Get a Home Energy Assessment Before You Buy Anything Else This Fall
Heating oil homes face a 21 percent jump this winter, while gas bills are forecast to fall. Whatever you burn, a home energy assessment shows where the heat leaks, and many rebates require it before any work starts.
Fall Migration Is Peaking: The Cheap Way to Stop Birds Hitting Your Windows
More than a billion birds die hitting glass in the U.S. each year, most at ordinary homes. Here is how to find your problem windows and fix them cheaply, plus lighting and feeder tweaks.
The Firewood Rule Almost Nobody Follows This Fall — And Why It Matters
Grabbing the cheapest firewood you can find sounds harmless, but it's how tree-killing beetles hitch rides across state lines. Here's what to actually buy this fall, and what to skip.
The Sustainable Halloween: Cutting Single-Use Plastic Out of Decorations and Costumes
Most Halloween decorations and costumes get one night of use before the trash. A few swaps -- thrift racks, real pumpkins, swap parties -- fix that without killing the fun.
What Your City Actually Does With the Leaves It Picks Up Off Your Curb
That pile of leaves at the curb doesn't just disappear into a landfill — most cities turn it into compost within six months. Here's how the process actually works, and when it makes more sense to handle leaves yourself.
The Furnace Tune-Up You Should Book in September, Not October
Early September is the slack season on every HVAC company's calendar — here's the cheap, hour-by-hour checklist that keeps your furnace from failing in November.
Putting the Vegetable Garden to Bed: A Fall Clean-Up and Compost Checklist That Feeds Next Year's Soil
A September checklist for clearing spent plants, building a compost pile that actually heats up, saving seeds worth keeping, and mulching beds before frost — no store-bought amendments required.
The Sustainable College Move-In: Furnishing a Dorm Without the Landfill Pile
Furnishing a dorm room without a spring dumpster full of barely-used gear: what to buy secondhand, what's worth buying new, and how to skip single-use cleaning supplies from day one.
The Reusable Emergency Kit: Building a Hurricane-Season Go-Bag Without the Single-Use Plastic Haul
Most emergency-kit checklists are a shopping list for the landfill. Here's how to stock a hurricane-season go-bag with gear you'll actually use again -- not toss after one storm.
The Shoulder-Season Slide: Why Late August Is the Cheapest Time to Rethink Your Thermostat
The two-to-three-week window between AC season and heating season is the cheapest stretch of the year to cut home energy use — if you catch it before habit runs the compressor into cooler weeks.
Sustainable Tailgating: Cutting the Waste Before Kickoff This Season
College football season kicks off in late August — and so does tailgate season, one of the most wasteful weekly habits in American sports. Here's how to fix yours without losing a single beer or burger.
Fall Cover Crops: Why Sowing in August Saves Your Soil (and Your Budget) Next Spring
Bare garden beds lose soil and nutrients all winter. A $10 bag of cover crop seed sown in August fixes that — and cuts what you spend on spring fertilizer and mulch.
Wish-Cycling Is Wrecking Your Recycling Bin — Here's What Actually Belongs There
Plastic bags, greasy pizza boxes, and tangled garden hoses are quietly contaminating curbside recycling. Here's what actually belongs in the bin and where the rest should go instead.
Back-to-School Shopping Without the Landfill Bill: Why Secondhand Is Winning This August
The secondhand apparel market grew 19% last year, its fastest pace since 2021. Back-to-school season is where that shift shows up most — here's how to shop it well.
The Zero-Waste School Lunch: What Actually Cuts Plastic (and What's Just Marketing)
Before the first bell rings: what actually cuts plastic from a kid's lunchbox this year, the real cost math, and which "eco" swaps are just marketing.
National Farmers Market Week 2026: What's Actually Sustainable About Shopping Local
National Farmers Market Week lands August 2-8 this year. Here's an honest look at which market habits actually cut waste and emissions — and which ones are just good marketing.
The Milkman Is Back: Glass-Bottle Delivery Is Quietly Cutting Plastic From the Fridge
Home milk delivery never fully disappeared, and glass-bottle routes are picking up new customers across the Midwest and mid-Atlantic. Here is what it actually costs, what shows up in the cooler, and the friction nobody mentions.
