When you go green by making your home more eco-friendly, you help the environment become a cleaner place to live. You also save money. Here are some good ways you can save the world and your budget.

1. Install Solar Panels

The upfront cost may bit a bit high, but home solar installations radically cut down on utility costs and pay for themselves over time. It’s a way to cut down on carbon emissions while saving money. Make sure your roof is strong enough to support solar panels. Also, check to see if there are any local tax incentives for installing solar panels in your home. Those incentives help cover the costs of installing solar panels on your property.

Find out if solar panels are beneficial in your location by calculating your area’s Sun Number Score. The higher your score is, the more suitable solar panels will be for your home.

2. Use LED Lights

Light-emitting diodes, also known as LEDs, use 75% less energy than other bulbs and last 25 times longer. They not only save a substantial amount of energy, but they also cut down on your utility bill.

3. Buy a Pressure Cooker

A pressure cooker is airtight and uses pressurized steam to cook foods fast. By buying and using a pressure cooker, you can reduce your cooking time by a substantial amount, saving energy.

4. Fix Your Faucets

A leaky faucet is not only annoying, but it wastes water. You could be losing more than five gallons of water a day. Call a plumber and get that leak fixed as quickly as possible.

5. Stop Using a Dryer

The next time you do laundry, hang your clothes on the line outside. A dryer uses on average between two to six kilowatt-hours of electricity. For comparison, your refrigerator uses only about a tenth of that. Your dryer uses more electricity than your washing machine, dishwasher and refrigerator combined.

6. Take Shorter Showers

A shower will run through about 150 gallons of water every minute. By keeping your showers down to five minutes per day, you could save more than 1,000 gallons each month.

7. Shop at the Thrift Store

Not only will it save you a ton of money but you’ll also be saving the environment. Producing any type of commodity uses a substantial amount of natural resources. Buying new clothing contributes to the environmental toxins being released into the atmosphere. Buying used clothing also reduces the accumulation of waste.

8. Replace Your Toilet

Toilets account for up to 30% of your indoor water use. Invest in a new toilet that won’t waste water. You’ll save on utility bills and preserve the environment. Some of the new models cut water usage by 13,000 gallons of water per year.

The earth has limited resources. By doing your part to cut back on waste, you can save the planet and save your budget at the same time. You’ll also cut down on pollution, making the air cleaner and healthier. It’s a win for everyone.