Being in town center limits our use of solar panels (historic district rules) but we have used our landscape to increase native and pollinator plants, leave brush & dying trees for wildlife shelter, high mow only a bit of our space, compost, and battle invasive plants (a constant). Having rebuilt our house 25 yrs ago we included energy-efficient appliances (including washer, using only cold water); we have no dryer but hang clothes outside and in (for humidification). We have double pane windows and some in-house storms; have verified in-place systems with an energy audit. Lots more can be done; thanks for the many ideas in testimonials here.

We felt it was important to cut our emissions with an electric car and have been thrilled with our Tesla. We expected the gas savings, but we hadn't thought about how much we would save on repairs due to no gas engine.  It's wonderful.  After several years, our only significant cost has been new tires.  We are now looking at e-vehicle options for car #2, or possibly going to one car. 

We just had our roof replaced and solar installed. Golden Group was so good, I would recommend them all day long. If you need both done, talk to them about their process. It is thoughtful and thorough. The project management and customer service were top notch. We had ZERO problems. 

Over the years, we have gradually decreased the amount of lawn that we mow by allowing the meadow to grow naturally. The meadow now takes up about 3/4 of our property. Wildflowers are abundant as are butterflies, dragonflies and birds that have found a home here. We continue to mow an area adjacent to the house along with some paths around the perimeter and through the meadows to the trails & compost bin behind our house. Several years ago, we experimented with hugelkultur, a horticultural technique which creates raised mounds composed of various biomass materials resulting in high density planting that requires little to no irrigation, even in the driest of seasons.  This technique, along with using the water retrieved from our dehumidifier and that collected from our rain barrels has allowed us to conserve our water usage in gardening.

We are attempting to rid a corner of our property of Japanese Knotweed. As many know this is an especially nasty invasive. Our goal initially is to weaken the patch by repeated cutting and removal. This will help prevent seeds from forming, dropping or being spread elsewhere by animals. It also prevents the plant from returning its stored energy back to the rhizome in the fall. We expect many years of having to manage this area of land vigorously during summer. We may never really be 'DONE' with this action but we hope our ongoing efforts are rewarded eventually with native regrowth and continued health of the wetlands surrounding our property. 

Getting this energy audit was so easy to do through Mass Save.  We scheduled and appointement, they came and took about an hour or so to do the assesment and then had several suggestions ready with possible contractors you could use.  Very easy!