By Lori Bongiorno
More from The Conscious Consumer blog

(Photo: Getty Images)This summer's record-breaking-high temperatures have made air conditioning a necessity for many Americans. But that doesn't mean you need to spend a fortune to stay cool.

Falling prey to common air-conditioning myths can lead to overspending. That's why it's important to understand what's fact and what's fiction when it comes to using your A/C.

Below are some facts that will help you spend your cooling dollars wisely so you can achieve maximum comfort with minimum strain on your wallet.

Myth: Cranking your air conditioner up high (by setting your unit's thermostat significantly below the temperature you want to achieve) will cool your house faster.

Fact: Your air conditioner will deliver cool air at the same rate no matter how low you go on the thermostat setting. If you turn the thermostat to 50 degrees when you want it to get to 72 degrees, your room won't get cooler any faster, says Jamy Bacchus at the

By Getty ImagesTrystan L. Bass
More from Green Picks blog

When the weather's clear, yard sales and garage sales spring up around most neighborhoods like weeds. Bargain hunters and fans of reusing and recycling know that these sales are great places to shop for kids' clothes, furniture that can be repainted or restyled, paperback books, and even collectibles which may be diamonds in the rough.

But you have to shop savvy to get the most out of yard sales. They're not as predictable as the mall, so you need to plan ahead.

Start by searching Craigslist.org, newspaper classifieds, and signs around town to find the sales. Then map an efficient route for the places you want to visit.

These tips can help you find bargains on things you can really use...

Prepare for a day of shopping:

• Be prepared by bringing: cash in small denominations, a tape measure to get the right sizes of clothing and home decor items, and batteries to test gadgets.

• Don't drive a really fancy car or wear

By Melissa Breyer
More from Care2 Green Living blog

cucumber

Ah the humble cucumber ... maybe someone will make some pickles, maybe Mom will slice off a few rounds for her tired eyes ... but really, aside from that, what is a cucumber's claim to fame? Actually, the cucumber is a pretty amazing piece of work, both in the kitchen and in the bathroom where it can perform a multitude of beauty tasks.

The flesh of the cucumber is mostly water, but also contains ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and caffeic acid, both of which help soothe skin irritations and reduce swelling -- these acids prevent water retention, which may explain why cucumbers applied topically are often helpful for swollen eyes, burns, and dermatitis.

Cucumbers are a great treat for the skin. They have the same pH as the skin so they help restore the protective acid mantle -- they also possess hydrating, nourishing, and astringent properties.

Cucumbers' skin is rich in fiber and contains a variety of beneficial

FrediaIt's easy to say you want to do something to protect the planet. Actually doing it is another matter altogether - unless you're Fredia Banks. Not only did this Washington, D.C. resident launch a non-profit organization to promote sustainability in the nation's capital. She took our One in a Million challenge to show people how spending their money makes a difference.

Fredia created the House of Green organization to "encourage residents and business owners (of the District of Columbia) to embrace environmentally-friendly lifestyle alternatives as a solution for sustainability." The organization offers workshops, connects consumers to green products, and helps raise awareness about green businesses that are operating in the District of Columbia.

She was inspired to shift her spending because she wanted to "live healthy and elmininate toxins" in her lifestyle. Fredia says that the increasing availability of products where she shops and online is making shifting her spending easier

Is buying in bulk worth it? Really?

Only if you want to protect the planet and save money...

Seriously, buying products in bulk is one of the most "eco" ways to shops; it's one of the best ways to save money, too. Why? For starters, larger sizes deliver the same amount of product using less energy and materials than the equivalent number of smaller packages.

Next time you go shopping, browse the snack aisle and compare the difference for yourself. When you buy one large box of cookies, all you pay for is the cookies and the one box. But if you buy a "snack pack" of ten or twelve small bags, you end up with all those individual bags, plus the display box they came in and the cellophane wrapped around them. That's a lot of excess packaging!

All that extra wrapping costs you more money. At Peapod, an online grocery store, a 15 oz. box of Famous Amos Chocolate Chip cookies runs around $3.99 or $.27/ounce. The package of 12 snack bags costs $5.79 or $.34/ounce. If you

By EcoSalon via DivineCaroline
More from Care2 Green Living blog

If you haven't spent much time at farmers' markets, you may not know that they can be a bit intimidating. Locals always know exactly where to go and what to buy, and seem to possess some kind of secret, cult-like knowledge of seasonal favorites and exclusive deals.

How's a farmers' market newbie supposed to sort through the piles of exotic vegetables without feeling like a trespasser?

The reality is this: Farmers' market fans can indeed be fanatical (I know I am), but the farmers themselves couldn't be more friendly and welcoming. Avoiding these 10 mistakes will help you fit in at the market and get the most out of being a locavore.

1. Arriving too late
Showing up in the late morning means big crowds and picked over produce. Beat the rush by going early and getting the best of the season. Morning light is also best for snapping pictures, if you're into that sort of thing.

2. Forgetting to BYOB

By Lori Bongiorno

(Photo: Getty Images)Packing for a trip to the beach? Here's one thing you may not have thought about. What you leave out of your bag is just as important as what you toss in.

Below are some guidelines on what NOT to bring to the beach as well as some alternatives on what to bring instead:

Disposable plastic

Over 7 million pounds of debris was collected at last year's international coastal cleanup, which translated into around 10.3 million individual pieces of trash, according to the Ocean Conservancy. Plastic bags and food wrappers/containers were amongst the top three items collected. What's more, this garbage injures or kills thousands of marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds.

Instead, bring reusable bags, bottles, containers, dishes, and cutlery instead of disposables. Dispose of trash in lidded bins so that the wind won't blow plastic out to sea. Otherwise, take trash with you.

Glass bottles

Glass can break and cause injuries, particularly since glass

By Melissa Breyer
More from Care2 Green Living blog

Oh salad, how did it ever come to this? Experts say that eating a salad every day may be one of the healthiest eating habits to adopt, but did they know what kind of beasts are being created in the name of the salad?

My biggest gripe with restaurant salads is the sky-high calories, simply for their shock value -- followed by the seriously exuberant sodium levels, and finishing up with some pretty surprising fat counts.

In the new set of dietary guidelines proposed for the 2010 USDA Food Pyramid, the average recommended daily calorie intake is 2100, and total fat intake should be 20 to 35 percent of your total daily calories. (At 9 calories per gram of fat, 30 percent would roughly equal about 70 grams of total fat daily for a 2100-calorie diet.)

The guidelines also reduced the recommended amount of salt healthy people should consume to 1,500 milligrams (mg), from the previous amount of 2,300 mg. But each one of these