How Green Living Will Pay You Back

Green living is more than just a hot new trend. It’s a way to live more responsibly so that the resources we have on our planet will be clean and green for our children and grandchildren. If that’s not enough reason to develop green habits for your home, there’s another one that is especially beneficial in uncertain economic times like these.

Making green living choices to reduce energy consumption and reduce waste will almost certainly translate into money savings for your household in reduced energy bills. Here are some tips to get started to live in a way that is environmentally friendly and economically smart.

1. Change your light bulbs. Compact fluorescent lights, or CFLS, are one of the best investments you can make for a green home. They cost a little more but you will receive a return on your investment and more when you consider that they use 75% less electricity than traditional light bulbs and last as much as 10 times as long

2. Green up your thermostat usage. If everyone would just keep the thermostat turned down a few degrees in cold weather and up a few degrees in hot weather, the energy savings would be mind blowing. The difference wouldn’t be enough to effect comfort level, but would be plenty enough to be eco-friendly. If your home is empty for large amounts of time during the day, consider investing in a programmable thermostat. These can be set to kick on half an hour or so before someone is due to arrive home so that the temperature will be comfortable upon entering but energy won’t be wasted when no one is home.

3. Wash clothes with cold water. This is an easy way to save energy costs. Modern day laundry detergents have the same cleaning power in cold water that they do with hot. Since the majority of the energy usage consumed in running the clothes washer goes toward heating water, this small step will make your use of this appliance much more energy efficient.

4. Air dry your clothes. When it’s time to dry those cold-water cleaned clothes, skip the dryer unless you absolutely must use it. Clothes dryers are convenient, but are also energy hogs in the home. Besides, nothing smells as fresh as air dried clothes on a sunny day. You can also air dry them on drying racks in the laundry room or basement.

5. Become energy conservative. Try to make do with a little less in everything you do, from electricity, to food, to gas for the car. Stick to a grocery budget and shopping list and determine the difference between wants and needs. Impulsive purchases can usually be avoided if you make it a rule to wait a day and see if you still must have it. Most of the time, you will either have already forgotten about it, or won’t care anymore. Energy and money will be saved.

It’s not hard to live green, with a little planning and motivation. It only takes 30 to 40 repetitions for something new to become a habit. Start to make some of these suggestions part of your routine today, and you will be well on your way to energy savings in your pocket.

Green Homes Save Money-Find the Hidden Savings in Yours

Green living is the trend toward reducing our environmental impact by conserving energy and reducing waste in our daily lives. Our homes are a great place to develop green habits, because not only will we be doing our part to help the environment but saving energy also means saving money that can be put toward other things. We all need to be more responsible stewards of our resources and good citizens of the planet we live in. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are a few places in your home that with some attention might result in significant energy and cost savings.

1. Use less water. Conserving water is an excellent habit to get into. Replace traditional toilets with more efficient low flow ones which use 1.25 gallons to flush as opposed to 3.5 gallons. Imagine the savings in your water bills, as this one change can cut down your home’s water usage by 20,000 gallons each year.

2. Only use the clothes washer and dishwasher when they are full. The good news is that if you run the dishwasher when it is full, you actually use less water than you would if you washed dishes by hand. When in the market for these appliances, buy energy efficient models. The extra cost will be returned over the lifetime of the appliance in energy bill savings.

3. Wash clothes in cold water. Most of the energy needed to run your clothes washer is used up heating the water. Today’s laundry detergents can clean efficiently in cold water, so keep the hot water turned off. Your clothes will still look great and you will be saving energy.

4. Tighten your home’s thermal envelope. The thermal envelope is everything that protects the inside living space from the outside elements. Efficient insulation is very important, especially in the attic space and wall cavities, which can be filled with insulating foam.

5. Seal up doors and windows. At the very least, examine doors and windows for air leaks and seal them up. Any leaks make your heating or cooling system inefficient and drain energy. If you’re in a position to upgrade your windows, consider double-glazed or even triple-glazed insulating glass. These are hermetically sealed, which means they have maximum insulating properties due to the fact that the air sealed between the panes is isolated from the environment outside. They are much more efficient than single paned windows because they greatly decrease heat loss.

6. Change your light bulbs. Traditional light bulbs are not very efficient compared to the compact fluorescent variety (CFLs). CFLs cost a little more than regular light bulbs, but only use 5% of the electricity and last up to 10 times longer. Even better than that, newer LED lights are even more efficient and long-lasting than CFLs. Energy efficient light bulbs are an easy purchase that can get you going green in no time at all.

Anyone can use some of these suggestions to start living a green lifestyle at home. Every eco-friendly change can result in savings in your pocket and more manageable energy bills. If you care about being environmentally responsible, you can’t afford not to live green in your home.

Why Conserve Rainwater?

Nature provides a free water source to keep the earth green and flourishing. Why not take advantage of it? By harvesting rainwater to use on your plants, you can save money and be able to keep your plants hydrated even during restrictions due to water shortages or droughts. It is an easy, excellent addition to a green lifestyle to conserve natural resources and protect the environment.

With the investment of a rain barrel, you can make use of rainwater after it has stopped falling. You can use a hose pipe to water landscapes, your garden, lawns, and trees. In many instances it is even better for your plants than potable water because it is naturally soft and doesn’t have added chemicals like chlorine, fluoride, or sodium. It can also be used to wash cars or pets, wash down patios and patio furniture, or as ‘grey water’ in your home to flush toilets and conserve gallons of potable water. With a specialized water treatment filtration system, you can even use rainwater for drinking.

All that you need to get started is a barrel, cistern, or even a bucket. Make sure that you use a fine screen on top to keep animals, children, and mosquitoes out. This is especially important to prevent West Nile virus exposure. If you add a little bit of soap or oil to the surface, it becomes unfavorable for mosquitoes to lay their eggs there. You also want to use the water frequently without letting it stand too long. Keeping the water aerated and moving can prevent bacteria from proliferating there.

The best way to collect rainwater is to put your collecting container under a down pipe. When rainwater is drained off the roof and collected in the gutters, it then drains down the down pipe and into the rainwater collector. There are kits available to build interlinking collectors so that a greater quantity of water can be harvested. There are all different sized rain barrels available, but the most popular hold between 50 and 80 gallons of rainwater. You can easily just use a sturdy trash barrel or plastic 55-gallon barrel available from food processors or importers.

In many drier areas, rain barrels have become an integral part of water conservation efforts. But you don’t have to live in a drier climate to make good use of rainwater conservation. Outdoor watering can account for as much as 40% of home water use. Rain harvesting is an easy way to cut down your home water usage significantly and still have a flourishing outdoor environment.

Another great benefit of rainwater collection systems is that they can reduce the volume of storm water during heavy rainfall, prevent flooding, lessen erosion, and decrease overloaded storm sewers. Because it reduces the demand for groundwater supplies, rainwater collection allows these sources, such as reservoirs, to replenish. This is very important during dry seasons or in areas with high water demand.

Rainwater harvesting has multiple benefits. Making use of nature’s free water supply reduces utility costs, eases up demand on water supplies, and prevents flooding and erosion by reducing storm water runoff. Why conserve rainwater? If living a green lifestyle is your goal, there is no reason not to.

Reduce Waste at Home-Getting Started

We all want to do our part to ensure a better environment, one that will be clean and green for generations to come. But it’s hard to get motivated when you think how big the world is we’re trying to save. What can one person possibly do to make a difference? The answer is plenty. Consider that by recycling one glass bottle, the energy you’ve redeemed is the equivalent of what it would take to power a light bulb (100 watts) for four hours. By recycling a pound of steel, enough energy is saved to power a light bulb (60 watts) for an entire day.