The Heat Pump Water Heater Payback: What Switching Actually Costs
Heat pump water heaters cost more upfront than standard electric tanks, but rebates and real energy savings can pay back the difference in five to six years.
The Lost Art of Canning: How Preserving This Summer's Harvest Cuts Waste and Cost
A grandmother's pantry trick is making a comeback, not for nostalgia but because canning turns a garden glut into a winter's worth of groceries, one sealed jar at a time.
Sustainable Back-to-School Shopping: Cutting Waste and Cost Before the Bell Rings
A practical, budget-first guide to cutting waste out of back-to-school shopping -- secondhand backpacks, durable supplies, zero-waste lunches, and how to time purchases to your state's 2026 tax-free weekend.
The EV Road Trip Playbook: How to Charge Without Wasting a Vacation Day
A step-by-step guide to planning an EV road trip this summer -- route-planning apps, the NACS adapter question, realistic charging costs, and the etiquette that keeps charging stops moving.
The Greener Backyard Pool: Cutting Water, Energy, and Chemical Waste This Summer
Evaporation, an outdated pump, and a season of chlorine buckets quietly cost pool owners more than they realize — here's what actually pays off.
The Water-Wise Yard: Trading a Thirsty Lawn for Native, Drought-Tolerant Plants
A typical suburban lawn can drink 40,000 to 60,000 gallons of municipal water each summer. Here's how homeowners are swapping thirsty turf for native, drought-tolerant beds that thrive on almost none of it.
The Clothesline Comeback: Why Line-Drying Beats the Dryer
A clothesline is the retro habit quietly cutting real money off summer electric bills — here's the math, the right-to-dry laws that protect it, and how to make it work without a yard.
The Farmers Market Detox: Cutting Plastic Out of Your Weekly Produce Run This July
Your reusable tote still comes home with plastic clamshells and produce bags every Saturday. Here's how to make your farmers market run genuinely plastic-free this July.
Turning Your Balcony Into a Pollinator Pit Stop: A Guide for Renters
You don't need a yard to help bees and butterflies -- a few well-chosen pots on a rented balcony or patio can become real pollinator habitat, no digging or landlord approval required.
Your Window AC Is Eating Your July Electric Bill — Here's Where It Leaks
Most summer AC waste hides in the seams, not the machine. A crumbling gasket, a warped side panel, and a clogged filter quietly add dollars to every July bill — and all three fix for under ten bucks.
The Rain Barrel That Pays for Itself by August
A 50-gallon rain barrel costs $80 to $120 and pays for itself in two summers. Here's how to set one up, where to put it, and how to keep mosquitoes out.
The Secondhand Summer: Thrift, Borrow, and Rehome Your Way Through the Season
The greenest thing you can buy is usually the one that already exists. A warm, no-preaching guide to thrifting, borrowing, and rehoming your way through a US summer.
The Summer of Fixing Things: Why Repair Beats Replace This Season
Summer breaks fans, grills, and hoses in predictable ways — and almost none of it is actually terminal. A practical case for fixing and buying used instead of replacing.
Summer Water and Food: Small Habits That Stop the Leaks
A Greener Summer at Home: Small Changes That Actually Add Up
Practical, low-effort ways to live a little greener this summer without overhauling your whole life.
Building Sustainable Habits That Actually Stick
Saving Energy While Working From Home
How to Reduce Waste When You Travel
Simple Ways to Cut Plastic in the Laundry Room
Cooking With Leftovers, Not Against Them
A Guide to Thrifting Furniture
Reducing Waste at Kids' Birthday Parties
Switching to a Green Energy Provider
Houseplants and Indoor Air Quality: The Honest Truth
Smarter Use of Your Dishwasher
The Environmental Cost of Streaming and Devices
Setting Up a Home Recycling Station That Works
Greener Gift-Giving for Any Occasion
How to Mend Clothes Instead of Tossing Them
Choosing a Sustainable Mattress Without Overpaying
Battery Recycling and Why It Matters
The Basics of a No-Spend Month
