Being Green at Home is Good for Your Family and Community!
Simple and economical , these MINUTE MEASURES offer ways that allow you to have a real impact on lowering your ecological footprint. In addition, you’ll also help your neighborhood and beyond…
- Close the recycling sphere – After you set out the recycle bins, buy goods made from recycled products. Look for “post consumer” or “recycled” on the over 4,500 recycled-content products available.
- Reduce – take mass transit when possible, don’t buy things via catalogs, turn the thermostat down in the winter and up in the summer, shut of the lights.
- Put in ENERGY STAR label products or other efficient light bulbs or other energy efficient bulbs– on top of the energy savings, there are rebates and tax credits available for certain ENERGY STAR products.
- Power down and unplug home electrics – or unite them to power strips so everything can be shut off for the night or a awau .
On average, 25% of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off.
- Wash clothes in cold water & oppose the drier – the average US household would reduce its carbon dioxide output by 1,281 pounds of a year.
- Update your wardrobe for less – exchange and donating clothes lowers the amount of harmful emissions from manufacturing new clothing.
- Swap CDs, DVDs and books – protect hard earned entertainment captial by buying or swapping used products – online or in town.
- Safety conscious meets energy conscious – driving slower increases fuel effectiveness by up to 23%.
- Eat in the neighborhood and organically – fruits and vegetables typically travel a long distances which adds to carbon waste . Support your local farmer while saving gas.
- Eliminate landscaping waste – during the hot days of summer, lawns and landscaping suck up 40% of household water usage. Put in native grass; invest in a push mower; pull weeds after a rain.
- Change to Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs – they use up to 75% less energy and last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs.
- Fix Leaks – A leaky toilet can squander up to 200 gallons of water daily. Install faucet aerators.
Not running the facet while brushing your teeth can save 200 gallons of water per month.
More easy environmentalliving tips to benefit the local landfill:
- Holiday gift wrap and greeting cards – Try old maps, packing paper or reusable gift bags and recycled paper. Re-fashion and resend favorite cards.
Recycling one ton of paper saves 17 mature trees, 7,000 gallons of water, three cubic yards of landfill space , two barrels of oil, and 4,100 kilowatt-hours of electricity – enough energy to power the average US home for five months.
- Rebuilt electronics can be smart in that it saves you money and it’s better for the landfill.
- Tap water wins! Fill a reusable BPA-free bottle with filtered tap water –literally billions of plastic bottles won’t eat up landfill space.
- Reuse as many items from the kitchen as possible. Items like: plastic silverware, plastic and glass bottles, and even yogurt containers.
Reusing glass translates into the fact that new glass isn’t produced thereby saving 30% of the energy it takes to produce the item in the first place.
- Dispose hazardous waste properly – many cities and businesses offer free collection programs. They may even pay you to recycle.
The internet is an amazing resource for easy green living tips and ways to reduce ecological footprint – National Geographic explains why green is great in a ENJOYABLE way.
How to be green at home strengthens community – when you think of community, think www.hometrax.com!
Posted by Carlos Sagastume on February 11, 2011. Filed under HUD Homes.
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