By Dem Jones

Summer is finally here! That means we venture outside for the 3 months in Rochester that aren’t winter. Along with the good weather, come the little flying pests that can annoy you. Or even worse, make you sick.

Ok maybe it is.

I could give you a list a mile long of things I'm not good at. Cooking, golf, html, doing the dishes...

But being a 20-something female, there is definitely something I consider myself an expert at. Shoes. I think Carrie Bradshaw said it best on an episode of Sex & The City - "Men I may not know. But SHOES I KNOW!"

So what does tearing through the sales rack to find a killer pair of heels have to do with the environment? Plenty. Just by keeping a few simple tricks and tips in mind when shopping for a girl's favorite accessory can do wonders for our world AND for your wallet.

I love how simple changes in the way you go about your day to day errands can have a positive impact on the environment. Next time you’re at the grocery store, drop a few bucks on the reusable cloth bags. They hold more (which means fewer trips from the car to the house), and they won’t sit in the landfill for decades. It’s easy to leave a few reusable bags in the trunk so they’re on hand for an impromptu trip to the grocery store or better yet a trip to the mall. Just something to consider next time you’re at the checkout counter. Don’t forget to check with your local grocery store, some stores will recycle your old grocery bags.

I recently moved into a new (for me) house in Victor.  It has many energy saving features like high efficiency windows and a tankless water heater.  I never reali zed when I moved in, that another part of the house was helping the environment.  It turns out, the cool looking washer and dryer that came with the house are green as well.  My new house came complete with the Kenmore Elite HE4t washer and dryer.  They are front loading, and look like they could launch the space shuttle.  Here’s why they rock: