Everybody’s doing it. Installing bamboo flooring is beautiful and sustainable and on Earth Day, many websites were touting ideas like this one and energy efficient metal roofing to help you make your house “Greener”. I kept thinking, that’s lovely, but what happens with the waste you remove from your house, and how do I afford these luxuries? Replacing things which don’t need replacement for the sake of being “Green” is ridiculous, it just creates waste; and Bamboo flooring is expensive!

Here are my favorite easy, greener, healthy and energy efficient ways I’ve saved money!

1. Buy Used! It took me a long time to convert to buying used clothing and furniture. I thought the clothes would be gross and the furniture carried old ghosts. From Garage Sales and the Goodwill to Antiques and consigned couture clothing, buying used can work for everyone! The next time you need something, you can find it in your city online at Craigslist, or Freecycle.

green.jpg2. Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs for all overhead lighting and more. In darker, more northern places or in shaded houses, as a life coach, I would still suggest using the expensive “full spectrum” light bulbs in lamps to combat Seasonal Affective Disorder. These are more expensive but many are guaranteed to last your lifetime, so you will not have to buy them again! And if you are really thrifty like I was, you can find boxes of them at your surplus stores like Sunshine Liquidators in the Northwest. Mine were a dollar per bulb.

3. Eat More Organic Fruits and Veggies and Less Meat! This one is hard for me since becoming an ex-hippy and ex-vegetarian, I want to eat meat all of the time. Animal products still cost more to produce and ship than fruit and vegetables. It’s still cheaper to eat organic vegetarian than it is to eat non-organic grocery store meats. The frugal side of me is eating more rice and beans and greens these days.

4. Get A New Toilet, Etc. The one area where I am willing to produce dumpster-waste in favor of conservation is plumbing and appliances-even if your originals aren’t dying. Getting water-saving, energy efficient toilets, water-heaters, washers, dryers, dishwashers and refrigerators can save you more money than you think while lessening your energy footprint and using much less water.

6. Read Paula’s Article on 101 Ways to Save a Buck. Most of the money-saving hints Paula likes are also energy and gas-saving!

7. Read the 57 Tips, Tutorials and Ideas from Frugalist. They include the above topics alongside such strange and interesting ideas as having more indoor winter parties where your guests provide your house with heat! This article contains links to not only help you save money, but become smart as a whip about the physics of energy usage. There’s nothing sexier than a queer who knows how heat conduction works.