Room by room steps to reduce global warming and your electricity bill.

Step 5 Outside and in the car

Free:
When it rains put a bucket or two outside and use the water on pot plants or other plants.

If you have a big car and no other cars, how about setting up a car pooling program at your work or catching public transport instead?

With your compost and lawn clippings, find an out of sight corner of your yard and lay down some wet newspapers and pour it there whenever there is too much for the bucket and turn it with a pitchfork every now and again. If this is too gross for your yard consider buying one or making one like this or this.

Our water heater is outside and we turn down how hot it heats the water in summer and turn it up in winter because we just have a large knob inside the heater for this but if you don't SEEK HELP FROM AN ELECTRICIAN or HEATER REPAIR MAN.
We also have a thing called holiday mode, which keeps the pilot light alight but not heating the water which we turn on when going away.

Pays for itself:
Please suggest something for this step, as I am half brain dead right now and need sleep! Any comments will be welcome!

Not free:
Planting a tree may not be free but is a great idea, especially if you plant native trees or fruit trees. You can water it with the systems I have provided or just with the hose. A tree or even a pot plant is a great addition to homes and is AWESOME ( I needed to say awesome in here somewhere). These people take it to the extreme though Link.

Note 1.From Joyce (contributed).
Even small trees are expensive bought from a nursery. Why not start your own in a pot then plant out. I have started mulberries, peaches etc this way. Seed came from picked or purchased fruit. Or a walk through most parks will yield fallen acorns dogwood berries etc.

Comments

[gearskin]

 Start a garden! It's really simple and even just growing some tomatoes can save you at the store. What better way to use that compost?!

[Afka]

Don't forget, if you're using rain catching buckets, to use a screen, or to change the water often, as stagnant water is where mosquitoes lay their eggs.

[stranoster]

Thanks for the tip. I'll add it when I next edit.

[Joyce]

Great job. One comment even small trees are expensive bought from a nursery. Why not start your own in a pot then plant out. I have started mulberries, peaches etc this way. Seed came from picked or purchased fruit. Or a walk through most parks will yield fallen acorns dogwood berries etc.

[stranoster]

Thanks for the tip :) I'll include it in my next edit. I didn't even think to put that in, so thanks again.

[taleya]

Outside pays for itself - something akin to Shade Cloth on sun facing walls. We've done our western wall of the house (eastern has a courtyard, and doesn't get as much radiant heat) and it cuts down heat in summer hugely. Means the aircon is run less, and lowers bills.