Did you know that regardless of the vehicle you drive, there are ways to drive more efficiently that can yield big savings over the course of a year? This means savings not only in your pocket from the gas spared, but savings on the resources of the planet and less pollution in the place we all live.

As you can see from the graph below, vehicle miles driven have steadily increased over the years. With that growth comes an increasing impact of our driving habits on our planet, which makes now a better time than ever to practice driving more efficiently.

In fact, driving efficiently has even spawned its own sport, called “hypermiling.” With the payout in hypermiling techniques including less consumption and less pollution, it is no wonder that the term was selected in 2008 as the best new word of the year by New Oxford American Dictionary.

While we are not advocating that everyone become a MPG sport competitor, there are things that we all can do to save fuel. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite ways that everyone can test drive to drive greener.

Controlled Accelerations

By accelerating slowly and steadily to our cruising speed, we let the vehicle work more efficiently at becoming an object in motion from an object at rest. If we gun the gas and try to get to speed quickly, then we stand the greater chance of needing to slow down again, losing all of that momentum.

Empty Out The Trunk

An extra 100 pounds in the trunk will reduce your fuel economy by 1 to 2 percent in the typical vehicle. Edmunds

So you’re still carrying around that camping gear from last summer in the trunk, and the golf clubs have taken up permanent residence in the back seat? For each and every extra pound you carry, you pay the price to accelerate it and slow it back down each time you drive. By cutting down on the extra unneeded junk in the trunk, we save all that energy required to drive it around town.

Turn Off The Air Conditioning

It has been suggested that air conditioning in a vehicle can increase fuel consumption by up to 10 percent. This is an easy way to save fuel. And just imagine if you suddenly had 10 percent of all the money you spent in gasoline last year in your hand?

Keep the Vehicle Maintained

It is important that a vehicle gets serviced at regular intervals. Dirty oil is not only bad for your vehicle, but it requires more energy to work an engine through sludge. Also, maintenance can save you from having large repair bills down the road. Not to mention that a non-serviced vehicle may leave you stranded on that road when it suddenly fails. Vehicle maintenance saves money, saves the environment, and could save you from being stuck in the middle of nowheres-ville.

Lose the Clown Shoes

Driving footwear must have a sole thin enough to feel the amount of pedal pressure needed to meet the necessary braking and accelerating. One of the most important tools you have in driving greener is making the connection between your foot and the response of the car. A big shoe with a few inches of padding removes the sensitivity of the foot, making that connection harder to make. Is it any wonder that race car drivers like wearing extremely thin-soled shoes?

Keep the Vehicle Streamlined

A vehicle that moves through the air more efficiently takes less energy to push, and this translates to less fuel consumption. One good way to do this is to keep the windows rolled up. Open windows create drag, and drag cuts fuel economy. The same can be said of sunroofs at highway speeds.

Another way to keep the vehicle streamlined is to remove those roof and bike racks when not in use. Such racks interrupt the flow of air, creating drag. Another thing to consider is that the racks add weight to the vehicle, again costing more in energy to move the vehicle.

Finally, if your vehicle tends to look like it has won the mud bog championships, then give it a bath. An irregular surface from caked mud and dirt can create drag as well. Plus, you will actually know what color the vehicle is instead of just guessing.

Slow down

In a typical family sedan, every 10 miles per hour you drive over 60 is like the price of gasoline going up about 54 cents a gallon. CNN Money

The faster your vehicle moves through the air, the greater drag it creates in the surrounding air. By slowing down, the vehicle encounters less resistance and uses less energy for the same amount of work. A reduction of 20-mph in your regular highway speed can yield measurable savings in a short time.

Coasting To a Stop

When you see a red light or stop sign coming up, then let of the gas and coast to the stop instead of remaining accelerated and hitting the brakes when you get there. By doing so you not only save gas, but your brakes get less of a workout. You save money in both gas and brake replacement, and the planet saves on valuable resources.

Know when to use Cruise Control

Cruise control can be a valuable tool on the highway to maintain a steady speed (and to save from speeding), but it lacks the tools that you have in your head. That is, cruise control does not see the hill looming up ahead. Instead it will coast until you are halfway up the hill and slowing down, then it nails the throttle, demanding that the vehicle speed increases.