Multiple that one bottle or one pound by all that you can recycle in one year, and you can see what a difference one family can make. It is well worth the effort to reduce waste at home, and can quickly add up to a significant impact on saving energy. It takes some planning and effort, but isn’t at all hard to get started. Here are some ideas for you to incorporate into your daily routine:

1. Recycle – This is becoming a way of life for most American families. Keep some labeled bins in your garage to keep recyclable materials in until there’s enough to take to the curb for collection or to a local recycling center. Most communities have recycling programs for plastics, aluminum and metals, glass, newspaper, and even junk mail.

2. Get Involved – If there aren’t any local facilities for recycling in your community, join with others to try to get one started. There are government incentives available for green communities, and it can benefit everyone.

3. Reuse – Take the word disposable out of your shopping vocabulary. Only purchase items that can be reused. Use durable plates, flatware and cups instead of paper and plastic, and use cloth napkins. They’ll provide a nice touch to your table setting.

4. Get Creative – When items in your home become worn or unusable, think outside the box for a way to give them a new ‘life’ before throwing them away. For example, use old clothing for rags, craft scraps, or quilting squares. Old jeans can be made into handbags. If furniture is worn out, consider reupholstering for a brand new look. It will save a tremendous amount of manufacturing and transporting energy over buying new.

5. Give it Away – Some items that your family can no longer use, such as clothing that has been outgrown, might still have a lot of use for someone else. Be generous with gently used items. You probably have friends or family that can use them. If not, you can donate items to charity, thrift stores, or consignment shops.

6. Look for Used Items – Consider being on the receiving end of gently used items before buying new. You’d be surprised what you can find at thrift and consignment stores, flea markets, or garage sales. They are still new to you and can give your family lots of use at a low cost.

This is just a small sample of all the eco-friendly things you can do at home to make an impact for the whole planet. Any one person can make a big difference. Why not start today?

Recycling Basics to Get You Started

Resolving global warming might be out of reach for the average energy consumer. But there are things that anyone can do to make a difference to make a positive impact on the world around them. Recycling is a great thing that anyone can start to do for the planet. It saves a tremendous amount of energy and cuts back on non-biodegradable waste. Collectively, if we all did our part to recycle and reduce our home waste output, we could be ensuring a cleaner and greener earth for generations to come. It’s easy to get started and can soon be part of your home routine.

In order to find out what items are recyclable, examine the container for the recycle seal. The seal is a triangular sign with the letter R and a number that stands for the type of material which can help you know where to recycle. Make sure your recyclable items are rinsed out and clean. You can keep them in labeled bins so that they are already sorted and ready to go.

Many communities have recycling services. Because of government incentives and grant money available to green communities with effective recycling programs, there aren’t many communities that don’t have something available. In some areas, particularly large cities, recycling is mandatory, and to not participate could result in a fine. Some towns have a service that picks items up curbside. Other communities have facilities where you can drop items off. If there is nothing currently available where you live, consider getting together with neighbors or friends to see what you can do to get one started.

Here are some of the items that are recyclable in most communities:

• Plastics – check plastic containers to make sure they are recyclable. Make every effort to recycle plastic, as it will never break down in a landfill, and can be re-made into many diverse and useful items.
• Glass – most facilities require glass separated by color: clear, green, and brown. Make sure to recycle light bulbs, mirrors, and sheet glass separately.
• Aluminum Cans – some areas even reimburse recyclers for aluminum cans.
• Paper – keep newspaper separate, as it can go back into recycled newsprint. For other paper, remove all rubber bands and plastic wrap.
• Cardboard – this includes corrugated cardboard baled together and tied, and plastic lined drink cartons.

Other materials that may be recyclable but have to be taken to specially approved facilities include motor oil, batteries, metals, and paint. Some major chain office supply stores will take used rechargeable batteries or cell phones free of charge.

So many things that we use can be recycled. This allows materials to be reused to make something else that is needed, after it is specially cleaned and melted down. Items made from recycled items are called post consumer recycled content. You can purchase door mats made from old flip flops, paper products from old newspaper, or even a toothbrush from post consumer recycled content.

