It’s no big secret that going green is all the rage these days-in fact, being eco-friendly is more popular and well accepted now than ever before in history. The thing is, going green is not only a respectable thing to do for the environment, but also for our own personal pocketbooks too. Here are 51 realistic ways homeowners can go green and save some serious money immediately…

1. Have a new energy efficient HVAC system installed. While the initial financial outlay can be up to several thousand dollars, the energy savings will pay for themselves several times over during the lifespan of the system.

Going green before spring is one of the best possible things you could do this year for your home, for the environment, and for the all important pocketbook. Here are a few great green project ideas to think about…

Why Not Recycle Grey Water?

You’ll need to ask your plumber first about code requirements, but most locales will permit homeowners to convert their grey water-such as the used water from your washing machine-into a valuable renewable resource. Just this one source of used water can add up to hundreds of gallons a year in the average household that would normally go right down the drain, but instead, could be perfectly used for outdoor watering (plants don’t mind the leftover suds at all). Depending on the position of your grey water source and the external water storage tank that’ll be required, a knowledgeable plumbing professional can probably have such a system set up for you in just a day.

At first, it would seem that 2009 is all about saving money. But while things have slowed down a bit, the home improvement industry is certainly not devastated. Want proof? Just take pay a visit to a local home improvement big box store this weekend-yep-there are still plenty of homeowners and contractors alike keeping themselves quite busy with new projects. Keeping all of this in mind, here are what promise to be the top 5 home improvement ideas for 2009.