Despite lower gas prices, it's always a good idea to maximize the fuel efficiency of your car whenever possible. One easy tip to improve your average miles per gallon is to take a look at your car's owner's manual. Find out what grade of motor oil is recommended; by using the recommended grade, you can improve your efficiency by 1 to 2 percent. Sometimes the recommended grade is actually the cheaper one! And always have your oil changed at a professional service station; all used motor oil is collected and recycled at a refinery.

Fluorescent tube lights are commonplace in commercial spaces, but also in laundry rooms and garages at home. While they do contain much less mercury than traditional CFL bulbs, they still have small amounts. Plus, as anyone who has replaced a tube light has probably witnessed, they are very easy to break. The good news is that LED technology has caught up with tube lighting. There are companies that are now creating LED tube lights that fit in the same fixtures, but have no mercury and last as much as 20 times longer. Search online to find suppliers.

There is an urban legend that colleting rainwater on your own property is illegal in many states. The reality is that, yes, in about a dozen states, it is against the law. But you have to read the laws carefully to understand that it doesn't apply to small-scale collection at home. The laws simply require water rights permits when it comes to using public water supplies (like waterways), or when it becomes water collection that's done on a massive scale. But if you have a rainwater collection system that simply collects water for your own property use, not only is it perfectly fine, you may be eligible for tax credits for installing such a system.