By anticipating the hills and valleys you can drive more efficiently by slightly increasing the vehicle speed as required to climb the hill without a major loss of momentum. In areas where the roads tend to be up and down or crowded it makes more sense to turn off the cruise control and drive smarter.

And as you are driving smarter, keep looking ahead to anticipate events that require changes to your vehicle momentum. You might anticipate the need to decelerate in order to coast to a needed stop, and it makes for a safer driving experience.

Choose the Best route

It is interesting to note that the most efficient route to take in your driving may not be the shortest. Basically you want as smooth a trip as possible while being relatively short, and you want to avoid as much stop and go scenarios as you can.

If you are doing multiple chores, then consider driving the longest leg first. This lets a warm vehicle be used for the bulk of the stopping and restarting, which is more efficient at it than a cold one.

Turn It Off

If you are stopped on the road for an extended period of time – such as a train passing, road construction, or an accident – then consider turning the vehicle off after 20 seconds or more. This saves the idle time fuel as well as potentially saves you vehicle from overheating. Plus it stops the emissions from the idling vehicle, which is always nicer for our planet.

Avoid the Drive Thru

A fast food drive thru requires you to waste fuel as you wait in line for the pickup. But parking the vehicle and walking in you save that fuel. Plus, the trip in to eat might be safer than the alternative, even if you were only sneaking a few fries from the bag.

Check Your Air Pressure

Properly inflated tires can reduce fuel consumption by up to 3 percent WikiHow

This a commonly known item to check, but it gets overlooked. A low tire creates more drag on the pavement, and consequently reduces your miles per gallon. By keeping your tires properly inflated your vehicle literally rolls more efficiently. Please do bear in mind that excessive air pressure in tires is dangerous and should be avoided as well.

Make Driving Count

One of the best ways to drive greener is to, simply put, not drive. By combining chores to a single trip it can save greatly on the fuel requirements as well as saving your valuable time. Plus it is less wear and tear on the vehicle itself, and it makes the roads less crowded for everyone. It’s a win-win for everybody.

Make It a Game

Make saving gas a game. Track fuel used or miles driven this week, and see if you can beat it next week. Set goals for yourself along with rewards. You can even involve your friends and have a weekly or monthly Green Driver award. Nobody said that being a smarter driver had to be boring.

By following a few of these tips along with others, you may find you can have both a direct savings for yourself and a healthier planet for everyone. It’s not often where saving money helps in the long run, but that is the great thing about conservation.

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by D. Salmons from TestFreaks – a site where you can find gizmos and gadgets like GPS devices.

Image: anee.baba

You’re already familiar with plenty of iPhone apps that help you stay green, but these days you’re concerned about saving some green, too. Here’s a handy guide to 20 essential money-saving apps – and most are free!

Mint
Free
This free app makes tracking your finances a cinch with user-friendly graphs and charts that help you manage your budget and examine your spending habits. Plus, it will also alert you of low balances to avoid overdraft fees. So, go ahead and cut your financial advisor loose because Mint does it all without the hefty charges.

Stanza
Free
Stanza gives you access to more than 100,000 books and periodicals for free. You also have the option to adjust the font size, color, line spacing and justification for your reading comfort. Watch out, paperbacks. Stanza may just usher you into extinction.

AudioBooks
Free
Similar to Stanza, this free app allows you to download audio books to keep you entertained when your eyes are needed elsewhere.

Cheap Gas
Free
Gas prices are constantly changing, so it’s hard to keep track of where to find the best deals. With Cheap Gas, all you have to do is enter in your zip code to find the best prices in your area. This free app is especially useful for road trips.

Truphone
Free
Using a Wi-Fi network and VOIP technologies, this free app allows you to make free local calls and cheap international calls on your iPhone to cut your phone bill by as much as 95%.

Gift Planner
Free
List all potential gift recipients and create a budget using this free app. It allows you to track the amount of money allotted for gifts and how much you’ve spent on each friend or family member. You can even take pictures of gift ideas for future reference.

Free Wi-Fi
Free
Never again will you pay for Wi-Fi on the go. This free app helps you locate spots that offer Wi-Fi access at no charge.

