I know it’s not fun, but now is the time to winterize. It’s an easy, green practice that can save you some green this winter.

There are several super-extensive lists that are very intimidating. A simple search can find you plenty.

We’re just going to hit the big basics. The easy essentials.

Start by taking care of your outdoor furniture and gear. If it’s all-weather, then look it over to make sure there aren’t any rusty places. If there are, sand them and hit them with some rust-proof spray paint. Cover your table and chairs and put the umbrella away. Put a cover on your grill (you can remove it when you must grill!)

Put covers on all of your outdoor faucets, roll up your hoses and put them away. Go ahead and clean out your gutters as well. While doing this, think of all the calories you are burning! While you’re up there, make sure that your chimney is free of obstructions.

You also need to put weather-stripping around all of your doors and windows. We also put those child safety plug protectors in our unused outlets to keep that extra air in as well.

Run a vacuum over your heater vents to get the dust out.

Those are the biggies that we will be hitting this week, at least I hope we will.

Did I leave out any big winterizers? Let me know!

Is it being green or being lazy to not wash each and every item of clothing after one wear? According to two recent blog posts that I’ve read, it’s green.

This is a practice I used to do a lot more often — life with an infant and a toddler is a lot messier than life pre-babies. But before babies, I would wear jeans and other pants at least twice between washes. The Sunday best were only washed on an as-needed basis. Socks and undergarments were washed after every use.

If you don’t get anything on the clothes, then they do not need to be washed after every wearing. Many weren’t designed to be washed after every wear — especially those that say “Dry Clean Only.”

The practice of not washing after every use not only saves energy and water, but it also extends the life of your clothes. And it might even give you a little extra time, especially if the clothes need ironing.

There are some exemptions to this rule. I believe underwear and socks should be washed after every use. If you are a sweaty person, your clothes will need more washing. You can wear undershirts to protect your nicer button-downs. Just wash the undershirts after every wearing and not the button-down.

Currently, I am the exception to this rule. I go through at least two shirts a day, thanks to spit-up, sticky fingers, and my own clumsiness. I have to get better with those burp cloths!

Do you wash your clothes after every use? Or do you only wash certain items?