In the middle of the golden plains of Texas, there's a very green house.  That little house on the prairie could put some green in your pocket.

Darryl Birkenfeld's house is chock full of great ideas you could easily copy.  You could start with something simple like changing a light bulb.  If every home in America replaced just one old-fashioned bulb, it would make a big difference.  Some say it would have the same environmental impact as taking 800,000 cars off the road.  

Or, for something smaller, "Instead of having a fluorescent, a big fluorescent, you know, like a lot of people have, you could use very tiny little lights." recommends Birkenfeld.

Of course, you could forget the lights altogether and open the blinds.

"These are low and double-paned, so they're more efficient than single paned or things we had ten years ago." says Birkenfeld as he describes his windows.

And think about the toilets we had ten years ago.  They used up to five gallons of water with a single flush.  To cut back, change your toilet flapper or install a new toilet that uses less than two gallons a flush.

Here's another easy project, weather strip your doors and windows.

"Lots of insulation, weather stripping, had to have them do it twice because sometimes they don't get it all properly weather-stripped the first time.  But it's a pretty tight door." says Birkenfeld.

For a really well-sealed house, forget old fashioned insulation and consider the spray kind instead.  

"The great advantage of it, energy-wise, is it gets into every corner and crevice and it really makes a tight seal." says Birkenfeld.

Want to do more?  Try these do-it-yourself jobs.  Insulate your water heater.  Just wrap it and duct tape it.  Or buy a programmable thermostat.  When you're not home, it can change the temperature automatically.  Change your furnace filter regularly and vacuum your refrigerator coils.