A couple of weekends ago, I a good friend of mine invited me out on his boat. It was beautiful day, around 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. We headed on up to McCovey Cove to sit outside the San Francisco Giants stadium and enjoy the day. There’s also the small chance that someone will hit a homerun into the boat. And as it turned out John Bowker of the home team delivered his first major league homerun into the water. We never had a chance to retrieve it as someone with a telescoping net from within the stadium scooped it up. Nonetheless, short of winning the lottery it was the perfect day.

Maybe it was the perfect day or maybe I got a little too much sun, but I found myself thinking about the future. How many days like today will I experience? If my wife and I have kids and grandkids, will they be able to enjoy the same fresh air? It was that thought that triggered my wife and me to finally recycle some old electronics that we had sitting around the house. Thought it was a shame that doing the right thing left our wallets $18 lighter (we had to pay to recycle the electronics), we realized that in the grand scheme it’s a small price to pay.

You don’t have to lighten your wallet to make a difference. Here are just a few tips to get you started:

• Use Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs - This is the definitive way to save money and the environment. They are a much more efficient than incandescent bulbs.
• Don’t Drink Bottled Water - Especially avoid imported bottle water. Instead, get a filtered water pitcher and a refillable bottle.
• Read The Good Human. It’s full of tips on how to do things in a more environmentally friendly way. The writer is modest, he’s a great human. I’m only an okay human.
• Recycle Aluminum Cans - The price of aluminum keeps rising. That means people will pay you for your efforts. Some states charge a deposit so by not recycling you are throwing money away.
• Donate Items You Don’t Use To Charity - You can earn yourself a nice tax break.
• Drive a Small Car - I’m not going to suggest you sell your current car and buy a small one, but consider a fuel-efficient car when you buy your next car. Better yet, carpool when you can.

I know you have a lot more tips. Submit your favorites in the comments. Remember, a lot of people doing a few little things can really make a difference.

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Lazy Man has been a lender at Prosper since February 2006. He is the author of the personal finance blog, Lazy Man and Money and the health and fitness blog, Lazy Man and Health.