There is no limit to what can be made from materials that would otherwise be filling our landfills without decomposing. Recycling helps to save natural resources and contributes to a cleaner and greener environment. Besides creating jobs and saving waste and energy, it also saves money.

Green Composting Ideas for Your Home

Would you like to cut down on the amount of garbage your household generates and make your garden more hearty and flourishing at the same time? Composting your home’s organic waste is the perfect way to do both of these things. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 23% of all waste that ends up in landfills is yard waste or organic food waste that can be used instead to make compost. Compost is simply the decomposition of once living materials into humus, which is an excellent, nutrient filled addition to enrich garden or houseplant soil. It’s easy to do and well worth the effort.
As our planet is running out of landfill space and people everywhere are looking for ways to live green and reduce waste, composting is becoming more and more popular. However, there is nothing new about it. It happens in nature all the time. Rotting leaves are broken down and return to the soil where the nutrients are used to enrich roots and create new life.
Creating a compost pile in your home is a useful way to reuse leftover food scraps, especially fruits and vegetables. It cuts down on the amount of garbage your home generates, which is good for the environment. It also saves money you would normally spend on fertilizer. Plus, it can effectively boost and enrich your garden in a completely natural way with no harsh or dangerous chemicals.
The benefits of composting don’t stop with a fruitful, chemical free home garden. Compost has the natural ability to control pests and plant diseases and pests. On a larger scale, composting can be used as a low-cost way to capture and eliminate most of the industrial volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) in polluted air. It can even assist wetlands restoration, reforestation, and habitat revitalization efforts by mitigating contaminated soil.
To get started creating your own compost pile in your yard, you can build a bin from untreated wood. It only needs to be three feet by three feet and won’t take up much space. You want to balance brown materials like leaves or hay with green materials like grass or vegetable tops by alternating these two material types in layers. Soil or booster can be added to facilitate the decomposition process, but isn’t necessary. It is important to turn the pile multiple times each week so that oxygen can flow and boost the rate of decomposition.

If you don’t have enough space in your yard or don’t have the motivation to build a compost bin, you can do it right in your home. You can get bins designed just for your kitchen that don’t take up much space and help to accelerate the decomposition process while keeping any unpleasant odor from permeating your home. You can keep your kitchen scraps there until you are able to empty the bin onto your compost pile.

As landfill space diminishes and we all look for ways to reduce waste and practice sustainable living to help the environment and save household costs, composting may soon become as common as recycling. Waste can be converted to a valuable resource for a healthy, hearty garden. Why not look into starting your own compost pile or bin?

Five Important Reasons to Recycle Plastic Bottles

Plastic has made our lives very convenient, giving easy portability to our favorite beverages. Plastic bottles are lighter than glass, easier to pack for traveling, and virtually unbreakable. We don’t have to give up our plastic bottles to make a difference for the environment. The plastic used for most plastic bottles happens to be a recyclable material. With just a little effort, anyone can recycle all of their plastic bottles and make a tremendous impact for a cleaner and greener earth.

There are five main areas that stand to benefit with widespread recycling of plastic bottles. It can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve oil, provide the means to reuse the material for a new purpose, conserve energy, and save landfill space.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The manufacturing process for new items requires a great amount of energy and emits pollution by releasing greenhouse gases into the environment. When items are recycled to make new ones, much less processing is required. There is an output of needed product with a great deal less pollution.

Oil Conservation

One of the greatest factors driving our economy is the price of a barrel of oil. It affects the price of other staples, including gas and food. Not many people realize that recycling plastic bottles saves oil. Consider that for every ton of recycled bottles, close to four oil barrels are saved.

Reuse Benefits

You might be amazed at what could become of that plastic bottle after it’s been recycled. They are broken down and used to make a variety of useful new items. Chances are there are items in your home that are partly made from post consumer recycled content. Used plastic bottles could be living on in carpeting, deck materials, or even a fashionable jacket. New products are produced with recycled materials without added costs or pollution.

