Connie Hickman, Rush Valley: "I save gallon milk jugs to cover tomato plants from the cold. You can use baby food jars to store nails, screws and bolts. Or glue baby food jars together in the shape of a Christmas tree. Drill a hole through the lids and string lights through the jars for a Christmas decoration. I also save and decorate gallon-size ice cream buckets and fill them with fruit for the neighbors at Christmas."

Bill Johnson, Layton: "I try to use a variety of heat sources and whatever will conserve the most energy. That can mean heating up my Dutch ovens and then wrapping them up in towels to continue to cook, since cast iron retains heat. When I cook outside with coals, I use metal flashing wrapped around my stacked Dutch ovens to form a chimney effect and cut the cooking time down by 25-30 percent. I like to travel, and some day I'd like to design a car or truck that I can strap a Dutch oven to the engine manifold so it heats the oven as I drive down the road. Snowmobiles do that now with foil meals attached to their engine's exhaust manifold."

Cathie Mooers, culinary director at Orson Gygi: "I recycle with a compost pail that I store under the counter. All my vegetable, fruit peelings and even coffee grounds go into it. It has a charcoal filter, so it does not stink up the house. From there I throw it into the compost heap — cheaper than fill or fertilizer. The compost pail is $45 at Gygi's, it's stainless steel with a lid, for $45.

I try to use biodegradable cleaning products, such as Mrs. Myers line of cleaning and laundry supplies. They use renewable raw products, use a minimal of preservatives and are very concentrated, so they go a long way. Not only that, they smell good."

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E-mail: vphillips@desnews.com