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Want to go green but think it's too expensive? Think again. You can actually SAVE $20-$50 every month by choosing products and services that protect the planet. Here's how:

Buy reusables. Compare a sponge to a roll of paper towels. One sponge may cost as little as $.99. A roll of paper towels runs around $1.99. But one sponge lasts as long as SEVENTEEN ROLLS of paper towels. You could save as much as $33 in paper towels before you have to throw the sponge away. (Meanwhile, keep sponges fresh by washing in the dishwasher with the dishes; microwave on high heat for 30 seconds to kill germs.)

Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs. The CFLs may cost $2-4 more than the incandescent bulb you're used to. But the CFL uses 66% less energy and lasts ten times as long. So over the course of the lifetime of the bulb, you can save as much as $30-$50 on electricity. Plus - think of all the time you're saving changing light bulbs. NOTE: make sure to buy high quality, Energy Star-certified CFLS; don't turn them on and off frequently to extend their life.

Forget bottled water. When you buy bottled water, you're buying a plastic bottle, a label, the energy to transport the bottle to your store, a bottle cap, and the water inside the bottle -- which may, in fact, actually be tap water! And even though water is very cheap when it flows out of your tap, it can cost as much as 10,000 times more when it's served in a bottle. Buy a reusable water bottle and fill it up at your own tap. If you're worried about water quality, use the money you save on bottled water to buy a filter for your faucet.

Save gas. This sounds like a "no brainer," but you'd be surprised how many people waste gas - and money. Pump up your car tires to improve fuel efficiency by 3.3%. Use cruise control for as much as a 14% fuel efficiency gain. Go to Gas Buddy to find the cheapest gas in your driving range. Car pool to share driving costs with others.

Buy in bulk. You pay nearly twice the price for the same weight when you buy small, individually wrapped servings of a product rather than the bulk size. Laundry detergent, fabric softener, dishwasher detergent, shampoo, soap, conditioner, snacks, soft drinks and many other items offer a bulk or 'economy' size. Even buying a half-gallon container of juice is cheaper than buying individual juice boxes.

Take a tax credit. New fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles save gas and earn you tax credits, too. The amount, as determined by the IRS, ranges from $250 to $3150.

Use Craig's List or Freecycle. Before you pay full price for furniture, appliances, sporting equipment or lawn and garden tools, go "shopping" online - at clearinghouses that help you acquire the goods you need at no or low cost while keeping them out of the trash.

Donate. Giving your used clothing and household goods to the Salvation Army, your local church, or a local charity for veterans lightens the load at the landfill and earns you a tax write-off for your charitable donations.

Have other ideas? Share them at our community forum.
local cooking
As farmers markets reopen all over the country, now is a great time to start thinking about buying - and cooking - locally grown food. Here are two cookbooks to help bring those local ingredients to life:

Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating From America's Farmer's Markets - by Deborah Madison. Winner of a James Beard award, this book links recipes to markets and menus with such entries as "The Vegetable Fruits of Summer: Egglplants, Tomatoes, and Peppers." Buy it in hardcover now, or get the paperback in May.

Serving Up the Harvest: Celebrating the Goodness of Fresh Vegetables, by Andrea Chesman - These 175 recipes start with spring's first Peas and New Potato Salad and carry you through summer with Swiss Chard Straciatella and into autumn with Tex- Mex Potato Cake.

And don't miss: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life: by Barbara Kingsolver for an inspiring look into one family's efforts to eat food only grown locally - including the fruits and vegetables they harvest from their own scrappy yard.

We're in the Top Ten! Big Green Purse has bounded into Amazon's Top Ten Ranking for Environmental Books!! Meanwhile, the positive reviews keep coming in. Thanks to everyone who is not only buying the book but spreading the word.

By the way, to pass this information along to a friend, just click on the Forward button right below my signature.

Talk to you again soon,

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Diane MacEachern
Big Green Purse

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