BetterDeal
$0.99
Leave your calculator behind next time you hit up the grocery store. With BetterDeal, you can enter in the amount of product and the price for up to four items. This app then calculates which item gets you the most for your money.

Pic2Shop
Free
You’ve probably seen this app on the iPhone commercials, and it’s just as nifty as it seems. For no charge, you can scan barcodes on items while shopping and find out whether another retailer offers a better deal.

Yowza
Free
Yowza locates coupons for merchants in your area that can be applied straight from your iPhone to save paper.

Rent or Buy Calc
Free
To rent or buy, that is the question. This free app gives you an easy answer by calculating which choice will save you more money in the long run.

CostCutter
$0.99
If you eliminate your morning latte from the café around the corner, how much money will you save in a week, a month, a year? This app helps you determine just that for any expenses that aren’t essential.

KidsEatFree
$0.99
Sure, eating out was affordable when it was just the two of you. But now that you have kids, it’s a whole other story. With this app, you can locate restaurants in your area where their meals are free.

Surcharge Free ATMs
$1.99
You need cash, so you stop at the nearest ATM, only to be slammed with surcharges. With this free app, you can locate ATMs in your area that don’t charge any additional fees.

RepairPal
Free
Do you ever feel like you’re getting ripped off when it comes to auto repairs? With RepairPal, you can look up estimates, find roadside assistance and locate auto shops in your area complete with ratings and reviews.

Yoga Stretch
$0.99
Stop shelling out cash for yoga classes and trade them in for this inexpensive app. Yoga Stretch walks you through different poses and lets you choose background music to simulate the entire experience from home.

Local Reuse
Free
One woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure, but there’s no need to go dumpster diving with this free app. Local Reuse helps you locate items you need that others in your area are looking to discard.

Insurance Shopper
Free
With this free app, you can compare insurance rates and choose the best deal.

Woot Watch
Free
Woot Watch alerts you of the deal of the day on a variety of items from digital cameras to coffee makers.

Bargain Bin
Free
This free app helps you save money on, well, all the apps you’re interested in. It allows you to browse through discounted apps and alerts you of price cuts on apps you’re tracking.

Now, with your newfound savings, you can afford to splurge on some eco fashion!

Image: hickoryhollow113

Remember the saying “there’s no such thing as a free lunch”? Ain’t exactly true, especially if you get on board and participate in the National Garden Commission’s One Million Gardens campaign. They’ve teamed up with Edible Gardens to  give away a free assortment of heirloom seeds in celebration of National Gardening Month this April. (And now that you know growing vegetables is easy, you’re out of excuses.)

A handful of these seeds and you could turn your backyard into a mini-food farm, even growing enough to feed the family and invite the neighbors over for lunch. It will take a little time and effort, but the results will be worth it.

All you have to do is register at onemilliongardens.com and they will send you a seed packet containing  4-6 varieties of  heirloom veggies to plant. The site also provides a 52-week online course on backyard gardening, with videos, tips, a social network, free gardening supplies and updates on related events.

The aim of the One Million Gardens campaign is to have a million urban courtyards and backyards growing food gardens by 2012.

Why not help them achieve it?

P.S. Bring out that green thumb with the complete guide to composting and tips for healthy soil.

Image: net_efekt

True or false? Your local grocer employs a scheming team of experts who work behind the scenes to orchestrate every little detail in a devious effort to squeeze every cent they can out of you.

It’s true. Even your favorite organic food stores are guilty of this. So, how can you beat them at their own game? Here’s what you need to know:

Baked Goods – Not So Fresh

Although there are exceptions, most of what you find in the bakery sections at grocery stores was frozen when it arrived. Sure, the scene they set up can be quite convincing: employees in white chef hats working behind the counter with flour-coated hands. But, if you think you’re getting freshly baked goods, chances are you’re mistaken.

Manipulative Placement

The most expensive items and those that aren’t general diet staples are typically placed at eye level because they’re easier for you to reach. Before you insist that such an obvious ploy is an insult to your intelligence, it’s actually proven to be a pretty effective method.

Manipulative Placement, Jr.

