http://www.househacker.com/ househacker/tags/frugal Enviroscaping to Conserve Energy is an interesting guide on maximizing your home's energy efficiency by modifying various aspects of its immediate environment, or "Microclimate".

A microclimate is any small, local area within which the effects of weather are both relatively uniform and easily modified. Microclimate modification involves the best use of structural and landscape design elements to maximize or limit sunlight, shade and air movement. Structural modifications involve the design of the house and associated construction (walkways, fences, patios). Landscape modifications (enviroscaping) involve the use of plants to further increase or decrease the impact of sun and wind upon the local environment.

This site, which applies mostly to homes in hot weather climates such as Florida, offers a lot of interesting ways that a home owner can creatively reduce energy usage. Some of the suggestions apply to potential home builders, such as home orientation (a house is more energy efficient if it is oriented with the long axis running east-west), however the majority of the tips apply to existing residences.

There are many examples of "enviroscaping" strategies on the site, such as optimal tree placement for maximum shading, tree type (In winter, the sun is low in the southern sky. Southern exposures of a home in north and central Florida can receive free benefits of passive solar heating, provided that deciduous trees are used along the southern exposures. Deciduous trees shed their leaves in the fall, and are bare during the coldest months of the year.), fencing options (fences vary in amount of air circulation), shrub and vine placement along walls, increasing air conditioner efficiency and much more.

Link: Enviroscaping to Conserve Energy: a Guide to Microclimate Modification]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/Enviroscaping-to-Conserve-Energy Google, toilets account for anywhere between 20 to 40 percent of household water consumption. Given that we waste clean, otherwise drinkable water flushing our toilets, it should come as no surprise that many people harvest rainwater for toilets and other household purposes where potable water isn't necessary.

The author of this howto walks us through the setup of a rainwater-to-toilet system, while sharing his reasons for doing so:

While it doesn't come close to making up for our gas-guzzling, high-consuming lifestyles, rain harvesting does have a positive impact on our environment. Domestic potable water collection requires effort, energy, and chemicals for purification and transport...
Your house is an "impermeable surface". Rain would otherwise hit the ground where your house is and soak into the underground water table or enter a natural stream. Instead, rainfall from the roofs of many urban homes is tied into the sewer system. During periods of heavy rain, this storm surge from houses, parking lots, and streets into the sewer system can max out treatment capacity, causing raw sewage to flow out untreated into waterways. Harvesting some of this storm surge can reduce peak demands on our water treatment facilities.
Besides the more important environmental issues, most of us in urban areas pay for domestic potable water. I have calculated that each flush of the rainwater toilet (1.6 gallons) saves me just over 1 cent. Costing less than $100 to install, this system will pay for itself over the years.
Also, I have the satisfaction of a small level of self-sufficiency from an urban lifestyle otherwise dependant on society for survival.
The guide covers the details of rainwater collection, a formula for calculating your harvest potential, detailed pictures of the entire setup (including how to mesh the rainwater system to standard toilet plumbing via selector valve, enabling the toilet to run off of either system) as well as a breakdown of parts and costs for the project.

]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/Harvest-Rain-Water-for-Toilet-Water handy list of home energy reducing techniques that will not only help make your home a little greener, but will also put some money back in your pocket in the process. Tips cover heating and air conditioning improvements, greener gardening, hardwood floor choices and a few more.

Wikibooks also has a very large page of energy saving tips that should be useful to most of us, including efficient heating and cooling ideas as well as lighting, water, household waste and electricity reducing suggestions. ]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/Ten-Easiest-Ways-to-Green-Your-Home headboard.

Headboards can have a dramatic effect on any bedroom, but they tend not to come cheap. If you don't have a lot to spend and you're plagued by a tiny bed in a big bedroom, then maybe a DIY project like this is what you need to create a handsome focal point while balancing the space.

The different headboard guides offered in the howto all end up in the $70 ballpark, which isn't too bad at all.

