When it came time to replace my electric stove, I thought about a gas model but there's no gas on my street and there was no good place to hide a propane tank. So, after seeing one that a friend had purchased, I settled on an induction model. Before I bought it, I purchased a single induction burner so I could get an idea of how it works. It turned out that most of the cooking pots I had were induction-ready (the rest I donated to Household Goods) and I was delighted to discover how fast it cooks and how responsive it is; it is instantly on or off so there's very little wait time for food to come to temperature or for cooking to end precisely when I want it to. It is also more energy efficient than an electric stove and it certainly doesn't have the emissions that a gas stove does. It's great!                       

The fourth year living in our new/old(1781) home we discovered that our window mounted airconditioners would not keep up with the hottest summer days.  After deciding to "go solar", we then installed efficient Mitsubishi "mini-splits", which not only keep up with the hottest days but also take the chill out of the spring and fall mornings.  We get more cooling for far less noise and we no longer need to install/uninstall our prior window warts.  (I highly recommend doing both solar and mini-splits.  It is very gratifying to know that the sun beating down on a hot day is also doing the work to keep your home cool.)

A year and a half ago we went solar.  At the same time, our oil furnace (heat and hot water) went out in our 1781 home (with dirt floors = humidity).  Taking advantage of our new solar energy source we decided to install a heat pump water heater.  Not only have we decoupled our hot water from oil consumption, the heat pump water heater is also a dehumidifier, which helps keep our basement dry.  Win-win.

I am a founding member of the Harvard Community Solar Garden and I couldn't be happier with the benefit. My 5kw covers my household needs except for a month or two in the winter when there's less sun or deep snow covers the panels. Even then, my annual cost for household electricity is less than $100.

One of the first things we did when we moved to town earlier this year was sign up for Westward Orchards CSA. Our half-share covers all of the produce we need in a week, and we get a discount on any additional fruits and vegetables grown at the farm! It's important to support our local businesses, and our CSA is one of our investments in the community. 

We've been composting since we moved here in 1995. I love cutting down on garbage and enriching our gardens with composted soil.