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Choose green, save some green

Nothing warms my frugal heart more than marrying the twin virtues of conservation of resources as well as cash. Add some respite for my lazy legs (the ones that don't want to walk to the grocery store) and now you're talking.

For example, I recently completed a load of laundry sans one step: a trip through the dryer. Savings: $1. Plus! The time trudging several flights of stairs between my home and the appliance in question.

It seems silly to spend money and energy to artificially remove moisture from clothes when the process would happen naturally even in the most humid of Maryland summers.

Also, using a solar-powered clothes dryer, otherwise known as a clothesline or drying rack, reduces the wear on your clothes --- after all, the lint you clean off the filter comes from somewhere, right? 

So what environmentally savvy measures are you taking that help keep you in the black (and perhaps on the couch)? Maryland PIRG just issued a report detailing rebate programs and other incentives

 that other states have put in place to encourage people to save energy --- and save money on fuel bills at the same time. Suggestions include discounting the cost of newer, energy efficient appliances and more --- like promoting compact fluorescent light bulbs, which don't have to be replaced as frequently.

They say that by conserving energy, we can reduce demand that can only be met by building more power plants and transmission lines ... new construction that consumers will ultimately have to pay for.

 

Comments

Baking soda and elbow grease will get a scummy bathtub white again. It costs about 10 cents for 2 tons, and its fumes won't make you pass out. You still have to do the cleaning, but it works better than other stuff.

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About this blog


A native of Vietnam, Dan Thanh Dang has lived in Maryland most of her life and has been a Sun reporter since 1990. She's written about everything from mayoral elections and murder to energy prices and online dating. These days, she writes about a topic she's all too familiar with, spending money -- how to save more of it, blow all of it, use it wisely and avoid getting ripped off in the process.
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