Here are some tips for greening your personal life.  We’ve heard a lot of tips before like turning off lights and conserving water.  But hopefully here are some you haven’t heard before that you can start applying to your daily life.  Besides being environmentally friendly, these tips will also ease the strain on your wallet.

1.  Using fluorescent bulbs can reduce energy.

2.  Don’t place lamps near a thermostat because it will sense the heat and will turn on more frequently if it’s set to an automatic temperature.

3.  When you’re using your dishwasher, use less energy by not using the drying cycle and just let the dishes drip dry.

4.  Install the refrigerator as far as you can from a stove or any heat, including direct sunlight.  It will use less energy to keep food cold.

5.  Buy a front-loading washing machine; it uses less energy and can fit more clothes so you can do less loads.

6.  Unplug your TV when you know you won’t be using it for hours when you’re at school, work, or on vacation.

7.  Avoid tailgating or any other driving habit that causes you to accelerate and brake excessively so you can conserve gas.

8.  Don’t overfill your car with gas because it is more likely to spill over and contribute to air pollution.

9.  Don’t keep everything but the kitchen sink in your car.  Even if you take out 100 pounds of  stuff, you can reduce your fuel intake by 2 percent.

10.  Invest in a fuel-efficient car.  Check out the web site of the U.S. Department of Energy for the best models and a quiz about how your car runs.