As a designer, I get asked about going green quite frequently. With the rise of the Planet Green channel and major corporations starting to change their manufacturing to be more environmentally conscious, it is becoming very chic to care about the environment.
Buutttt... going green is expensive. Even organic foods are very expensive.
Even worse, if you want to cut your energy costs in the home, it can take 15 years to recoup the costs of installing solar panels. Homeowners' associations might also deny your request to install a windmill in your yard.
So what do you do?
Well, first of all, you should be recycling. If your city has a curbside pick-up for recycling, you have no excuse. Even my not-so-enthusiastic husband recycles, and he is apathetic about most things. You don't need me to go over WHY you should recycle. I am pretty sure in the year 2009, you know why. If you think your recycling bins are ugly or taking up space, there are many other containers you can buy that will suit your needs.
Secondly, go for the CFLs! True, CFLs (compact fluorescent lightbulbs) are a bit pricy, contain mercury, and aren't as elegantly beautiful as a standard incandescent bulb, so here is how to deal with that:
My brand new house is LOADED with lighting and it would cost a fortune to replace everything all at once. So, I wait until a bulb burns out in a fixture/room, and then replace all the bulbs with CFLs just for that one room. Just don't forget your outside fixtures. If you break a CFL, the clean-up procedure can be alarming. Not to worry though. CFLs are a bit tougher since they have thicker glass, and in many cases, such as flood lamps and candleabra lamps, are encased in 2 layers of glass. Just save the bad bulb and use Earth 911 to help you find a place to recycle it. As far as aesthetics go, sometimes you have to just forego the CFL altogether. If the thought of using an unsightly CFL in your $10,000 chandelier makes you die a little inside, don't do it. Just use incandescent bulbs, and watch you don't overdo the wattage!
Now you aren't gonna want to hear this one, but painting your walls is also a way to help reduce energy costs. It adds a thin layer of insulative quality by filling in holes that can leak out cold and heat. To add an even better insulation value, put in a ceramic additive. Additionally, you can purchase low- and no-VOC paints and help keep your interior fresh.
More costly, but well worth the money, is to install/update your window blinds. If you have more than a 1/4 inch gap from the blind to the wall, then your blinds aren't properly fitted. This happens frequently when you buy off-the-shelf pre-cut blinds. The blind should be fitted well enough that you trap the heat or cold between the glass and the blind. If the gap is too big, that heat and cold is getting through, and not helping your energy bill. Call a custom blind rep (my favorite is 3 Day Blinds), and have them measure all your windows. They will make style suggestions based off the function of each room, and you can purchase blinds one room at a time, budget allowing. Just stay away from mini blinds!
Next, pay for a thermal imaging scan of your home, especially if it is older. 
Design is nothing if you are freezing in the winter and hot in the summer. Proper insulation can save you thousands of dollars in wasted energy, and having your home scanned will show you where you are leaking out heat and cold. Sometimes these leaks are easy fixes! If your home is well insulated, you should be able to open your windows in the dead of summer, and still be cool. I will tell you that my house is just over 1 year old, well insulated, and when it is 110 degrees outside, I open my windows and doors. It is always pleasant. Oh, and my energy bills are less than half of what they were when I lived in a home with 300 less square feet.
Another way to go green is to garden. I know, you aren't a gardener, but you are sucking down oxygen, and the only way to counteract that is to grow things. Having houseplants around will lower the pollution in your home by converting that CO2 back to oxygen, and besides, plants are pleasant and a big part of good design. Complaining you don't have a yard to grow vegetables is no excuse either. Plenty of people grow vegetable gardens inside, on patios, and even in window boxes. If you don't want to grow veggies, grow flowers. Designers are big fans of fresh cut flowers in a vase, and if you grew them yourself, then you will be even more proud!
One underutilized change that you may have never heard about is the tankless water heater, also known as an on demand water heater. Instead of having a huge tank that always has to keep your water hot (even at 4 am!), this system eliminates the tank altogether and only heats water when you need it via a system of pipes. What does this mean? You never run out of hot water! You can buy one and have someone install it for around 500-600 dollars. This also give you back space in your garage or closet. In fact, this is the next upgrade we will be doing in our home, seeing as my husband likes to steal the hot water.
The final thing that you can do in your home is to start researching the things you buy. When they say your new pillow is filled with poly-fil, find out exactly what that is. What is Olefin (hint: don't buy it)? What are the chemicals in your steam cleaner. Can you clean it with more natural ingredients with the same end result? An informed consumer is a better consumer, and information is free. Free is the cheapest way to green your home, if you know what I mean. So get to the research.
I hope this helps, and if you have more questions, I am always up to research things for you.
