Set sprinklers to water the lawn or garden only - not the street or sidewalk.
Use the microwave to cook small meals. (It uses less power than an oven.)
Purchase "Green Power" for your home's electricity. (Contact your power supplier to see where and if it is available.)
Scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading into the dishwasher; wash only full loads.
Cut back on air conditioning and heating use if you can.
Turn off appliances and lights when you leave the room.
DALLAS — The pursuit of the perfectly manicured lawn is forever reaching new heights. Last year, as a nation, we spent $35 billion in products to help us reach that goal.
But did you know that you can have one of the greenest lawns around with no weeding, no watering, and no maintenance at all?
ForeverLawn one of the companies cashing in on artificial turf to satisfy our quest for the perfect lawn. No amount of rain (or lack thereof) can mess up this grass. It's even pooch-proof.
Just let the family dog try to dig a hole; he'll hardly make a dent in the synthetic grass.
"The two things that make it truly a canine grass is the anti-microbial," said ForeverLawn franchise owner Tim Alexander. "It doesn't wear off, it doesn't wash off ... it negates the smell of the dog's waste."
Brenda and Howard Gluck, recently retired, turned their nylon-based backyard into a model of what they believe will revolutionize North Texas landscaping.
Underneath it all, a fabric made of recycled plastic water bottles with a system for drainage. No maintenance required..
That's a big attraction for the Glucks. "It can save money in watering; it can save money in landscaping costs, maintenance-wise; it can go above and beyond in many different directions," Howard Gluck said.
Their 1,800 square foot spread isn't without its drawbacks. The same lawn guaranteed to hold five shades of green for up to 12 years will never give off that scent of a freshly-cut grass.
And it's not cheap; an installation like Alexander and Mullen's will cost about $20,000.
E-mail cvega@wfaa.com
