Here are some conservation tips that could help your household and our environment.

Work from home

Combine trips

Maintain tire pressure

Avoid rabbit stops and starts

Try not to idle for more than 10 seconds

Subscribed to Madera farmers, T.D. Willey's CSA (community supported

agriculture) program. For approximately $13 per week, we get a big box

of locally grown, seasonal organic produce. They have tons of pickup

locations throughout the Valley.

We installed a whole-house water filter. As a result, we no longer buy

bottled water. We each have one stainless steel water bottle that we

refill when needed. This saves us money.

When we wash our produce, we recapture the water in a bowl then

re-purpose that water to water the indoor plants.

Turn off the water when you brush your teeth.

Use dishtowels or rags instead of napkins and paper towels.

Buy 100% recycled paper towels from Seventh Generation.

Buy 100% recycled toilet paper from Trader Joe's.

Use Dr. Bronner's All-in-One soap for everything. Many, many green

products *aren't* green. Dr. Bronner's is one of the few. You can use it

for laundry, dishes, floors, surfaces, bar soap, and shampoo. Trader

Joe's has the lowest price. All ingredients are organic and fair trade,

and the bottle is recycled plastic. Best yet, it's one of the few truly

chemical free products out there that isn't poisoning you or our water

systems.

One of the few online companies to sell truly chemical free products is

a Web site called www.terressentials.com.

Put all of your components on a single power strip that can be unplugged

or turned off when not in use. This alone has cut our PG&E bill nearly

in half.

Buy EnergyStar appliances. Replace old refrigerators.

Shut vents and close off rooms that you don't need heated or cooled.

Disable the sleep mode on your laptop. It's better that it completely

turn off when not in use.

Always use canvas totes for grocery and other shopping. I simply carry

them in my trunk. Whole Foods will give you 5 cents back for every bag

or allow you to donate to one of three local organizations. Trader Joe's

puts your name in a raffle for free groceries.

The greenest dry cleaner in town is MasterCraft in Fig Garden Village.

Wear (and buy) fewer clothes that have to be dry cleaned OR ironed.

Try to break yourself of the habit of walking into a room and

automatically flipping on the light. Many times you can see without it.

Turn off the TV or radio when you're done.

Try to buy fewer products stored in plastic. Glass or paper is better.

Use chemical free cat litter like the wheat, renewable pine pellet or

recycled newspaper pellet products out there.

Use both sides of copy paper.

Buy less stuff. Buy organic or fair trade. Support local.

Buy more used, vintage or secondhand goods instead of new.

Run a full dishwasher or washing machine. Avoid using hot water.

Compost.

Donate your magazine subscriptions to the library so that one

subscription can be read by lots of people. Choose one day a month to go

and read everything. (Jodi Fitzpatrick gets the credit for this idea).

Eat less beef, poultry and processed foods.

Grow your own food.

Donate unwanted items rather than throw them away.

Use rechargeable batteries. Recycle your single-use batteries at Lowe's.

Change your air filters regularly.

The Sierra Club has a great newsletter called "The Green Life" that

sends you a short and sweet green tip everyday.

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Even with all that, there are still a few things on our to-do list:

Solar panels

Hybrid car

Clothesline

Rain barrels

Purchase carbon offsets (your carbon footprint can be calculated at

www.liveearth.org)

Install lowflow showerheads

Organic bedding

Have an energy assessment done on the house

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So lots of ideas. And many of them will save you money.

- Cindy Wathen (www.cindywathen.com)