8/23/13

Do you want to support your favorite charities but wonder if your donation will actually go to charitable works or if it will just pay for fundraising and other administrative costs? If you want to give to a nonprofit organization and want 100 percent of your donation to go toward good works, why not fulfill its wish list instead? Many charitable organizations, like animal shelters and conservation cleanup groups, have wish lists on Amazon.com for items they need on a regular basis, like trash bags and cleaning supplies. Simply peruse the list of goods, fill your shopping basket with the items and pay for them. They'll get shipped directly to the charity, and you'll know exactly how your donation was spent.

8/22/13

For a long time, plastic clamshell takeout boxes and disposable drink cups from fast food restaurants were almost impossible to recycle. They are commonly made from hard-to-recycle No. 6-grade plastic, also known as polystyrene. But things are changing: Major supermarkets and fast food retailers are switching to No. 1-graded plastics, or PETE (polyethylene terephthalate), which is the most commonly recycled plastic. Since these containers have the look and feel of No. 6 plastics, check to see if the recycling mark is a No. 1 -- if it is, you can recycle it.

8/21/13

According to the Energy Department, the average U.S. household spends about $1,900 a year on energy costs. Up to 10 percent of those energy costs are wasted on plugged-in appliances and electronics that are not in use. Even when turned off, items that are plugged in still use a small amount of energy. While many of us know to unplug cellphone chargers and televisions when not in use, there are other energy hogs that should also be unplugged: lamps, toaster ovens, coffee makers, cordless phones, stereos, radios, DVD players and modems. Unplugging helps you reduce energy costs and saves you money.