The sustainable clothing brand Patagonia has recently launched a program called “Worn Wear Trade-in” that encourages customers who have unwanted Patagonia clothing to trade it in. Garments are brought to a Patagonia store, where customers are given a credit to either buy new items or shop on the site wornwear.com. And for people who want to save big on Patagonia clothing, lightly used pieces are re-sold on the site at a fraction of the cost of buying them new. Used Patagonia clothing that has been traded in is repaired, fixed and mended to bring it to good-to-excellent condition.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Are you making multiple recipes and have only one oven? If you’re baking something and the two recipes have a temperature difference of only 25-50 degrees, there is absolutely no need to bake them separately. Choose the lower temperature and bake away; it’ll achieve the same result, and you’ll speed up your cooking and save energy, too. Just a few minutes before the baking time is up, turn off the oven and leave the door closed. The residual heat is hot enough to keep cooking whatever you’re roasting, baking or toasting inside.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Here’s a feature your dishwasher may have that you don’t know about: a delay button. After you’ve finished dinner and loaded up the dishwasher, add the 6-hour delay function to your wash. Between dinnertime and before you go to bed, you can still add dishes and cups to the machine. But after midnight, the delay function will kick in and start the dishwasher. These are “off-peak” energy hours, which means you save money on your utility bill, and when you wake up, everything will be sparkling clean. This function is particularly important during hot summer months when air conditioning can strain the grid, but it’s a good habit to get into year-round.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION