According to the World Wildlife Fund, one of the simplest ways to save energy and reduce carbon emissions is to think small when cooking a meal at home. When you turn on an electric oven, an hour of baking or roasting produces almost 3 pounds of CO2 emissions. When you downgrade to a small countertop toaster oven, that number is cut in half, to 1.3 pounds of emissions. Even better? Reheating last night’s meal in the microwave releases a tiny 0.5 pound of CO2 emissions.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Wonder if your faucets at home are slowly leaking water when you’re away? One of the simplest ways to check is to leave a coffee cup under the faucet when you’re gone. When you get home, you can see how much water has dripped into the cup. No water, no leak! Why a cup? Because you can use that measurement and the amount of time it took to fill up to calculate how much H2O your quietly leaking faucet is wasting daily, weekly, etc. Use the internet to look up simple DIY fixes that can help you stop leaks, saving water and money.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Have some overripe bananas? When bananas are beyond the point of being edible, don’t toss them into the compost. Instead, mash them up, add a few tablespoons of sugar with a little bit of olive oil and mix. Rub the mixture all over your body to exfoliate dead skin and moisturize; the bananas and olive oil are incredibly beneficial in quenching dry skin, and the sugar aids exfoliation. Rinse away in the shower to reveal soft, radiant skin.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION