadline is 12-12-08.

(Photo credit: Smart Car Blog)

There’s nothing that warms the cockles of my heart more (and if you can locate those, I hope you’ll keep the info to yourself) than combining the two things I love best — hanging out with friends and saving money. So here’s a tip for you to go green and save some, too: Invite friends over and turn down your thermostat.

Just let everybody’s body heat ramp up the room temperature. According to one estimate I read, in an enclosed room (not Gauguin’s porch above), each human being’s sweet 98.6 degree F. body generates heat equivalent to a 175-watt heater. SO imagine what 10 friends can do! Things could get downright steamy.

OK– but what about the money side of entertaining? Friends don’t let friends starve, right. So it can cost more than you’ve saved in heat to wine and dine your buddies. Problem solved. Declare the party an eco-friendly pot luck. Ask each guest to bring one dish of food, so you ALL can save.

And instead of lots of wine and beer and an open bar, make one huge batch of punch — going easy on the alcohol, not because you’re chintzy — OK, maybe a little — but really because you care about your friends’ health. It’s lots cheaper and oh so fun. For the non-alcoholic fare, forget bottled water and soft drinks — way too pricey. Whip up a batch of lemonade. If you need the exercise, start squeezing lemons. But if you want to save even more money and time, just spring for a big can of powdered lemonade (you’d be surprised at how authentic it tastes. Slice up a real lemon and add it to the pitcher for a little tang and a natural touch.

Cheers! Here’s to good friends, good fun and green savings.

And send me your favorite tips for saving money and going green.

– For some more short tips on going green and saving money, check out this post from The Frugalist

By Susan Seliger

OK, turning your computer on may take a minute longer than just tapping the mouse each time you sit down at your desk. (And the cat may have to find another warm place to loll about. ) But ask yourself this: if somebody offered you $75 just to add two mouse clicks to your daily routine (click Start; click Turn Off Computer, done) wouldn’t you take it?

Throw in the fact that you’ll also be reducing carbon emissions and letting your computer catch up on its beauty sleep, and it becomes a no-brainer green move. Save even more if you turn the entire power strip off that feeds the printer, your phone and ipod charger, desk lamp all the other appliances that suck energy just be being plugged in.

Need more incentive? Use that minute of warm-up time to stand up at your desk, and do a few body stretches (reach your hands up to the ceiling) and neck turns (shake your head gently Yes and then No) to keep from getting so stiff once you do sit down. That’ll save you another $75-$125 in chiropractic fees.

And that’s just for one household with one computer — imagine if you’re a small business with 100 computers — that’s $7,500 in savings. I bet you can think of a few things you’d like to do with that chunk of change.

Photo credit: www.lacyloos.com/about/cats.php

By Susan Seliger

Yes, those are my happy feet, propped up, enjoying all the time and energy I have saved (OK, I didn’t really have a maid to fire — you’re looking at her feet right there) by following two simple tips.

Tip 1: Take off your shoes as you enter your house.

Tip 2: Slip on these goofy slippers. And, as Nancy SInatra said (in a different context, which is why she has boots AND a bank account and I have these slippers) Start Walking!

As I learned from an excellent post by Ellen Honigstock, a green architect in New York City, the single best way to improve the quality of air in your house and keep germs out, too, is simply to take off your shoes so you don’t track in all the filth from the outside world. And Ellen knows about green cleaning — she’s a LEED Advocate for the NYC chapter of the US Green Building Council. Sounds so obvious and simple — but do you do it? No and neither did I, until now. (Thank you, Ellen, I’ll spread the word.)

Now once you’ve slipped off your shoes, get really smart — slip on these microfiber mop slippers. Forget about hauling out the mop, bending over, and scrubbing. Just grab a green floor cleaner, spray occasionally as you move, and do what you usually do — like walking straight to the refrigerator to pour yourself a glass of organic wine. Presto, you’re cleaning. (You may even be able to chew gum at the same time, which would qualify you to run for vice president.)

