That's Fit

Are you doing your part to help keep the earth a little greener? Many people are. From buying fuel-efficient vehicles to making a concerted effort to recycle, it's great to see that the health of our planet is as important to us as the health of our bodies. Still, as much as we are all doing, there's always a little more that can be done. And in some cases, these are things we didn't even know would make a difference. Such is the case with what are known as "vampire loads."

When you leave appliances turned off but still plugged in, they actually still utilize energy. Now stop and look around you right now -- what's plugged in but not being used? The TV? The computer (well, clearly you're using that right now if you're reading this, but maybe you have a second computer)? The toaster? The stereo? And so on and so on.

All these unused but plugged in appliances - aka "vampire loads" -- make up for five to seven percent of total household electricity use, says a recent report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Frankly, even if you're not into the whole green movement thing, don't you still want to save money on your electric bill (I know you must at least be into THAT green thing)? The takeaway: if it's not in use, unplug it.