Having a home that uses as little energy as possible is not only good for our planet and its future, but it drops our utility bills. You may be thinking, how can I decrease the amount of energy my home and family uses? Most of us already think we are pretty energy savvy. Here are five easy ways to aid in using less energy.

Wash clothes in cold water. Switch the temperature on your clothes washing machine to cold. Heating your water in anyway takes energy. Washing in unheated water will also lessen the color bleeding mishaps that can sometimes happen, saving you money on ruined clothing. Cold water will clean your laundry and cost you less.

Full loads only please! When running your washing machine, dryer or automatic dish washer, be sure to fill them up! These machines are designed to run best at a ?full? capacity. Running your dishwasher with only a few pieces in it uses the same energy as running a full load. Even though most washing machines have multiple load sizes to choose from, the most energy efficient size to run is the large setting. Do not over or under load your clothes dryer. Over loading it can cause damage to the drum and cost you money on repairs or decrease the life of your dryer. Under loading it is wasteful because your dryer needs to heat up to dry the load no matter what size it is. As always, follow your manufacturer?s recommendations for all your appliances.

• Repair or seal cracks and crevices around your home. Your home's exterior has many places where air can move freely in and out. Such places include:

• Basement doors

• Stink pipes

• Electrical entrances

• Cable & phone entrances

• Air ducts

• HVAC units

• Foundation walls

• Chimneys

These places are often overlooked. Use caulking or expanding spray foam to seal up these culprits. It also would be best to replace windows and doors, if you can. As you are looking around for places to seal up, check around your windows and doors. Windows and doors can warp and crack over the years causing them to be leaky. Some problems with older doors and windows can be repaired. Gaskets and weather stripping can crush and tear over the years allowing air to move freely where It'shouldn?t. You may be able to replace these parts. If this is not an option then consider replacing them. New vinyl replacement windows are a sure bet to increasing your home's energy efficiency. Being custom made, they will fit perfectly in your openings and stop air from sneaking in and out. A new exterior fiberglass or steel door unit will also stop air from sneaking in and out and increase your home's curb appeal. Install a programmable thermostat. Programmable thermostats will remember to keep your temperature consistent when you don?t. You can set these thermostats to go up and down to match your schedule. Saving money and energy will help every household. Following these simple 5 steps should get your family moving in the right direction!

Fall is here. It's time to celebrate the harvest, and time to be thankful. Decorating your home for fall can be simple. Follow these 6 easy ways to decorate your home for fall this year.

Decorate your mailbox. Tie a bundle of corn husks to your mailbox and add a piece of burlap ribbon to secure it to the post. This is often the first thing that people see when looking for your home. Make sure that your numbers are still clearly displayed for your post man and everyone else to see.

Decorate your front entrance or porch. As classic as pumpkins are for this time of year, they are not the only thing that you can use to decorate your front porch or entrance. Hay bales make a great base for you to pile pumpkins, baskets or mums on. Using a weathered or antique watering can, bucket or bird house will add a great whimsical effect. Gourds and apples can add a splash of color in smaller places. A fall wreath placed on your door will surely bring a smile to all who enter.

Fill window boxes will fall decorations. Chances are your windows boxes are now empty. Well, fill them up with small pumpkins, mums, greenery, berry branches and twigs to decorate for fall. Mums come in many different size pots and colors, making them ideal for this purpose.

Fall candles to add warmth to your home. Candles come in lots of different shapes and sizes. Using things like a mason jar or clear vase as candle holders opens up a lot of options for indoor fall decorations. Fill your jar or vase with colorful things like, dried peas, kidney beans, popcorn kernels and cranberries for color and a base for your candle to sit on. Create an earthy cinnamon stick candle by wrapping short, wide candles with cinnamon sticks. This can be easily done by placing a rubber band around the candle and putting the cinnamon sticks under it. Cover the rubber band by wrapping some ribbon or burlap around it and tie it. Candles are a versatile and warm way to add to your indoor fall d cor.

Baskets of fall harvest bounty. Fall is a time for harvest celebration. Place different sized baskets, buckets and bowls of pumpkins, gourds, apples and cranberries around your home, inside as well as outside, to help celebrate this aspect of fall. Adding simple accents, like a ribbon or piece of burlap, will give a more distinctly festive look.

Decorate your windows with fall leaves. As silly and simple as It'sounds, fall leaves attached to your windows will certainly add another level of color and texture to your home's fall d cor. Bring in lots of different sizes and styles of fall leaves. Let them dry out for a few hours, before attaching them to your windows.

Fall is a great time of year. Keeping your decorating simple and festive will allow you more free time to enjoy this amazing time of year.

Brrrr. Old Man Winter is just about here. Keeping him outside and the warmth inside can be an expensive and time consuming task. There are some key places in your home that may be contributing to him gaining entry. Here are a three tips that could help you keep him outside for less money and effort.

