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Did you know that the average home spends about $1,900 on energy bills every year? By selecting home appliances that have earned the ENERGY STAR, you can save $80 a year in energy costs while helping to save the environment.

1. Save Energy, Save Money: When buying an appliance, be aware of its two price tags: what you pay to take it home and what you pay for the energy and water it uses.

Clothes washers and dryers can eat up a lot of your home’s resources, increasing heating and electric bills and generally contributing to fuel costs. If you’re looking to save energy in your regular laundry routine, there as several things you can do to reduce water and heating usage. Here are a few best practices for clothes washers and dryers.

Wash your clothes in cold water. This one of the simplest energy saving tips for your clothes washer and dryer, and the results can be dramatic. About 90% of the energy consumed by washing clothes is due to water heating .

In addition to saving an average of $50 per year on your energy and water bills, there are other benefits of ENERGY STAR clothes washers that may positively impact your lifestyle. These ENERGY STAR units should be considered time saving clothes washers, since their larger capacities allow you to do your laundry less frequently. Their forward thinking designs can also help your clothes last longer.

Save Time: Without a bulky agitator there is more usable space in the tub for laundry — especially larger items like comforters.

As much as half of the energy used in your home goes to heating and cooling. So making smart decisions about your home's heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system can have a big effect on your utility bills — and your comfort. What follows is a short guide to more efficient home heating and cooling.

With the price of fossil fuels on the rise, finding ways to reduce energy bill strains is in certainly in your best interest. One reason for high energy bills is an increase in the price of electricity or heating fuel. However, high energy bills can usually be traced to an inefficient or failing home component -- such as windows, heating and cooling equipment, or duct insulation.

With so many options available for your viewing pleasure, selecting and comparing TVs can be a difficult and demanding process. Do you go with Plasma or LCD? Standard picture or HD? Keep this quick overview in your back pocket when comparing types of televisions at the store.

Plasma, LCD, and Flat-Screen Displays

Both plasma and LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) use different picture-generating technologies than the standard CRT, making them lightweight and super-thin by comparison.

Shrub pruning is best done in late winter or early spring, although light pruning can really be done any time of the year. Severe pruning in late summer should be avoided, since new growth may not have time to mature before cold weather occurs.

There are five basic ways to prune shrubs:

1. Thinning - This technique cuts a branch off at its point of origin from either a parent stem, side branch, junction or at ground level, resulting in a more open shrub without stimulating excessive new growth.

Based on research by The Department of Environmental Protection, natural windbreaks are the most effective component in cutting winter heat loss. An energy savings of up to 40 percent is possible from diminished wind velocity and reduced air infiltration into your home. Considering the average heating bill, that could mean a savings of up to $400 per winter!

An excellent example of a wind screening tree is the thuja green giant. It was introduced for just this purpose by the U.S. National Arboretum.

Shrubs are relatively easy plants to maintain. Gentle watering and pruning are the main elements of shrub care, but don’t overdo either.

Watering once a week is usually enough. If the plant doesn’t receive any rainfall for a week, simply fill a watering can and give the shrub a good soaking. Make sure you spray the branches as well when you’re doing this.

Pruning is important for developing and maintaining shrubs.

Rows of shrubs and trees can act as a windbreak to help protect your home. A windbreak on three sides of a building can cut annual fuel bills by as much as 30 percent, reducing wind chill in winter and making shade in the summer.

Tree and shrub windbreaks are habitat for wildlife. They beautify the landscape, stop blowing snow, screen out noise and dust and serve as living privacy fences.

Most shrubs are sold as container-grown plants or ball and burlap (B&B) plants.