Energy Conservation

Those plastic bottles that hold water and most soft drinks contain Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET). PET is a virtual storehouse of energy. By recycling only one pound of PET, you’ve redeemed up to 12,000 BTU’s of energy. Add that to the fact that it only takes a third of the energy to manufacture products from recycled content compared to new, and the energy savings is tremendous.

Landfill Preservation

Landfill space is unfortunately at a premium. There just isn’t enough room to put all of our garbage output. Any effort to reduce the amount of trash taking up space on our earth is well worth it. Plastic bottles are not biodegradable, and could continue to take up space in a landfill long after your children and grandchildren are gone. Think of the waste that could be eliminated and landfill space saved if everyone recycled their plastic bottles. For every ton of plastic recycled, close to 7.5 cubic yards of landfill space is freed up.

When you consider these areas that stand to benefit by recycling plastic and how imperative they are to the sustainability of our planet and a clean environment, there is no excuse not to recycle. There are programs in almost every community and local collection centers to make it easy. Start today to save those bottles and recycle them for a better tomorrow.

Easy Green Living: Tree Free Your Home

Making you home tree free has nothing to do with the number of trees on your property. It actually has to do with your indoor environment and how much paper waste your home generates.

Although disposable paper products might simplify our lives, they contribute to a vast amount of home waste that our planet doesn’t need. They also use up a valuable commodity in our world: trees! Did you know that in the United States, each person uses more than 580 pounds of paper each year? By reusing non-disposable items instead of paper, and taking some of the following suggestions, we’d all be doing our part have a clean, green, sustainable earth for generations to come.

Napkins and Paper Towels

In the United States alone, 3,000 tons of paper towels are sent to landfills each day. By using cloth products such as tea towels or cloth napkins and washing them and reusing them, just think of all the waste that you can save. It is estimated that this one little eco-friendly habit can also save families more than $100 annually.

Paper Plates

No one likes to do the dishes, but paper plates do nothing to help a home become tree free. Washing and reusing durable dishes can save a lot of paper. Can the inconvenience of running the dishwasher a few more times compare to the inconvenience of a polluted earth with no more available landfill space?

Newspapers

Every Sunday in the United States, about 500,000 trees are wasted in newspapers that are not recycled. It doesn’t take that much effort to recycle newspapers, and is worth the time. Most recycling centers will take them baled and tied, and they can be recycled to make new newsprint. Better yet, consider reading your newspaper online and there is no waste and nothing to recycle.

Junk Mail

Each year, the average household receives the equivalent of one and half trees in junk mail. Though it might be annoying, there are a few things you can do about unsolicited junk mail. You can sort through and recycle what isn’t glossy or plastic lined. Though it takes time and effort, call, write or email companies or agencies you receive junk mail from and request to be removed from the mailing list.

Toilet Paper

Granted, there thankfully aren’t any reusable substitutes for toilet paper. But an environmentally friendly option is to buy post consumer recycled content for all of your necessary paper items. Read labels to try to find the highest recycled content possible, and make sure the items are bleach free.

Writing Paper

Besides buying recycled content writing and printer paper, you can also recycle paper you have in your home. Print on both sides. Use the back of used papers for scrap to write notes or take messages. Consider putting up a dry erase message board in your kitchen that you can reuse to take messages and you will automatically be saving paper waste.

It might take some effort to make your home tree free, but it is well worth it. Any of these ideas can help your family to have a green home and free up landfill space. Keep the trees out of your home so that they continue to sustain and beautify the environment.

Basic Reuse Ideas to Green Up Your Life

Reusing items is one of the easiest things that anyone can do to live a green lifestyle at home. Most of us do it without even thinking about it. We save Christmas gift boxes to reuse next Christmas, we reuse coffee cans as a container for nails, cardboard paper towel holders and egg cartons for children’s craft products, plastic containers to hold leftovers… the possibilities go on and on. Even those leftovers are one night’s dinner reused as another meal or snack. When you find a new use for something that would otherwise be thrown out or redevelop it to be used again, you save waste and conserve energy.

