If you want to make one home improvement upgrade that doesn't cost a lot and can help you save money, install a whole-house fan. Unlike a tabletop or ceiling fan, this one is fixed into your attic and helps force hot air through your attic vents while drawing cooler air into your home. This upgrade can have a dramatic effect on the cooling of your home during the hot months and reduce your dependency on central air conditioning altogether.

There are two things that attract mosquitoes to their prey: heat and carbon dioxide. When the pests sense a warm body breathing out CO2, they know they've found a snack. Instead of slathering yourself with chemical bug repellants, try this simple trick instead: Turn on a fan. When you have a tabletop or ceiling fan blowing air, it cools your body temperature and spreads the CO2 emissions around, making it harder for the mosquitoes to detect you.

Many of us use plastic flower or deer netting to hide landscaping, fruit trees and gardens from hungry deer. But what we may not realize is that while it may deter deer, it can harm other wild animals. When birds fly in between the holes of netting to go into a fruit tree, for example, it can be impossible for them to figure out how to escape. And animals can get caught in the holes and have a slow, painful death. If you must use netting, use the kind with the tiniest, smallest holes available.