You don't have to go overboard to help Mother Earth

by Hilary Dickinson

Want to go green with spending a lot of green? You don't have to drive a hybrid car or buy solar panels to do it. Here's a list of simple inexpensive tricks you can do to improve the environment and save energy:

Use compact fluorescent light bulbs. Compared with regular bulbs, they use 75 percent less energy, last up to 10 times longer and reduce your electric bill 3 percent to 4 percent annually, says Timothy Melloch, a ComEd energy doctor.

Don't keep throwing plastic bottles into landfills. Get a water cooler instead, says Gayle Englof, owner of the Home Environment Center in Rockford.

Flip the light off when you leave a room.

Shut the computer down or let it hibernate when not in use.

Don't bump the thermostat up; put on a sweater. Melloch says your heating bill is reduced by 6 percent for every degree you change in the winter.

Let ComEd pay you $25 to haul old refrigerators away that you're barely using, Melloch says. That extra unit's costing you $100 to $150 annually.

If you don't have canvas bags, use paper at the grocery instead of plastic. Then put one in your laundry room (which Gummow does) to make recycling easier.

Batteries have harmful chemicals, so Gummow recommends disposing of them at the Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Center, 3333 Kishwaukee St. in Rockford.

Use nontoxic cleaning and personal-care products. Englof says they break down more easily and don't pollute.

DVRS use almost as much energy as refrigerators, so Melloch advices unplugging secondary DVRs when not in use.

Buy an energy star appliance. "It might not be the top product, but it's designed to be efficient," Melloch says.

Seal air leaks in windows and doors to reduce your heating bill.