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6 Ways to Make Your Home More Energy Efficient

These days, it seems everyone is improving their efforts to be more sustainable. From ride sharing to recycling, “green” is on the tip of nearly everyone’s tongue. But how green is your home? There are some easy steps you can take to improve the energy efficiency of your home, which not only helps the environment—it saves you big bucks.

Below are six ways you can make your home more energy efficient.

1. Begin by focusing on those small cracks and crevices around doors and windows. According to Lowe’s, a 1/8-in. space between a standard exterior door and its threshold is equivalent to a 2 sq.-in. hole in the wall. Close those gaps to save up to 15 percent in heating and cooling costs and also reduce the demand on your heating and cooling system.

2. Lower your water heater’s thermostat setting; less heat means less fuel, and you likely don’t need your shower scalding.

Blanket or insulate the water heater to reduce the amount of heat lost by the unit, particularly if it is located in an unheated area.4. Insulate water pipes, at least the hot water pipes, to prevent heat loss that can cause your water heater to work harder.
5. Change furnace filters to prevent reduced airflow through the heating/cooling system and overheating that can lead to premature compressor damage in the A/C systems.

6. Install water-saving shower heads, and, if possible, purchase a water-saving toilet.

Building a Basement Garden

Have you always dreamed of having your own vegetable garden, but are sparse on space? You may want to consider building a basement garden. But before you get started, peruse the recent advice from thesimpledollar.com on collecting the highest return on investment for your veggie patch.

First, note that a single industrial grow light retailing for about $300 would be required to convert a clear 80 square foot basement area into a greenhouse space. A grow light that size uses 1,000 watts of energy – so running it 12 hours a day for 3 months equates to 1,080 hours of use. That will cost you between $120 and $150 per season.

Seeds could be as cheap as $3 per growing session, assuming that you’re not using heirlooms, in which case there would be a one-time cost of $4 or $5, according to thesimpledollar.com. All told the space, energy and supplies are estimated to run $1,640, or $164 per season for the first 10 years.

To give some perspective, that means each season if you just grow one item – say 800 pounds of tomatoes – this would yield a cost per pound of about 20 cents, compared to the retail cost of about $3 a pound.

Now comes the clincher – time. It could take as much as 100 hours per season to maintain this type of garden, or more based on the diversity of your plantings.

And if you don’t have an outlet for your harvests, you may incur more time and costs for canning supplies or other types of processing.

Incorporate Exercise Into Your Day-to-Day Routine

As our schedules continue to become increasingly busy, one of the first things that tends to fall off our to-do lists is finding the time to exercise. While we all know that exercise is an important aspect of a healthy lifestyle, it’s easy to come up with numerous reasons to avoid the gym after a long day at the office. If you find yourself skipping your after-work gym sessions more often than not, incorporating physical activity into your day-to-day routine may be the motivation you need to get moving again.

One way to do this is to park far away. Whether you’re going to the grocery store or to work, parking in a spot far away from the entrance can help you lose up to 10 calories more a day. Do this for a year and you can lose up to 18,000 calories or five pounds!

You could also take the stairs. Skipping the elevator can help add physical activity to your daily lifestyle without having to work out too hard.

Another way to incorporate physical activity is to take advantage of your lunch break. During your break, walk ten minutes away from your job and back. This will add 20 minutes of exercise to your daily routine. Do this every other day for a year and you could lose up to 15 lbs.

You can also incorporate exercise into your day when you aren’t at work. When you are home you can either play with the kids, or do small exercises when you have time. For example, if you’re watching your favorite TV show, take advantage of the commercials. During those 2-3 minute breaks, do some jumping jacks or sit ups. If you aren’t sweating by the end of the show, you aren’t doing it right.

Now that you know these helpful exercise tips, you won’t have to feel bad about skipping the gym every once in a while.

Source: lifehacker.com

Trending: Weird Baby Names

With celebrities these days naming their kids things like Blue Ivy and Bronx Mowglie, it’s no surprise that all sorts of baby names are popping up. My personal favorite celeb baby name? Pilot Inspektor, the son of Jason Lee. While Jason Lee is a funny dude, ensuring his son is going to get beat up on the playground may not be so funny in the long run.

But with the new national roster weighing in at over 33,000 baby names — 50 percent more than were in common use a quarter century ago – you would expect there to be some weird ones thrown in the batch. According to the roster, five girls in 2011 were named Sundae, Moo, Evening and Psalms, while six baby boys were named Treasure and Cougar.

What’s worse than naming your baby something you are unenthusiastic about? Naming them something unenthusiastic—literally. More than 7 baby girls in 2011 were named Eh. Ehhhh.

And naming your son Brilliant (as 6 sets of parents did in 2011) or Famous (as 7 did) is setting a pretty high standard from the get-go! But I guess that’s better than naming your son Maxi, which more than seven sets of parents in 2011did….

Other weird names to mull over? Tomorrow, Tiger, Law, Benjerman, Island, Graceland and Comfort.

5 Tips to Get Your Creative Juices Flowing

Are you out of ideas? Thinking creatively is no easy task, and many of us find ourselves at a loss when our brains get tired of generating ideas. Need to spark your imagination and develop something new? Refresh your mind and gain a different perspective with these 5 tips to get your creative juices flowing.

1. Change your scenery
Go for a walk. Fresh air clears your mind and being outdoors stimulates your senses. Plus increased circulation, even from light exercise, results in more oxygen to the brain, which is always a helpful boost when you’re stumped.

2. Break your routine
Sticking to a routine is a great way to stay organized, but doing the same thing day in and day out can leave you in a rut. Drive a different way to work, spend some time in the library, or go to the park to switch up your routine and get inspired.

3. Write in a journal

Keeping your daily thoughts bottled up leaves little room for creativity, because your brain is focused on remembering that doctor’s appointment or meeting a deadline at work. Journaling is an easy way to get these off your mind, with the added benefit of teaching you to process information differently.

4. Tidy up your space
De-cluttering your actual space almost always frees up head space. Take some time to neaten up your desk – a less chaotic office becomes a welcome mat for innovative thinking.

5. Turn off your gadgets
Being inundated with media stifles creative thinking. It’s much more challenging to come up with ideas when there are other outlets doing the thinking for you. Shut your phone, television and computer off, even if only for a minutes, and give yourself an opportunity to be present with your own thoughts.

Source: American Express