You may not be able to escape doing the laundry, but you can avoid spending more than you have to on your energy bill. How? Switch to cold water. About 90 percent of the energy your washing machine soaks up goes to heating water. Better still, washing in cold water keeps colors from fading and helps many fabrics last longer.

And one more tip: completely fill the machine before you run it. A single large load instead of multiple medium or small loads saves time, water, energy and money.

ecologue is a contributor to HGTV Green Home.