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Have you ever stopped to think about how making decisions to be more green or earth-friendly can save you money? For years the Farmers’ Almanac has been sharing many thrifty tips, which if you re-read them in today’s world, have an earth-friendly benefit as well. Here are a few:

• Buy soft drinks in screw-top bottles if too much flat soda is wasted in opened cans.

• It’s wasteful and costly to throw away breakfast cereal because it’s no longer crispy. Spread in a pan and heat 5 minutes in a moderate oven.

• Only a drop in the bucket? A faucet that leaks one drop per second means a loss of 700 gallons of water a year. Check and repair immediately.

• Heating water is a big energy consumer. Reduce the shower flow from 3.5 gallons per minute to 2.5 and a hot water savings of 30% is possible.

• Make a low cost drain cleaner of 1/4 cup cream of tartar, 1 cup salt and 1 cup baking soda. Pour 1/4 cup in the drain and add a cup of water. When the bubbling stops, flush with hot water. Store the extra in a jar with a label listing the ingredients.

• To make glass tabletops sparkle, rub gently with lemon juice or vinegar, then dry with paper towels and polish with newspapers.

• Toilets should not be used as waste buckets. Every bug or strand of hair flushed can use as much as seven gallons of water.

• Keep light bulbs free of dust. They’ll shine brighter.

• To save time and money, shop in a store you are familiar with. Always take a minute to compile your grocery list in the order in which the items are displayed in the store. This eliminates a great deal of impulse buying, since you won’t be walking down every aisle, scanning shelves for things you need.

• Try refreshing potato chips and crackers by putting them on a plate and microwaving them for 30 to 45 seconds. Let stand one minute to crisp.

• Place aluminum foil behind each of your radiators. It will reflect heat back into the room instead of allowing the wall to absorb it.

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I recently discovered the joys of vinegar. It’s one of the cheapest and most versatile cleaners around. And, it has quite a history.

According to our research, vinegar has been around for more than 10,000 years. The French dubbed it “vin aigre” (sour wine) because it was discovered when a cask of wine went past its time.

The ancients were quick to find the remarkable versatility of vinegar. Around 5,000 BC, the Babylonians used it as a preservative and as a condiment, and began flavoring it with herbs and spices.

Roman legionnaires allegedly used it as a beverage. The Greeks also made pickled vegetables or meats using vinegar. There are even some biblical references that show how it was used for healing the sick.

But what is so appealing about this sour wine is that it can be used as an environmentally friendly cleaner. Here are just a few uses:

Brass polish:
Brass, copper and pewter will shine if cleaned with the following mixture. Dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of white distilled vinegar and stir in flour until it becomes a paste. Apply paste to the metals and let it stand for about 15 minutes. Rinse with clean warm water and polish until dry.

Toilet bowl cleaner:
Stubborn stains can be removed from the toilet by spraying them with white distilled vinegar and brushing vigorously. The bowl may be deodorized by adding 3 cups of white distilled vinegar. Allow it to remain for a half hour, then flush.

Kill weeds:
Spray white distilled vinegar full strength on tops of weeds. Reapply on any new growth until plants have starved. (Note: vinegar solution only works on emerging young plants, not mature leaves).

So next time you are at the grocery store, you may want to pick up a bottle. You’ll probably find many more uses for it than any sweet wine.

Technorati tags: Vinegar, Farmers’ Almanac TV