Laundry

• Hang Your Laundry.
  
  Doing laundry uses excess energy when you heat water for the wash, use the dryer or wash clothes too frequently. Never wash just a few clothing items at a time. Fill the washer and use cold water. If you let stained clothes soak in cold water overnight before washing them, they will come out clean without using hot water. According to Penn State's Take Charge energy conservation program, you can reduce your annual carbon footprint by 645 lbs. by taking these simple steps. When you hang your clothes or lay them flat to dry, you save even more energy. Each shirt you put in the dryer increases your carbon footprint by 9 lbs. You can also reduce your energy usage by washing your clothing only when it is dirty. Your blue jeans probably do not need to be washed after each time you wear them. Wearing them again conserves energy.
  
  

Light Bulbs

• Do Not Use Incandescent Bulbs
  
  Save money, energy and reduce pollution by switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs. Even though fluorescent bulbs cost more at purchase, the U.S. government's Energy Star program states that each bulb will save you $30 in the course of its life. These bulbs also use only 25 percent of the energy that an incandescent bulb does. If every house in America used a compact fluorescent bulb in a single lamp, it would reduce carbon emissions as much as taking 800,000 cars off the road.