2/18/11

Vow to have a car-free day with your family, like a weekend day or holiday, where you'll spend the entire day at home instead of driving somewhere to do something. By breaking the habit that you have to drive somewhere every day, you'll be able to tackle home repair projects, get that backlist of chores completed or even just watch a movie together as a family ... at home.

2/17/11

Be sure the fireplace damper is closed when you're not using it. An open flue is like having a small window open; by keeping it closed, you can prevent around 8 percent of your home's heated air from escaping up the flue.

2/16/11

Whenever you can cut back on paper usage, no matter how small, it adds up over time. Select "no receipt" at the ATM machine when you withdraw cash; don't print out a boarding pass at home for your airline flight when you can send the boarding pass straight to your smart phone; e-mail yourself your grocery list instead of jotting it down on paper and read it off your phone instead. Little paperless decisions definitely add up.