This last tactic applies to children, as well. Foods that are marketed towards younger age groups are usually found on lower shelves, where kids can easily reach out and grab them.

Impulse Buys

An average of 60- 70% of purchases aren’t on a shopper’s original list, which are what the marketing department refers to as “impulse buys”. Staple items commonly line the perimeters of stores, guiding consumers through aisle upon aisle of goods they don’t need. That includes those displays set up strategically at the ends of aisles. There’s a good reason why manufacturers pay top dollar for this placement.

Clever Packaging

Instead of raising prices, many manufacturers reduce the weight of items but don’t change the packaging. In fact, the only difference you’ll notice is stamped in small print at the bottom.

Old Produce

Frozen fruits and vegetables usually contain more vitamins than what you find in the fresh produce section. Why? Flash-freezing preserves the nutrients they contain as well. Plus, they’re not as expensive. If you do buy produce, get it at farmers’ markets or high-volume grocery stores where there is rapid turnover of products. Smaller grocers that are less trafficked often have older produce, meat and dairy.

More Bulk = Less Cash

Remember when buying in bulk was a great way to save money? The sun has set on those good old days. In many cases, economy-size products actually cost more per unit. So, carry a calculator and do the math yourself. Your grocer isn’t the only one trying to dupe you. Manufacturers of the items you purchase have their hand in these decisions as well.

Food Safety

Food shopping can really work up an appetite, so, when you stroll by the salad bar, you may be tempted to indulge. If your stomach starts growling, keep in mind that these foods are kept out in the open at unsafe temperatures. And, that glass deli case doesn’t provide much more protection, so curb your cravings for pre-made tuna and tapioca pudding. Anybody want some salmonella or E. coli on the side? I didn’t think so.

Cheap Fillers

Sugar is added to a lot of products as filler simply because it’s cheap. If you think scanning the ingredients to see where it ranks is an accurate system, guess again. To trick consumers, the manufacturers use different types (sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup) to disguise this fact. So, even if the combination makes up a primary ingredient, they get bumped down on the list separately as a result.

The Fine Print

There are other ways manufacturers mislead consumers, and grocery stores are all too happy to let you be fooled. For example, if you’re looking for a product made with whole wheat, read the labels very carefully. The only guarantee is if it says “100% whole wheat”. If this phrase is preceded by the word “contains”, put it down and move on.

Store Brands

Are you wary of the quality of store brands? Don’t be. Many of the more expensive versions of these items are made by the same companies. All you’re paying for is the label.

Images: ralphbijker, jslander, lanuiop, RogueSun Media, jeffk, cheeseroc, mattieb, cbertel, Jacob Botter, danorth1, How can I recycle this, Lisa Brewster

If you are anything like me you probably didn’t pay too much attention in home economics class. Cooking comes naturally to me because I had to help prepare meals at home – and I eat every day of my life. But sewing? That’s always been something I’ve outsourced or avoided.

Now that I’m supposedly all grown up, I admit to feeling a little envious of friends who are handy with a needle. However, since every skilled dressmaker I know started out making dolls’ clothes when they were children, I don’t think I’m ever going to catch up. I’m also not prepared to wear years of second-rate clothes while I learn my craft, when there are so many gorgeous ready-made fashions.

Instead, I am making a conscious effort to learn how to maintain and mend my clothes. In the old days I would either take my clothes to a shop – a costly habit – or they would sit in a basket gathering dust. In the mean time, I would forget them and buy more clothes. So I’m planning to give a new lease of life to my wardrobe just by mending my existing clothes. Why don’t you join me?

How to sew on a button by hand or by machine.

Frankly, if you just have one button to sew on then it’s faster and easier to do it by hand – nothing simpler.

Here’s how to darn a sock.

I avoid synthetic materials because they’re made from unsustainable petrochemicals and don’t let my feet ‘breathe’. Sadly socks made from natural fibers such as cotton or wool are prone to getting holes around the toes or heels. Instead of discarding them, the frugal and eco-friendly option is to repair them. (It takes about 10 minutes, judging from this video – but they’re working on quite a big hole, and I expect a small toe hole would take less time).

How to repair a tear with a machine (part 2 here). Or repair the tear by hand.

How to mend a hem by hand.

Image: wakalani