Save the Earth (Plus a Few Bucks)

7. No idling (5 seconds): If you are waiting for someone while in the car, stuck in traffic or at a drive-through and it's going to take more than 45 seconds before you start moving, you will use less gas turning off the engine and restarting than letting the car idle. It's also not necessary to let your car idle more than a minute in the morning -- even in cold weather -- as newer cars generally run fine even without warming them up.

8. Close vents (5 seconds for each vent): Close the cooling vents in all the rooms in your house where you don't spend much time. There is no reason to cool these areas if nobody is there. This will make it easier for your air conditioner to cool your home and save money. The one exception to this is if you have a cooling sensor in a room you don't use often. You'd want to leave this vent open so your air conditioner doesn't work harder.

9. Replace light bulbs (30 seconds per light bulb): Compact fluorescent light, or CFL, bulbs use approximately one-fourth the electricity of incandescent bulbs, while lasting as much as 10 times as long. Each regular bulb replaced with a CFL bulb will save about $40 over the life of the bulb. Be sure to check with your local utility company to see if they offer a rebate or discount on these energy-efficient light bulbs to save even more.

10. Turn off lights (5 seconds): This is an obvious one, but it's one that people often fail to do through carelessness. Lighting can account for up to 30% of the electricity bill in a home. All it takes is a flip of a switch to turn off a light in any room you are no longer going to be using.

For anyone who believes that saving money and helping the environment is time-consuming, you can see that in well under 10 minutes you can make a significant impact on the Earth while placing money back into your pocket. Make the commitment to take the few seconds to do each of these tasks, and not only will you feel good about doing your part to reduce waste, but you will also be rewarded with more money in your bank account.

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