1. Opt for cloth. The average American family uses 1 1/2 rolls of paper towels
per week, says Earth911 (earth911.com), so cutting down to just one a month could save you roughly $45 a year. Use cloth towels or old T-shirts cut into squares to clean up spills; toss them in the wash instead of the trash. Snip old sheets to use as napkins, or buy cloth napkins
in various colors, with a different hue for each family member. (Visit tablelinensforless.com to find napkins for as low as 83 cents a piece!)2. Throw a green cleaning party. Gather your friends together to have some fun while mixing environmentally friendly cleaning products
. Pool your money to buy the ingredients; everyone should leave with enough supplies to last a month. Try these three recipes: Glass cleaner
: Combine 1 tablespoon vinegar
or lemon juice
with 1 quart water. Pour into a spray bottle
and use with newspapers to clean surfaces. Furniture polish: 
Add 1 teaspoon lemon juice
to 2 cups vegetable oil
. Carpet freshener
: In a jar mix 1 cup crushed dried herbs, 1 teaspoon ground cloves
, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
and 2 teaspoons baking soda
. Shake well. Sprinkle a bit on your carpet, let it sit for an hour, then vacuum
.3. Boil water in a flash. When cooking pasta
, use a kettle
to boil water, then transfer the water to the pot. The water will boil faster, so you'll use less energy.4. Tidy your computer. Instead of using pricey keyboard cleaner
s, which contain chemicals, turn your keyboard upside down and shake out dirt and debris. Then swipe double-sided tape between the keys to pick up any remaining bits. Source: Ideal Bite5. Freshen up your oven. Cleaning your oven
probably isn't tops on your to-do list, but once it's done your food will cook more efficiently, which will save energy and money. If you own a self-cleaning oven, start the cleaning cycle right after you've cooked or baked to take advantage of the residual heat.6. Rinse and reuse. Get more life out of empty pickle, jam and sauce jars by washing them thoroughly and using them to store dry goods, homemade salad dressings
and even leftovers. 7. Take your temperature. Keeping your fridge
and freezer colder than necessary can boost your energy consumption--and your bills. Your fridge should be set between 37°F and 40°F, the freezer between 0° and 5°F.8. Keep water in the refrigerator.
A less-than-full fridge has to work harder to stay cold than one that's completely stocked. If some shelves are bare, stash a few glasses of water on them to help maintain efficiency.
bags
ever again. Wash and save the plastic bags that come in cereal boxes―they can be repurposed to wrap 
or 
, store leftovers or freeze meats.
―whether you’re washing or 
, the scraps come in handy as extra rags. (Compared to what you see at your left, which is basically a bag of cut up 
!!
make perfect homes for small flowers or 
. Just fill with 
, plant 
or flowers and place on the windowsill and you have your own 
!
for your kids’ textbooks. That’s one more thing to scratch off your back-to-school shopping list! (I used to do this as a kid, because then you had a blank canvas for all your doodles and scribbles from friends)
to hold everything from 
to 
! It’s a fuss-free way to de-clutter any area of your home.
. Take one with you wherever you go for easy, discreet access. 
from a milk jug
. Have the kids decorate, then hang from a tree.
, blank side up, to a piece of cardboard. 
is great for kids to draw and paint on, and is often more cost-effective than paper made specifically for artistic pursuits. 
to use as fill for stuffed animals or throw pillows. You can use any type of paper. It’s cheaper than buying synthetic padding and works just as well. 
keep clothes soft without having to throw some fragranced dryer sheet in there :)
Has a New Album Out This Week (damn her and her beautiful songs!!)
