Here’s information on the MOST COMMON question I’m getting this spring… Now is a GREAT time for home updates if you live in Austin (I recommend Corias Homes, Inc. if you need help, Debi 512-848-3127/deborah@coriashomes.com).  There are check-in-the-mail rebates available for qualifying homes in Austin and additional rebates were just rolled out: NEW: Texas Powerful [...]

Want to turn unwanted toilets into cash? The City of Austin’s free toilet program is suspended until further review in October, but you can still cash in with the City’s rebate program.  Approved toilets, those carrying the “EPA Watersense” label, can earn you a rebate with the City of Austin of $50-200. What’s the catch? [...]

Ideas from Forbe’s… Wind Turbines Cost: $5-25,000; Tax Credit: $4,000 Not allowed in all neighborhoods and you have to have enough room, but these can significantly help take you off the power grid entirely, and excess power can be sold back to the power company in man cities, including Austin Geothermal Heating Systems Cost: $3-10,000; [...]

Weekly Green Tip Diaper Conscience Babies fly through 5,000 to 8,000 diapers before using the “big kid underpants”.  That’s 3.5 million TONS of waste in American landfills.  Can you imagine that kind of mass?  It’s nearly 2.5 million cars worth of baby waste and diapers!  There are environmentally friendly versions of diapers as well as [...]

Weekly Green Tip Recycle Glass Glass takes 1 million years to decompose.  If you’re not going to wait around to see those benefits, recycle glass containers as well as broken glass (like mirrors and picture frames) to reduce glass related air pollution by 20% and water related pollution by 50%.  That was easy!

Weekly Green Tip Use the light, not the door! When you’re checking on your goods baking in the oven, use the light not the door.  Make an exception if and when you need to do a tooth-pick check on treats like cakes and brownies, but just keep the glass clean and use the light to [...]

Weekly Green Tip Don’t Preheat This is one that I’m not sure about.  I’d have to hear a response from a baking guru, but I’m going to try it.  Don’t preheat unless you’re baking pastries or bread.  Instead, turn the oven on when you put the food in to save valuable energy.

Green Tip: Stop Pre-Washing Save time, energy, money, AND water with this tip.  Are you still washing your dishes before you wash them in the dish washer?  I’ll admit that some dishwashers don’t do a great job, but most do and those that don’t may need to be replaced with a new energy and cleaning [...]

Weekly Green Tip Let Your Electronics Sleep Save the planet and your pennies by turning off your computers at night.  This is a hard one for me as well, but it is simple to get into the habit of turning them back on in the mornings while you organize and prepare for your day.  Computers [...]

Weekly Green Tip Changing Your Lights is a Bright Idea If every house in America replaced one incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent one, the effect would measure the same as removing one million cars from the road.  Tossing all of your bulbs is wasteful, so start with those that burn out and those in [...]