With fall weather here, it's a good time to get your gardens and yard in shape so they look and work their best come spring. Start by composting leaves; it's as simple as making a pile of them and mixing in other organic matter. Over time, the pile will break down and turn into beneficial mulch. Speaking of beneficial matter, now is also a good time to add organic fertilizer to your garden soil. These slow-release fertilizers add nutrients and will enhance your soil through the fall and winter months. And if you've been thinking of planting trees around the house, now is a great time to do it. With hot summer rays behind us, trees have a better chance of thriving as long as you plant them before the first frost. Added bonus: Landscaping centers are slower during these months and offer the best prices.

Can you guess where Americans wasted $3 billion that could have been saved with a simple switch? Believe it or not, it's your cable TV box. These energy hogs consume more energy than most electronics put together, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The good news is that newer cable box models are becoming much more energy-efficient. The bad news is that many of us are still stuck with the old-fashioned energy hog kinds. To cut the waste, plug your cable box into a surge protector that has a "power off" switch on it. Before you go to sleep each night, turn it off with the flip of a switch. In the morning, turn it on. You'll save hundreds of dollars a year with this one simple move.

Do you want to extend the battery life of your smartphone as much as possible? Since phones have an integrated rechargeable battery that can only be recharged a few thousand times, the more efficient you are, the better you can extend the lifespan of the battery. One simple way is to use the Wi-Fi connection as much as possible. The reason is simple: A Wi-Fi connection uses less power to access data than a cellular network. Another simple tip is to adjust the brightness of the screen. Just go into your phone's settings and dim the brightness level, or use the auto brightness setting. It will automatically adjust the screen's brightness to wherever you are, whether it's outside in the bright sun or inside in a dark room.