These days, more and more people are realizing just how important it is to take care of our planet so that she, in turn, can take care of us. Conserving energy is a big step we can all take to help improve our environment. Not only is it good for the Earth, but it could help keep some money in your pocket too. There are many ways that you can contribute right from your home, without having to go anywhere, or do anything special.

Here’s a list of things of simple things you can do.

• Take shorter showers. Most of your water heater costs come from showering. Long showers waste water and a lot of electricity as well. Also make sure you don’t leave your shower or any other water faucets dripping. Taking short showers could save you up to $100 a year!

• When using a dishwasher, make sure it’s full before you turn it on. Running it when it has only 5 plates in it is really a waste of both water and electricity. Also consider skipping the dry cycle on your dishwasher. Dishes dry really fast, so why not take them out of the dishwasher and place them on a rack to dry? If you hand wash your dishes, try not to leave the water running. You can try filling one sink with water and rinsing all your dishes in it until it’s too soapy for rinsing. You could also try rinsing your dishes in batches; wash half of them, rinse that half; then wash the next half. That way, you won’t have water running the whole time.

• Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). You don’t even have to replace every single light in your apartment. Try replacing just the 4 or 5 lights you used most frequently. This can help you save $60 to $65 a year.

• Another thing you can do is unplug your cell phone charger or other charging devices when you’re not using them. Even when many electronic devices are turned off or on stand-by, they still use a small amount of electiricity. When you can, completely unplug or disconnect all devices, and leave them unplugged until the next time you use them.

Remember that electricity needs to be generated, from sources such as coal and oil. Both of these energy-generating sources are finite natural resources – the more we use them, the less we have. Also, when they are mined and burned to produce electricity, they emit gases and other pollutants that adversely affect our environment and contribute to global warming. Using less electricity means less of it will need to be generated. So by following these simple steps, you can do your part in making Earth a safer and happier place for us all.

Let’s fight the waste of extra cash, and save our planet in the process!