Reuse might seem like a trivial idea, but it can make a huge difference. Landfill space is quickly running out. Our planet doesn’t need any more trash. Anything that we can keep out of landfills is beneficial to the environment. Reusing items rather than buying new also saves natural resources and energy.

Here are some methods of reuse that anyone can take advantage of to help the environment:

Recycling for Money

Some areas actually allow you to put down a deposit on plastic or glass containers, which is refunded when the container is returned. There are also places where you can turn in aluminum cans for a small reimbursement without any deposit required. This can be a great activity for kids to get involved in. If there are children in your home and a program like this is available, encourage them to collect as much as they can to make a little of their own spending money. It’s a great way to teach them about earning money and also helping the environment.

Regiving

Regiving is a form of reuse that you’ve probably been doing for years. It’s been around for a long time and is now considered green living. If clutter has built up in your home, try to identify items that aren’t being used but can still have use for someone else. Chances are there are items that you own and no longer want or need that can be a blessing to someone. If you don’t have any friends or family members that can use them, there are charities and thrift stores that take donations.

Conversely, when you need an item, try to find a reused product before buying new. Check out a website like freecycle.com, where people grouped by location can list items they no longer need, so that all takers have to do is reply and arrange to pick them up. Sites such as Craigslist.com have local listings of resale items that are usually great bargains. Or if you love bargain hunting, make a hobby out of local yard sale or consignment shop prospecting.

Remanufacturing

Many items can be remanufactured or refurbished for resale and are just as good as new. Consider buying remanufactured items such as cell phones, disposable cameras, or toner to save money and reduce environmental waste.

Reusing is a great way to help the environment. Not only do you keep waste out of landfills and save energy and resources from the manufacturing of new products, but you will be living green and saving green too.

Is it Possible to be 100% Energy Independent?

Is energy independence just a fantasy, or is it truly possible to live ‘off grid’ and generate all of your home’s needed power from natural, renewable sources? If you are considering doing everything you can to go green, energy independence might be your ultimate goal. Not only does it contribute to a cleaner environment, but it results in long term energy savings.

Going off grid means severing all ties with the utility company. You will no longer need them because all the power needed for your home will be generated on your own property. Sometimes, green homes are achieved by having wind or solar power transferred to them after being produced off site. Even if this is completely environmentally friendly, it still isn’t technically considered going off grid, because the power doesn’t originate on your land. Truly off grid living means being completely independent and generating all energy on your own without relying on any utility to deliver power.

Off grid homes are becoming more and more popular in the worldwide trend to go green, but they aren’t anything new. People who live in very remote areas have had no choice but to find ways to generate power themselves, without any access to power lines. Solar or wind power have been powering homes in this situation for years. The difference is that now, people are seeking energy independence and off grid living even with access to local power utilities.

Green homes can achieve complete energy independence and be self sustaining with power created on site, or supplement local power usage with natural, renewable sources. This can greatly reduce energy bills and be a great step towards energy independence. In some instances, it might be possible to produce more energy than is needed and sell it back to the utility company. This eliminates waste, helps to share clean energy, and can generate a little extra savings.

If going off grid is your goal, you need to carefully consider and choose a power source for your home. The two most sustainable and popular choices are solar power or wind power. When you’ve made your decision and done your research, you need to set aside the time and money required to install your system and make the necessary changes to your home. It takes a lot of effort to make such a big change, but there are government incentives and rebates in almost every state or locality to help to make the investment affordable. Then, or course, the investment will continue to pay off in greatly reduced utility bills for the lifetime of the system.

Switching over to renewable energy requires a lot of research and transition. If this isn’t possible for you right now, don’t give up on the possibility of green power. Contact your local electricity company to request green power options. If it is available, a company representative can tell you what you need to do to switch over and what costs are involved.

It is possible to be completely energy independent, but takes a great deal of research, investment, and change. Solar or wind power can completely power or supplement the energy needs of your home. For green living and energy cost savings, it is worth investigating all of the options.

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