So, you've decided you want to go green. Time to ditch
everything leather, along with all the meat in your diet, buy a bike, and turn
your backyard into a composting garden. You ready?
You could make all these drastic changes - go "cold
turkey" eco - or you could make these nine small changes that make a big
eco-friendly difference.
1. Being eco - friendly will not only lower your carbon
footprint and allow you to do your part for the environment, but it can also
pay you back financially, said Better Homes and Gardens in their "10 no-
or low - cost ways to lessen your impact on the planet, create a healthier
house and garden, and even fatten your wallet."
Start with your light bulbs. "Installing a compact
fluorescent bulb (CFL) is the quickest, easiest way to save energy -- and
money," said BHG. "Unlike incandescents, CFLs convert most of the
energy they use into light rather than heat."
That translates to less cost over the life of the bulb - a
savings Better Homes and Gardens says can be $83 for one 75-watt incandescent bulb
swapped out for a 25-watt CFL. That's big when you consider that Energy.gov
says energy for lighting accounts for about 10% of the average family's
electric bill.
75-watt incandescent bulb
2. That gorgeous French door refrigerator you've had your
eye on? Here's another great reason to buy it: It could actually save you
money! Older appliances can be energy suckers. Check Energy Star and take their
test to see how much energy you could be saving by upgrading your fridge.
According to Energy Star, "a household with Energy Star
products uses about 30% less energy than the average household -- an annual
savings of about $570."
3. Do a home audit. A home audit can give you a close-up
look at your home's energy usage and identify areas that could be more efficient.
But Fox Business estimates and audit would cost between $300 and $500. If
you're just trying to shave a few bucks off your electric bill in the
summertime, it might make sense to go another route, like a self-audit of the
most likely suspects. (Energy.gov recommends starting by making "a list of
obvious air leaks (drafts)," because the "potential energy savings
from reducing drafts in a home may range from 5% to 30% per year.")
But if you're about to spend $15,000 on new windows, a few
hundred bucks of before-hand checks won't hurt. You can get more information
about home audits here.
4. Talk about simple. Improving your eco-friendliness and
removing toxic substances from your house is as easy as buying a spray bottle
and a bottle of vinegar. If you really want to get crazy, get a couple of
lemons and some olive oil too.
"As many as a third of Americans have an adverse
reaction to common household chemicals. Safer products can save you money,
too," said Martha Stewart. "While furniture polish will set you back
about $4, cleaning with 1/4 cup of distilled white vinegar and a few drops of
olive oil costs mere cents.
See the Daily Green for some easy green cleaning recipes.
5. Switch to showers. A typical bath takes 30 to 70 gallons
of water, while the average eight-minute shower uses only 17 gallons, said
Martha Stewart. If you just can't bear to can't give up your weekly soak,
installing low-flow shower heads and toilets will help offset the greater water
usage.
6. Recycle your water. It's far easier (and way less
disgusting) than it sounds. "For many areas of the United States,
rainwater harvesting systems could probably provide at least 50% of our water
needs, saving the huge amounts of energy required to process the water and
transport it to the home," said Live Green. All you need is a 50-80 gallon
rain barrels that you can connect to your downspout, and rainwater collected
can be used for gardening.
7. Recycle…your clothes. We all know about recycling paper,
plastic, and glass. But what about clothes? Donating your unused clothes. Has
an impact on the environment, and on the individuals who receive your
items."
"By some estimates, for every item of clothing donated,
27 pounds of carbon emissions are reduced based on the fact that you don't
another item being produced while one is headed to the landfill," said
Real Simple. You can donate to a local charity or list your items on
Freecycle.org.
8. Hold on to that holey pair of sweats or the t-shirt you
never got rid of from your college ex and turn it into a rag to clean with.
"13 billion pounds of paper towels are used in the U.S. every year. If all
Americans used one less paper towel a day, 571,230,000 pounds of paper would be
spared over the course of the year," said Earth 911.
9. Go Meatless on Mondays, says Real Simple. Think you can
handle a day a week living like a vegetarian? "Raising livestock produces
a large amount of greenhouse gases, so cutting back, even one night per week,
makes a big difference.
How big a difference? "Adding one meat-free meal per
week (for a family of four) has the same impact as driving a hybrid car,"
Written by Jaymi Naciri Realty Times
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