Also check out their complete list of DIY projects and crafts here.]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/Make-Your-Own-Headboard
Via Fepy.com]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/Consumer-Reports-Air-Conditioner-Power-Calculator DIY concrete countertop project, although that might not be the case once one becomes more acquainted with both jobs, but it does explain why kitchen work can be so costly.]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/DIY-Kitchen-Countertop
Here's the basic setup. The garbage can is filled with ice water, which is then fed by gravity (a siphon) through the copper tubing coiled along the back of the fan. The hot air passing through the tubing warms the cold water, cooling the air. Waste warm water is then pumped outside. The system will cool an average room to a comfortable level in approximately 15-20 minutes. Depending on flow rate, a full bucket of water will last approximately 1-3 hours. I use a single bucket before bed on hot nights, which lets me get to sleep. Once the water runs out, the house has cooled off enough that the fan alone provides sufficient cooling.

Recently, someone has posted instructions for making improvements to the homemade air conditioner, which involves an aquarium pump to recycle the water, which in the first generation model, was routed outside the house.

Via LifeHacker]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/Sub-Thirty-Dollar-Homemade-Air-Conditioner
Here's the criteria they were after, from the article:

It must be cheap. Total budget for all materials to make a 100" diagonal 16:9 screen, including frame, must be less than $100.

It must be simple and quick to assemble. We did not want to make a lifetime hobby out of making a screen. We wanted the materials to be easy to find, and we wanted to put it together in less than two hours of invested labor.

It must be easy to install. We wanted a no muss, no fuss solution with a fixed frame that we could hang on a wall in a matter of minutes.

It must perform!!! We had no delusions that we could invest a hundred bucks and a couple hours labor and come up with a screen that would match the quality of the Stewart screens we use in the projection labs. But how close could we come? That was the challenge. And as you will see below, the results were surprisingly good.

If the cost of the screen is what's been holding you back from buying a projector, perhaps a frugal DIY solution such as this one will be your tipping point.

Article: Make a 100" Screen for under $100]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/Make-a-Hundred-Inch-Screen-for-Under-a-Hundred-Bucks
Speaking of mosquitoes, apparently some clever teens have recorded the so-called Mosquito alarm that malls have been experimenting with to keep kids from loitering (the Mosquito alarm is a high pitched alarm that cannot be heard by most people over 20, but tends to drive teens crazy) and have adapted it to be used, surreptitious, as a quasi-silent ringtone on their cell phones during class. Heh, kids.]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/Do-it-Yourself-Mosquito-Trap Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter but don't want to spend the money, why not make your own poor man's version? From the site:

There were of course the usual hanging planters that are really nothing more than a regular pot with strings tied to a ceiling hook. These really didn?t appeal to me due to previous experiences where the water of flowed down through the soil and filled the overflow basin at the bottom. Another option is hanging inverted planters which have been around for a very long time. Some in a much older design made from terra cotta in a traditional mexican style and a newer one made of plastic that had internal foam spacers for dirt/water containment. This naturally put my mind into make it myself mode.

With flora becoming so elevated lately, we may never get to try the nifty gardening chair, sadly.
]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/Make-Your-Own-Topsy-Turvy-Tomato-Planter VOIP client, just added video capabilities to it's software package. Skype is one of the best internet apps out there because, besides looking good and being intuitive, as many have said before: it just plain works. The sound quality is great, and stands up flawlessly when compared to a regular POTS system. Sticking it to the phone company is always nice, too.

via Digg]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/Skype-Releases-Version-2.0-With-Video POTS system to your VOIP system, you may be interested in this DIY project that walks you through the creation of a telephone-to-VOIP adapter for your wired or cordless phones. From the site:

Just imagine: You can walk with your wireless phone chatting with Skype friends for free, you can make free call to your mom if she is connected to the Internet...Skype wireless phones are expensive, VoIP adapters cost ~$60, but you can make it for free if your have details.. from old TV, Radio or other electronics.

]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/Make-Your-Own-Skype-Phone-Adapter