Bonus Tip 3: Here’s the real key to effortless cleaning: get a pair of these slippers for everybody in the family, your roommates — and an extra for guests. Put up a discreet sign that tells everybody to take off their shoes upon entering, and leave the slippers by the door. You’ll get everybody in on the green-cleaning act faster than you can say “Tom Sawyer does not really want you to whitewash the fence.” Now that’s my idea of energy-efficient cleaning.

Mop slippers: Green Product Details

So Good: These slippers have removable. microfiber mop soles that you can wash — and keep wearing. My only complaint is that some of the slippers seem to come in women’s sizes, not men’s. But they’ll fit most people — definitely kids. And I suspect, the companies will see the error of their ways and bring out men’s sizes any day now (especially if we let them know how we feel about sharing the chores).

So Green: Use, re-use, save money and energy. What could be bad?

So Here: You can find them at a number of places, in different colors: Plaid and Blue slippers: Only $5.95/pair at Colonial Medcial: and about $5 at Taylor Gifts and As Seen On TV. Green slippers: At Sur La Table (in pink, too) for just under $10. Pink Slippers: At Amazon.com, for under $10 per pair:

Let me know if they work for you.

FIND OUT MORE ON GREEN CLEANING AND SAVING $$:

Clean, Green Freebie: Win an Energy-Efficient, Water-Saving Washer and Dryer

By Susan Seliger

Get off to a fresh, clean-green start this fall – you might win a free Duet steam washer and dryer from Whirlpool. Using steam, the washer eats up 77% less energy than traditional machines and 73% less water. It comes in cool colors and with accessories that organize the whole laundry room. Clean up your act – and enter to win.

By Susan Seliger

The average college student spends an average of $500 per semester — $1,000 per year for those who couldn’t afford the math textbook — on college textbooks. And according to green math, that adds up to about a tree per year per student lost in creating those texts.

Why buy when you can rent???

Go to Chegg.com to see how you can rent new textbooks at half the cost. They pay for the shipping. Or you can download saving even more. Bonus– they plant a tree for every text you rent.

To find out more on this topic, go to a great post by Julia Pergolini at RiverWired:

Photo credit: Blog : Rarely Coherent –Where Sentences Are Done Good

By Susan Seliger

Sure, you know you should drive less and walk more. But when you absolutely have to go by car, why not find the cheapest gas around? Here are some web sites that will help you do just that. Many of them let you plug in your address or zip code – and tell you where to go …in the nicest possible way.

And with all that money you save, you can save up for a new (or pre-owened) bike that will save you even more green.

5 Web Sites that Will Help You Save Money on Gas

1. Mapquest Gas

Plug in your address and Mapquest will find you chreap gas – and tell you how to get there – so you an see if the drive is worth the savings.
http://gasprices.mapquest.com/index.jsp

2. GasBuddy

This network of more than 180 gas price information websites will get you to the best prices. http://www.gasbuddy.com/

3. Internet Auto Guide

Fill in your zip code and find gas stations near you with the lowest prices.
http://www.internetautoguide.com/gas-prices/index.html

4. MSN Autos

See the price of gas at stations in your area, with names and addresses.
http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netx

5. Motor Trend Gas Tracker

Put in your state, your county, your neighborhood, and find cheap gas near you.
http://www.motortrend.com/gas_prices/

For more information, check out:

Girl Bikes 1500 Miles for Electric Vehicles

15 Tips For Better Mileage — Want to Get 70 MPG in Your Toyota Prius?

The Hype About Hypermiling

Two Wheels Are Greener Than Four

Honda Civic GX Tops List of Greenest Cars

Driving Green = Fewer Greenbacks

Top 10 Most Fuel-Efficient Cars: Save Gas, Save Money

Record Month For Selling Gas — Saving Cars Getting Better Than 30 MPG

Photo credit: http://media.myfoxcleveland.com/winterweather/cheap%20gas.jpg