Green Right Now reports that people are increasingly finding that reusing and recycling items in their homes not only helps save the planet, it helps save money. Here are some other areas where it might be easy to be green and frugal at the same time — for more tips and the complete story, see greenrightnow.com:

• Let’s have a cup of coffee. Do you use paper coffee filters? A permanent coffee filter will cost you about $8 to $10. A common kind of paper filters costs about $2 for 40, so if you drink coffee daily the permanent filter will pay for itself in six months. After that, it’ll save you $18-$20 a year. And while we’re talking about coffee, do you throw out the grounds? They’re useful even if you haven’t (yet!) started a compost pile. Put a container in your fridge where you keep used grounds, and then once a week take them out and work them into the soil around rose bushes, hydrangeas (especially if you want them blue!), azaleas, blueberries, laurels, rhododendrons or other acid-loving plants; you can also sprinkle them in bare spots in the lawn, but if you have pets, be sure to work them down into the dirt.

• Turn off the computer. “Enable the power management features on your computers,” said Denise Durrett of Communications Support with the EPA’s Energy Star program. Letting a computer hibernate during the hours you aren’t using it can save $12 to $90 a year, Durrett said. When you aren’t using your television or other electronics, unplug them or turn off the power strips. “Your electronics – computer, TV, VCR, even your phone chargers – use energy even when they’re turned off,” says the EPA’s Environment, Health and Safety Online website. “Stand-by power can account for as much as 20% of home energy use.”

• Unplug the cell phone charger. “There are more than 5 power adapters for every person in the United States,” Durrett said. “That’s over 2 billion total. People have a habit of not unplugging the charger from the wall after the phone’s charged.” If every charger was an Energy Star approved charger, or was unplugged when not in use, it would mean a savings nationally of more than 5 billion kilowatt hours a year.

• Can you reuse instead of recycle? You’ve got the habit of tossing recyclables in the bin. Cheers! But are there items you could make better use of? Baby food jars or spice jars, for example, can be washed and reused as containers in school lunches (unless you have a klutz for a kid, in which case re-usable plastic is still probably your best friend).

• Bottled water: We love bottled water. We unabashedly adore it. We are especially grateful for it when we’re in a convenience store and don’t want soda. But those bottles add up, both in the landfill and in the budget. Say you buy a case of bottled water once a week for $5. That’s $260 a year. Say you buy a refillable water bottle (be sure to get one labeled BPA-free) and use it. That’s $260 in your pocket.

• Dryer sheets: If you use dryer sheets, most of them will easily work for two loads of laundry; you’ll end up buying half the boxes of dryer sheets you used to buy. And after you’ve dried clothes with them, put the dryer sheet in a container near your cleaning supplies. They make great dust cloths for everything from furniture to computer screens, they hold up to cleaning products, and they’ll even clean glass without smears.

For the rest of the tips and the complete story, go to greenrightnow.com.

It’s time to move beyond those trendy, lightweight, loose, fringed scarves that have been hanging around since summer. It is chilly (or will be soon) and you need a substantial scarf to stay warm. A classic, beautiful scarf that will stand the test of time, that is. Here are some picks from Shopperati:

1. Calvin Klein wants to hug your neck, snuggle your chin and warm your ears, with his luscious cashmere logo scarf in blue, brown, camel or gray ($90, above left).

2. Ralph Lauren hopes to be equally close to your vest, but with a Polo logo and a prep attitude from his lambs wool argyle scarf (charcoal or cypress, $60, above right).

3. You won’t get bright colors or wild stripes from either of those boys, though. Let’s do a little bit of global warming and visit Novica.com, with handcrafted work from around the world. A beautifully striped Alpaca wool scarf is created by Patricia Anaya in Peru ($60, above left).

4. Another Novica find, a blue and burgundy Alpaca scarf named Peacefulness (above, center) is made by Alfredo Falcon.

5. From India, an artist named Sajad works on a traditional Kashmiri loom, as did his ancestors, to create  hand-woven wool scarves, also from Novica ($43, above right).

6. Globe-trot a little more to find Hartford York’s heritage cashmere scarf from West Yorkshire, England. The soft mix of grays and rusts will coordinate with most any coat ($150, above left).

7. No one knows cold weather like the folks at Land’s End (They’re headquartered in Wisconsin, don’tcha know?). Their adult ThermaCheck 100 scarf comes in 17 colors for a mere $12.50 (above, right).

8. Need a thinner scarf for your work-day wardrobe? Try their cashmere skinny scarf, just 5″ wide ($29.50, above left).

9. and 10. Virginia-based J.Crew, no slouch in the weather department themselves, bundles you up in a pretty Fair Isle pattern ($30, above right) or a floaty Italian cashmere in powder pink, soft pewter, sweet cucumber or sea mist ($150, below).

11. Want a one-way ticket to sophistication? Go straight to Burberry. Their giant-check fringed cashmere muffler will get you through the cold in classic style ($350, below).

See photos and more at Shopperati. And see more style picks in Fall Fashion and Shoes and Accessories.

Shopperati attempts to decipher the completely mixed fashion messages in this season’s fall collections. Here are some scene-stealers for your closet this fall.

1. On the A-List: The Waist – We know! We hate sit-ups too! But fall’s collections highlight the waist in so many pretty ways you’ll be inspired to work out. (That’s a nonfat latte, right?) Dresses are cinched, sweaters and coats are belted, and the peplum waist gets some flattering reinterpretations.

2. Outrageous Lengths — In Bridget Jones’ Diary, a computer message from her boss appears on Bridget’s screen: “You appear to have forgotten your skirt… Is skirt off sick?” The inquiry leads to all manner of fabulous comedy and inappropriate behavior. Yet his point is valid: If a skirt doesn’t actually cover the geography south of the waist, is it even there?

3. Mixing Our Metaphors — Go into your closet. Pick out three, maybe four pieces that don’t go together at all, in any way – fabric, texture, length, theme or color. Got them? OK, now put them on. Beautiful! And not only is it legal this season, it’s in style!

4. In Over our Heads — We love sweaters. It is an irrational and unrequited love, as we have lived most of our life in warm places. Still, we swoon. This year, the sweater is oversize, but not necessarily sloppy. It’s often belted, and rarely an understatement.

5. Open Up the Vault — When trend-watchers say “jewel tones,” here’s what they mean: faceted birthstone colors shining between the blacks and grays. 

6. Plaiditudes — The feathers, the fur, the obsessive mixing of shearling and tweed and lace and silk? It’s all about texture. Now add plaid, with an attitude.

7. It’s all longitude — It’s fairly mandatory that models be long and lean, so they tend not to need this advice. But clearly, one of the best ways to hide a figure flaw or two is to go monochrome – wear one color, head to toe. It lengthens your torso and fools the eye.

8. Our Bias is Showing — Resist the urge to get out the scissors or safety pins. Those hems and seams are crooked – in the fashion world, we say asymmetrical - by design, meant to shake up the status quo a bit. And not just in the expected smattering of one-shoulder dresses, either.

9. Gam Chic — Honestly, we aren’t certain how to interpret what’s beneath the skirts this season. To look at all the tights, leggings and super-high boots out there, it’s as though no one wants to see our legs ever, ever again.

10. Coats to cuddle in — Ever wish you could just take a blanket with you on a cold day, wrap it around your shoulders and keep the winter out? These coats will do just that. While they come in varying shapes and styles, each looks incredibly competent as a cocoon.

For more details on fall fashions for ‘08, including links and more photos, go to Shopperati.