Windows only: Freeware application HP Smart Web Printing combines clips from any number of web pages into one page, so you don’t have to print five different pages of filler to get one page worth of information. The tool—which despite its HP origins works with any printer—integrates directly with both Firefox and Internet Explorer, so clipping text, images, or any part of a page is as simple as clicking a button. Before you print, you can edit, resize, and adjust all of your clippings to your liking. The result is more useful printouts and less wasted paper. If this freeware, Windows only download tickles the environmentalist in you, check out other easy ways to go green and save money with your computer.
HP Smart Web Printing [HP via Shell Extension City]AU – Please note that water restrictions are in place across most (if not all!) of Australia right now. These tips are about saving water when caring for your lawn, but you should check what restrictions are in place in your local area!
Spring is upon the northern hemisphere (AU – and down under we’re living with water restrictions!), and with a little know-how, you can water your lawn more smarter this year. Tutorial site wikiHow offers strategies to reduce your water usage while maintaining a healthy, hearty lawn. For example: Water deeply to encourage deep root growth. Frequent shallow waterings encourage weed germination, and they also cause the grass plants’ roots to grow shallow, leaving the plant more susceptible to drought and to certain diseases. Watering only when your grass really needs it encourages the roots to grow deeper
The article is full of other smart watering tips—like watering early to avoid evaporation—that are worth a read before you put out the sprinklers. Photo by Finstr. How to Water Your Lawn Efficiently [wikiHow]
A reader at frugal finance blog Get Rich Slowly suggests shredding your junk mail and using it to mulch your garden. To avoid killing your garden with inks and metals leeching off the shredded paper, the author uses the following guidelines:I only shred the non-glossy stuff, and try to avoid coloured ink as much as possible. Since I’m shredding to avoid identity theft in the first place, and credit applications these days contain coloured ink, I can’t stay 100% black and white, but I can accept that.
Over at the TipNut blog, they’ve rounded up 20 supposedly disposable items and how to reuse them, in ways both common (newspapers for kitty litter liners) and unique (greasing pans with used butter wrappers). There’s a handful of items that might make you think twice before trashing, but with so many products turning the way of use-and-toss these days, there’s got to be far more creative reusable hacks out there. So I put it to you, dear readers: What items do you never toss before getting a little bit more out of them? How do you save money (and save landfill space) without spending a lot of time? What web sites do you turn to for reusable inspiration? Drop your tips, ideas, and links in the comments, and we’ll consider them for a future post. 20 Things You Can Use Twice Before Tossing [TipNut.com]
Not everyone can afford to install solar panels or get a new Prius this Earth Day, but there is one place you can go green without spending an arm and a leg or radically changing your lifestyle: your computer. Chances are you spend the majority of your day sitting in front of the keyboard, and a few small changes can go a long way toward reducing its negative impact on the environment. As an added bonus, doing your part for the environment will save you money, too. This Earth Day, we’ve rounded up a few simple ways you can go green with your computer.
Web site Rehash is like an online swap meet for clothes and accessories. According to the site, the average American throws away around 68 lbs. of clothes per year—Rehash is a place to recycle those clothes and get something in return. Once you’ve joined, you can list anything you want to exchange, along with items you’re looking for. Rehash trades can happen either in person or through shipping, though the site doesn’t have anything in place to help you with shipping. Obviously Goodwill is always there to take your clothes donations so that you aren’t trashing your unused clothes every year, but if you’re looking to get something in return, Rehash may be a good place to do it. Thanks Antonella! Rehash
If turning the lights off for an hour for Earth Day last week was your version of a big effort for the environment, may we tempt you with some more low effort ways to make a difference? The delightfully titled “The Lazy Cheapskates Guide to Saving the Planet” offers up a few tips for the well meaning but lazy. I’ve cherry picked the ideas that seemed most practical.
Make sure the seals around your windows, doors and heating ducts are intact – otherwise you’re wasting power and money on inefficient heating/cooling Turn down your water heater (they recommend 120 F which is about 49 C) and always wash your laundry in cold water. Washing in hot water is usually unnecessary, expensive and chews through power. Use cruise control when driving (I didn’t know that it’s more fuel efficient, but then my car doesn’t have CC) If washing dishes by hand, *don’t* do it under running water. Fill the basin, then wash. If you have a dishwasher, make sure you only run it when it’s full, and skip the prewash if possible.I’d add – hang your laundry out to dry! Dryers chew up power and in our fairly mild climate they’re just not necessary. Get a laundry drying rack for indoors if you don’t want to wave your smalls at the neighbours. Got any other tips for easy greening? Share in comments please.
The Lazy Cheapskates Guide to Saving the Planet [Fivecentnickel.com]
Walk by most office’s shared network printer and chances are you’ll see a stack of discarded extra pages the person who printed them didn’t need after all, or print jobs that were so “important” they were abandoned. PC World suggests three easy ways to reduce the amount of “Whoops! Didn’t need to print that!” moments, like making liberal use of Print Preview (and selecting only the range of pages you need) and printing documents to PDF instead of paper. We like the free doPDF Windows utility for saving paper and printing documents to a searchable file instead of filling up printer trays. Three Steps to the Paperless Office [PC Magazine]
Yahoo Green covers several low-cost methods of reducing your water use at home intended to save you money and save your planet. The quality of the tips vary, but the article includes a lot of tips that anyone can implement for free. For example, to minimise appliance water consumption, the article suggests:Fully loaded: Dishwashers and clothes washers should be operated when full for optimum water conservation. If you must wash partial loads, adjust the water levels as appropriate. Scrape, don’t rinse: Pre-rinsing dishes before loading the dishwasher is unnecessary. Scrape off food and then trust that bad boy to do its job.
Your mileage may vary with some of the tips, but it’s at least worth finding out, for example, if you can get away with scraping rather than rinsing. Thanks Ellen! Low-cost ways to conserve water at home [Yahoo Green]
Blogger Jeff Atwood has been rolling with rechargable batteries since the late 90s, and after a bit of research he delves into the finer points of making the most of your rechargeable batteries, from choosing the longest lasting batteries to finding the best types of chargers. In both cases, Atwood highlights the tools that will give you the most bang for your buck. Whether you’re keen on rechargeable batteries but quickly draining batteries have you questioning your rechargeable ways, or you want to start saving money and the environment by switching to rechargeable, this post is a must-read. Adventures in Rechargeable Batteries [Coding Horror]
