Cool off with these tips this summer

Set your air conditioning thermostat to 78. Go higher, if the humidity is low enough and you feel comfortable.

Drink lots of water. Cold drinks drop your body's core temperature and cool you down quickly.

Keeping your blinds, shades and curtains closed. It helps keeps heat from getting inside your house.

Do laundry early in the day and late at night. Don't forget clotheslines: they generate no heat in the house.

Skip your dishwasher's dry cycle. Let them air dry instead.

Open the bathroom window when showering. Vent heat and humidity outside, rather than back into the house.

Limit cooking in the oven on hot days. This tends to really heat up the home quickly. In fact, grill out often to help keep the home cooler and save on energy.

Switch off your computer and lights when not in use. They generate heat.

Plant trees on the south and west sides of your home. They will provide enough shade in the summer (and wind blockage in the winter) to save you between $100 and $250 in energy costs annually, according to the US Department of Energy estimate.

FREE Skoy Cloths

Thanks to all who posted to our blog last week. If you posted to our Ways to Reduce Paper Consumption blog prior to today, please send your mailing address to kim.lewis@berks-conservancy.org so we can send you a sample of the SKOY cloth.

Great ideas to go green!

Ways to Reduce Paper Consumption

Paper products are one of the easiest items to recycle.
Here's a few ways to reduce your paper use and save a few trees:

Choose recycled paper products. Everything from recycled office paper to recycled toilet paper is available at local grocery stores.

Replace your paper napkins with cloth napkins, and your paper plates with regular dishes.

Sign up for e-statements and pay your bills online. It saves you money because you won't have to buy as many envelopes, stamps, and checks.

Use cloths instead of paper towels. A product called SKOY cloth saves 15 rolls of paper towels. It can be reused and is machine washable.

Any other green ideas to save paper?
Post them to our blog and win a sample SKOY Cloth. Ten randomly selected entries will receive a FREE sample of the SKOY Cloth.

Make sure you put your first name on the post and check back next Tuesday to see who won.

If you never posted a comment on a blog before, the easiest way is to type in your comment, and select "Name/URL" for your comment as selection. Just type in your first name. You don't need a URL to post.