It’s hot and muggy and you simply can’t survive without your air conditioner this summer. Here are some tips to get optimal performance using minimal energy.

• Check which windows in your house get direct sun during the day and close the curtains to keep the sun from heating the room.
• If you don’t use a room in your house, you don’t need to cool it. Close the vents and shut the door.
• Have your air conditioner cleaned and inspected annually to make sure it’s running at it’s most efficient.
• Keep the area around your air conditioner clean. Remove leaves, sticks and other debris regularly.
• Sealing your house isn’t just for winter. Caulking doors and windows can work to keep cool air in the same way it works to keep cold air out in the winter.
• Use fans to better distribute the cool air in your house.
• Dress appropriately. Don’t wear a sweater and crank up the A/C.
• Remember to turn off the air conditioner and open the windows on days when it’s cooler outside.
• Replace older models with Energy Star compliant ones.

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Summer is a great time for painting, and nothing revamps a room like a fresh coat of paint. But you know that new paint smell? That’s off-gassing from your paint as it dries. It’s not good for you. It can lead to headaches, and sick building syndrome. And it’s not good for the environment. The Volitile Organic Compounds or VOCs, in regular paint contribute to air pollution. If paint isn’t disposed of correctly, it can end up contaminating the soil and ground water.

The solution? Opt for a natural paint like Green Planet Paints. Their paints are free of VOCs, and use soy-based resins and mineral pigments. They use renewable resources, instead of petroleum based ingredients, and they disclose all the ingredients in their paint.

You’ll get a great new look for your room, minus the pollution.

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.

I do love a steaming hot shower — the skin scalding kind, where you come out looking like a half-boiled lobster — but it’s not necessary. A warm shower is better for your skin, and the environment.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, water heating accounts for up to 25% of home energy consumption. Lowering the thermostat on your water heater to 120 degrees (Fahrenheit) will lower your household energy usage considerably.

You’ll still get a good warm shower. Unless you’re used to boiling in your shower, chances are, you won’t even notice the difference.

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.

The Wall Street Journal ran an article about Bee Gardens. In an effort to support the bee population in the face of Colony Collapse Disorder, pesticides, and destruction of natural habitat, home gardeners are working to plant native, bee-friendly plants and provide nesting materials for bees.

You can too. LifeCycles Project Society has instructions for making a bee box for your yard. Read more…

First order of business, don’t buy new shoes if you don’t need to. I understand this is a cold, hard adjustment to make. I, at one time, was the proud owner of about seventeen pairs of black, chunky heeled shoes (hey, it was the late 90′s) that were only slightly different from each other. One of the best ways to be green is to only buy what you need. So do your best to stretch the life of the shoes you have a little longer.

But if your soles are shot, your heel is broken, or no amount of shoe polish and buffing will make your shoes look respectable again, go for a new eco-friendly pair.

Simple makes adorable casual shoes from earth-friendly materials like jute, organic cotton, bamboo, recycled tires, and water-based glues.

U Roads shoes for men have soles made from recycled tires.

Chaco Sandals are made with new materials, but have extensive repair and re-sole services. One of my friends bought a pair of Chaco sandals seven years ago and they are still going strong and looking good. When you trade in your old footwear, you get 20% off of a new pair of Chaco sandals, and Chaco will clean your old shoes to donate to charitable organizations.

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.

Do you have an old, worn out fleece in your closet? Patagonia recycles Polartec fleece from any manufacturer and uses the material to make new clothes. Read more…

According to NASA, green or flowering houseplants are extremely effective at removing airborne household toxins, like dry cleaning, new carpet, plastic, and plywood fumes. Houseplants also release oxygen and water vapor, further improving the quality of the air. For optimum air quality, you should have one potted plant for every 100 square feet in your home or office. Read more…

My husband asked me to pick up a pack of protein bars the last time I went shopping. Reading the labels in the store, I was shocked to see how many protein bars had partially hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, and nasty chemicals.

I grabbed a box of Double Dark Chocolate NuGO Organic Nutrition bars and kept my fingers crossed that they wouldn’t taste like cardboard. They don’t! They have a chewy whole grain center, and are coated with real antioxidant rich dark chocolate.

The bars are free of trans fats and genetically modified ingredients. They have 180 calories, 10 grams of protein, and only 8 grams of sugar per bar. Slip one in your workout bag or purse for a quick organic meal on the go.

Another Eco-Friendly Food from Allie.

The July/August 2007 issue of Sierra: The Magazine of the Sierra Club, had a great article about World War II era conservationism. Ride sharing was a major staple of the WWII conservation campaign.

In Colorado, the Republican Party vowed to save rubber by having all of its candidates in the 1944 elections hitchhike to campaign rallies.

The idea of that happening today is somewhat comical, but there’s a better way to ride share.

eRideShare.com has 20,081 Commuter Carpool listings and 3,721 Cross Country Travel listings and even has monthly meet ups, so you can meet the person you’ll be driving with ahead of time.

CarpoolConnect.com has listings in the US and Canada.

CarpoolWorld.com has worldwide listings.

There are regional ride share sites, like CarpoolMatchNW.org in Oregon and SW Washington, and RideNow.org carpool listings in East Bay and San Francisco, or check your local craigslist ride share listings.

Carpooling can also be as simple as asking your neighbor if she’d like to ride to the grocery store with you.

Switching over to green products is exciting. It’s always fun to try out a new shampoo, face cream, or naturally-scented cleaner. But excessive consumption is not an eco-friendly endeavor, even if the new products you consume are eco-friendly.

Don’t buy an eco-friendly shampoo while you still have a full bottle of the old stuff. Throwing out a non-green product, or banishing it to the shampoo retirement home under your bathroom sink isn’t the way to go. Replace your usual brand of shampoo with a biodegradable, paraben-free product after you’ve used every last drop in the bottle.

Make a committment to switching your household and beauty products over to green ones over time. Give yourself a goal. Our household is going to be paraben-free by 2008. What’s your goal?

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.