New Windows. Old windows can warp and crack over time, letting air come in and heat go out. If your glass is cloudy between your panes of glass, then you probably have a seal failure in the glass portion of your window. This seal failure can attribute to unwanted air exchange as well as let moisture in. New vinyl replacement windows are custom made to your specifications so they will fit perfectly in your homes? openings. Today?s vinyl replacement windows are available with insulated glass. This means that there are at least two layers of glass sealed into the sash of the window. The space between the panes of glass is insulated with an invisible gas. This ?insulation? helps the windows to be more energy efficient. Vinyl replacement windows are made of the highest quality polymers. These polymers give the windows a smooth and strong finish that is available in many colors.

New Doors. Replacing your old entrance doors with a new fiberglass or steel entrance door can cause a significant change in your heating bill. Fiberglass doesn't conduct the cold or heat, so the outdoor temperature will not find its way to the inside face of your door. Steel doors are molded over a dense foam slab which makes them a great warm option too. You can get many different styles of doors. Adding a window or a sidelight panel can really freshen up your entrance.

Sealing up miscellaneous troublesome areas. Utility entrance areas like your ventilation, chimneys, stink pipes, and electricity supply can also be an easy place for unwanted air exchange to occur. Check the status of all entrance points into your home. Seal these areas with caulking or expanding spray foam. If your home is on a full basement, another area that can be costing you money is the ?rim board? that attaches the wood frame of your home to the concrete of your foundation. This area is often hollow and cold. You can easily fill these spaces with expanding foam.

The apparent shifting of weather conditions combined with the increase of utility expenses has caused homeowners to become more conscience of energy efficiency than any other time. While there are always a few energy saving tips that can be implemented, it has been established that one of the greatest contributing factors of heat loss is in and around the windows of your home.

Thermoset Spacer (TSS ) technology was implemented in the constructing of Super Spacer windows. With this technology, you are ensured that the spacer will not expand or contract due to extreme weather changes. This allows the spacers to maintain their structural integrity by always returning to their original shape. With a multi-layer vapor barrier and acrylic adhesive, you will be able to enjoy comfortable humidity levels and no longer have to be concerned with mold and condensation.

How is this possible? Metal is a conductive material that allows heat to travel through and escape to the outside. There are no conductive type materials used in the construction of Super Spacers. Instead, 100% polymer structural foam is used to assure you of minimal heat loss and superior energy efficiency. There are no other window spacers available today that can boast of this advantage. These Energy Star rated windows are extremely durable and gives you the comfort of knowing your windows will remain thermally efficient and free from condensation for many years to come.

As you can see, Super Spacer?s highly technological construction and durability testing means that you will enjoy thermally-efficient and condensation-free windows for many years to come.

A bubble. That?s what we need to put our homes inside when the cold weather hits. A bubble would make It'so that if we had any heat loss it wouldn?t go far! Keeping heat inside your house and the cold winter wind outside is not only about our comfort, but It's also about our wallet. Keeping our heating bills as low as possible is first and foremost on everyone?s mind. When we have heat loss in our homes, it means that some of the precious warm air that we have heated is escaping to the outdoors. Lessening the amount of heat loss at your house is a huge step in the right direction for saving money this winter. Here are 5 quick and easy ways to make your home more heat efficient.

Insulate the attic. Is there insulation in your attic? If so, how much? The existence and amount of insulation that is there is crucial to your home's ability to hold in the ever rising warm air. If checking your attic insulation status is not something that you can easily do, contact a local contractor or insulation installer for an in-home evaluation.

Insulate your walls. Some older homes have very little insulation in their walls. The minimum that usually suggested for exterior walls is 6? thick. But, some have only four inches. Removing your walls to add more fiberglass insulation is all but impossible and can be a very involved home repair. Blown-in insulation is an easier and more efficient option. The amount of insulation in your walls can be increased quickly and easily by using it. If you think that some of your home's heat loss could be attributed to the lack of insulation in your walls, then consider adding some blown-in insulation.

Replacement windows. Ill-fitting, warped, old windows can certainly be a contributing factor to your heat loss. Old wood windows with single pane glass are a far cry from the double pane insulated glass windows of today. Vinyl replacement windows are custom made to fit and are composed of the highest quality vinyl. These windows will add beauty while making your home more energy efficient.

Replace your doors. Entrance doors can be the focus of the exterior or your home. They can easily add character, color and style to set your house apart. Unfortunately, if these doors are old, they very well could be allowing cold air into your home and hot air out. Replacing your doors with a new replacement fiberglass or steel door can stop this unwanted air exchange.

Sealing other miscellaneous areas. Cold and hot air can move through small spaces. Using a gasket behind your electrical outlet or switch covers is a great way to stop air movement around these holes in the wall. Check around your chimney, stink pipes and appliance ducts for areas that could be re-sealed or caulked to prevent air movement. Inspect your basement utility door for any leaks or areas that are failing and repair or replace as necessary.

Stopping heat loss is as simple as keeping as much hot air in your home as possible. Unfortunately, we can't put our home in a bubble. Until then, do your best to seal it up by using these five simple steps.