1. Use warm water to wash your clothes. By using “warm” and “cold” settings as opposed to running “hot” cycles, you can reduce your clothing washer’s energy usage by 90%.

2. Let your computer snooze. If you take advantage of the “sleep mode” on your computer, you could save up to $75 of electricity per year.

3. Buy Blu-ray discs instead of DVDs. A Blu-ray disc is ½ paper which makes it easier to recycle, plays on a DVD player, and you get a better picture.

4. Shower. Switching from baths to showers can save you 2,000 gallons of water a year.

5. Buy organically grown food. 888 million pounds of pesticides are used each year on crops in the U. S. That averages out to 3 pounds per person.

6. Opt for a reusable water bottle. You could save yourself $200 and save 14 lbs. of plastic a year using a reusable bottle. Use an aluminum or Nalgene bottle to steer clear of BPA.

7. Buy milk in a bottle. Typical milk cartons cannot be recycled due to their wax coating; go for the bottles or a plastic jug with “1” or “2” in the recycle symbol.

8. SLOW DOWN.   Reducing your speed to 55 mph from 70 mph could increase your fuel efficiency by 23%.

9. Unplug your adapter. Phone and other small appliance chargers can leak energy and waste up to 10% of the household’s power usage when not in use.

10. Travel with your own shampoo. Don’t waste plastic; a typical Las Vegas hotel goes through 150,000 plastic bottles each year … and that doesn’t include the body wash and conditioner.

11. Clean your lint trap. You can save up to 5% of your electricity bill each month by simply cleaning out your clothing dryer’s lint screen.

12. Use your curtains. If Americans used their curtains, we could power Japan with the energy saved.

13. Get your maps online. Try to print your own directions or use a navigation system; the paper used to make maps is very difficult to recycle (and sometimes impossible due to the large amounts of ink). Use old maps as gift wrap!

14. Upgrade to green energy. It may cost a little extra, but knowing that your energy consumption will not pollute the environment with carbon dioxide, heat-trapping gases, or nitrogen oxide emissions will help you rest easier at night.

15. Recycle junk mail. If every American household recycled their 1. 5 trees’ worth of junk mail instead of throwing it away each year, $370 million in landfill dumping fees could be saved. Sign up at  www.dmachoice.org to be added to the “do not mail” list for only $1 a month.

16. Use a digital camera. Most solvents used to develop film contain harmful chemicals that require special disposal that is usually not done correctly. You will also get better pictures and save the money usually spent on film.

17. Recycle old electronics. Many companies have recycling programs for used or broken electronics. Some companies will even give you money back or discounts on future purchases for bringing old electronics in for responsible disposal. Over 40% of all lead in landfills comes from electronic waste which can pollute groundwater.    Radio Shack has a great exchange program, visi t www.radioshack.com for details.

18. Buy carbon offsets. Go to  www.climatefriendly.com to calculate your carbon usage and invest in companies striving to create energy alternatives such as wind and solar farms.

19. Buy products from eco-sponsible companies. Visit  www.climatecounts.orgto see how major companies stack up when it comes to being eco-friendly. Yogurt manufacturer Stonyfield Farm funded the website and offsets 100% of its emissions.

20. Find out what exactly what you’re putting on your body. Visit the SkinDeep database and it will list the ingredients in your beauty product and any warnings that may come with them.

21. Recycle. 75% of things sent to dumps can be recycled.

22. Opt to stay in a green hotel. Go to  www.greenhotels.com to see a full list of green hotels. The Kimpton Hotel chain is very earth-friendly and even boasts that their mission is to “support a sustainable world. ”  They aren’t too shabby, either!

23. Cover your pool. To avoid water loss due to evaporation, cover your pool and save enough water in one month to meet the drinking water needs of a family of four for a year and a half … and reduce your water bill!

24. Refuse ATM receipts. We could circle the equator 15 times with the amount of paper saved if everyone refused ATM receipts for one year.

25. Let the professionals wash your car. You could save up to 100 gallons of water PER WASH by taking your car to a commercial car wash instead of washing it at home.