Top 10 Idiot-Proof Eco-Tips

We promise. We've done these ourselves and lived to tell the tale. Believe us, if we can do them, anybody can do them. Now that you've done the 5 Easy First Steps from our home page 'Get Started' box, take a crack at some or all of these. Add your own, too, in the comments below, or submit them to community tips.

1. Stop Idling

Every moment you spend idling your car's engine means needlessly wasting gas, as well as rougher wear on your vehicle. Idling for more than 10 seconds wastes more gas than is needed for startup. Overall, Americans idle away 2.9 billion gallons of gas a year, worth around $78.2 billion.

Read more here.

2. Turn Off Your Computer

Save energy and wear and tear on your hardware by shutting down your computer at night. You'll save an average of $90 of electricity a year. The Department of Energy recommends shutting off your monitor if you aren't going to use it for more than 20 minutes, and the whole system if you're not going to use it for more than two hours.

Read more here.

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3. Sign Up for Green Energy

More than half of all electricity consumers in the U.S. now have the option of purchasing green power from their utility. Find out how you can buy it by visiting the Department of Energy's state-by-state list of providers. You can also check with your own utility to see what's available.

Read more here.

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4. Turn Down the Thermostat

It definitely pays to give a thought to your thermostat, since most households shell out 50 to 70% of their energy budgets on heating and cooling. For every degree you lower the thermostat, you'll save between 1 and 3% of your heating bill. Do the same thing in reverse with air conditioning.

Read more here and here.

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5. Wash Your Laundry in Cold Water

An easy way to clean green is to turn the dial on your washing machine to cold. Most loads don't need hot water, and 90% of the energy used by washing machines goes into heating. The higher the water temperature, the higher the cost to you and the planet.

Read more here.

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6. Pay Bills Online

Save natural resources - as well as late fees - by enrolling in online bill-paying options. Paperless billing not only saves trees; it also eliminates the fossil fuel needed to get all those billing envelopes from them to you and back again. Plus, you'll save money on stamps.

Read more here.

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7. Jettison Junk Mail

Around 100 million trees and 28 billion gallons of water are used to send junk mail to Americans every year, according to greendimes.com. You can stop 75% of unsolicited mail by registering on the Mail Preference Service on the Direct Marketing Association website (for a fee of $1). Within 90 days, most unsolicited mail will stop.

Read more here.

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8. Print on Two Sides

Know what? It's not that hard to print two sides on your computer. But even though most software programs give that option, most of us still print only on one side of the page. Consider this: the U.S. alone uses 4 million tons of copy paper annually, about 27 pounds per person. Save dough and your local landfill. Print 2-sides.

Read more here.

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9. Carpool It!

If your drive to work is 25 miles each way and at least half is in typical stop-and-go traffic, you'll save almost 10 percent of your monthly carbon emissions by carpooling. Not to mention the gas dollars you'll save and the fun you'll have sharing office gossip with your friends.

Read more here.

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10. Choose Hormone-Free Milk

Look for milk that has been certified organic or carries the words 'no artificial hormones.' Conventional dairies inject cows with synthetic recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH), aka bovine somatotropin (rbST), to boost production. The practice has been implicated in udder infections, requiring more veterinary antibiotic use, and is banned in many countries. Some scientists worry the hormones may affect consumers.

Read more here.

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