Issues > July/August 2006 (#115) > Household Tips from The Green Guide to Keep Your Health and Your Savings Intact

Household Tips from The Green Guide to Keep Your Health and Your Savings Intact

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Garage

20. If you're shopping for a new car, hybrids are a great way to cut down your gas consumption. Among the most fuel-efficient are the Toyota Prius, which gets 60 mpg city/51 hwy or $800 est. annual fuel costs, the Honda Civic Hybrid (47 city/48 hwy, $936 annually, and the Ford Escape Hybrid (36 city/31 hwy, $1332 annually).

21. To really save you gas and keep you fit in the bargain, bicycles can't be beat. Giant's Cypress LX and Gary Fisher's Nirvana are perfect for commutes while being sturdy enough to handle a dirt road, but wear a helmet, stick to bicycle paths and obey all traffic laws to keep yourself safe.

Attic

22. Insulating your ceiling can reduce heating costs 5 to 25 percent, saving approximately $180 annually for a family of four. Innotherm's cotton insulation from recycled denim scrap will also have no impact on your indoor air quality, unlike the formaldehyde concerns from fiberglass insulation.

Basement

23. Replace or clean your furnace filters monthly. Making sure the furnace is lubricated and properly adjusted will save another 5 percent on your heating bill.

Home Office

24. With lead and cadmium circuit boards, lead oxide and barium in monitors, mercury in flat screens, and plastics and flame retardants in casings, circuit boards, and cables, computers pose a big "e-waste" problem at the end of their usefulness. When purchasing a new computer, look for companies with "take back" policies for old machines, such as HP, Dell, NEC and IBM.

25. Companies that are taking the toxic substances out of their machines include HP, Dell (with its Optiplex line), Apple, and Panasonic. The Green Guide's Computer Product Report provides more options.

The Play Room

26. When it's the children's playtime, avoiding phthalate-laden polyvinyl chloride (PVC) vinyl toys is both a better choice for them and for the environment. Stuffed toys made of organic cotton from the Organic Gift Shop, PVC-free LEGO bricks, the Beka Starter wooden block set from well-managed maple forests, even sports equipment made with health and the environment in mind are all durable items, that will give years of play without years of exposure to toxic chemicals.

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