I thought of some more simple things to do to conserve energy and save money.
1. Put plastic film over windows in the fall through the spring.
2. Collect snow and fill containers (reuse clean glass or plastic bottles), put these in your refrigerator and freezer. It will take up space, you won't lose as much cold air when you open the door, and nature cooled the snow for free so it will save you energy. If you live in a warm climate, just put water bottles (or fill it with food) in your freezer and keep your refrigerator organized so you can find stuff quickly.
3. Change light bulbs to energy efficient ones. Use sunlight instead of electric light.
4. Look into building a solar thermal heater. It won't work too well here from Dec-Feb because of the clouds, but I still might try to build a solar greenhouse that it's only job is to create heat from IR and UV rays that would have hit my yard. I priced the materials for this at $150, but unless it is damaged, it is a one-time cost.
5. Add more insulation. You get a tax rebate this year of 10%. I would like to see how long it would take for me to recoup this cost though. If I spend $180 to put in additional insulation, it might take 5-10 winters to come out ahead.
6. Wear more clothes in the winter, wear less in the summer (or nothing
). Keep your thermostat low in the winter and delay your use of AC in the summer.
7. Hotel rewards points and fuel cards are great if you stay in hotels for business a lot or buy gasoline. I'm a fan of Priority Club and Speedway.
8. Close off rooms that don't get used in the winter or don't need to be heated (no pipes in the walls).
9. Wash your own car.
10. Mow your own lawn.
11. Recycle aluminum cans and a few other items. If enough people do it, the raw material cost will fall.
12. Buy drink mixes that you have to add your own water to instead of buying drinks that pre-mixed the water for you (and charged you for shipping the water).
13. Use Blockposters.com and Kinkos to decorate your house.
http://www.blockposters.com/gallery.aspx
14. Buy flashlights that you shake to generate power instead of having to buy batteries all the time.
15. Use rechargeable batteries for devices that can use them.
16. Use the internet to watch the Daily Show, C-Span, the weather channel, CNN, Fox News, and a bunch of other sites if you have high speed internet or go to a mall, coffee shop or airport with free wifi.