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So you make money at home with your very own Online home business. That’s great. Are you saving as much money as you can while running your home business? Is your home, from which you are making all that money, operating as efficiently as possible? Let’s take a minute and look at some ways you may be able to save yourself some of that hard earned money while reducing the impact you’re having on the environment.

First off, let me congratulate you on your decision to operate an Online home business. Second, and more importantly, Way to go on spending the time and having the dedication it takes to learn how to make money from home. You are obviously already standing head and shoulders above the rest.

Now, I’ll bet you’ve made some life changing decisions to get to where you are. You’ve probably also made some big sacrifices along the way. What you may not be aware of is that by choosing to work from home you’ve already made a decision that many would say makes you eco-friendly. Yep, you my friend are living the ‘green life’.

Simply by making the decision to work from home, you’ve managed to cut your carbon footprint by,well, in some cases, more than half. Depending on how far and by what means you used to commute to work, you’ve already managed to drastically reduce your monthly fuel bill. Not to mention your Carbon footprint. Now, let’s take a moment and look at some other things you can do to reduce your impact on the environment while cutting down on your monthly utility bills. Let’s look at how you can conduct your own home business energy audit so that you can identify all the hidden stashes of savings around you.

It’s really quiet simple. Get out a pen and a pad. Now get ready to spend a little bit of time conducting a quick and painless inspection of your home. You’ll want to keep notes because odds are you’re going to find at least a few items that you’ll want to come back and repair or upgrade later. Remember, your looking for ways to reduce your homes energy consumption. Be on the look out for anything you can do to reduce the transfer of heat either going out from your house, or getting back into it, depending on the time of year. Also, let me just say, look towards the light.

First off, you must realize, when it comes to a complete and thorough home energy audit, there are professionals who specialize in this. They utilize up to a dozen different highly technical and specifically designed tools to conduct highly detailed energy audits. If you are really serious about saving money and helping the environment, a quick search of your local listings will reveal many competent home energy audit companies.As with anything else on this list, if you are not sure, consult a professional.

Okay, let’s start in the attic. Where’s your’re attic access or scuttle hole? You’re going to want to inspect your attic insulation. Is it at least 12″ thick, covering the entire ceiling area of all the rooms below? If so, you’re in good shape. If not, this is perhaps one of the most important areas of wasted energy that you will want to address. Take some notes. Now, while your in the attic, a couple more things. Do you see any ventilation of any kind? You know, screened in areas where light is coming in? Most home attic areas are designed to be vented and require a good bit of air circulation. Remember, if you have any questions, call your local professional. Oh, one more thing, check to make sure the attic access hole from which you are leaving is properly insulated and sealed. Remember, you’re looking for places where air can leak.

Now, let’s take a look at your walls. Specifically, let’s look at the exterior walls to confirm proper insulation levels. What we’re looking for is again, areas where heat can either escape or enter the home. You will need to take time to shut off one of your electrical circuits in order to inspect your wall insulation. You can do this by removing one of the outlet cover plates. While this may be something you choose to get a professional to do, it’s really simple. Just shut off your breakers, get a screw driver and remove the cover plate on a wall outlet. look around the edges of the junction box for any insulation. You may need to push the box to one side. Proper wall insulation is another crucial area of concern. Make sure the wall outlets are all properly insulated as well. Great, now replace the cover plate and turn your power back on. Okay, let’s move on.

Next, make sure all your windows and doors are properly flashed, weather stripped and sealed for maximum efficiency. If you’re windows are more than 15 years old, you should consider replacing them. This holds true for your furnace and air conditioning system. Any appliances, furnaces, and most electrical devices older than 10 to 15 years should be considered for replacement as advancements in technology have improved efficiency on just about everything. While we’re on the subject, make sure to check for proper insulation around any vents, chases or flues around your home. This could be a bathroom vent, a heating duct, or the fireplace chimney flue. These are other areas of heat transfer to consider.

Hang in there. You’re doing great and you’re almost done. Another area of great concern should be your lighting. Remember earlier, I said look towards the light? Well, believe it or not, a little more than 10% of your homes energy bill is spent on lighting it. You may consider lowering bulb wattage and reducing the amount of lights you use. As your light bulbs burn out, replace them with the new energy efficient Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs or CFL’s.

Finally, make sure to always turn off and unplug unused appliances and other home and office equipment. A handy tip is to use power strips for areas of your home where you use multiple electrical devices. A perfect example is your home office. At the end of the day, simply flip the switch and you’re saving money.

Now, I know this has been an extensive list. Realize there are actually many more items which you can do to help reduce energy costs and save money around the home and home business. With continued awareness and just a little bit of practice you can find many more things to do that will help the environment and help you stay focused so you can continue to make money from home.

Mitchell is the owner of a successful and lucrative, environmentally friendly Online home business out of Colorado, USA. He is a business coach and personal mentor, assisting other serious Network Marketers in building lucrative and sustainable online businesses with multiple income streams.