home | Eco-Friendly Quick Tips & Facts
- If your neighborhood recycles then buy products around what kinds of things you can recycle. If your neighborhood doesn’t have a recycling program than start one!
- Make sure that the products you buy have packages that can be easily recycled.
- Buy food that’s grown in your area. It takes much less fuel to get to you and it supports local farmers.
- Use reusable bags when you go shopping. If you forget to bring your canvas bag then reuse the plastic bags for trash bags or donate them to your local Salvation Army or Goodwill.
- Use lights only when necessary. Make sure to turn off the lights once you leave a room. Consider installing a skylight to get natural lighting.
- Go to garage sales and host a few of your own; it’s a great way to reuse products.
- Refill your ink cartridges instead of buying new ones. If you must buy a new one, then recycle the old one.
- Energy Star certified dishwashers use 860 gallons less water per year than conventional models.
- If you switch from an air conditioner to fans, you'd lower your cooling costs 30%.
- Since hot water dissolves contaminants like lead and copper more quickly than cold water, it's more likely that metals from your pipes will leach into hot water and taint your food.
- Seal leaks around windows, doors and floors, especially in the attic or basement to lower your summer electricity bills.
- It takes around 20 to 1,000 (I presume that's a guess) years for plastic bags to degrade, depending on sunlight and air exposure.
- Use dishtowels instead of paper towels when cleaning up messes and spills.
- Recycle your cell phone.
- Turn off lights when you aren't in a room to lower energy costs and save electricity.
- Bring reusable bags to the supermarket when you do your shopping.
- When building a new home or renovating use bamboo flooring.
- Turn off your computer when not in use.
- Check the temperature in your freezer and your refrigerator and adjust so it doesn't use as much energy to keep things cold.
- Water plants in the morning so the water doesn't evaporate as much, since the sun isn't as strong.
- When mowing your grass, cut it longer, try to do it less often and mow it in the coolest part of the day.
- Fuel your car in the morning or at the coolest part of the day.
- Microwave foods in glass containers, plastic wraps and containers can emit harmful chemicals into your food.
- Buy local and support your nearby farmers.
- Swapping out standard incandescent bulbs for ENERGY STAR? qualified compact fluorescents in your five most frequently used fixtures could trim as much as $60 off your yearly energy bill.
- Use VOC-free paint when painting the interior of a new home or renovating an older home.
- Park your car in the shade especially during the summer to reduce fuel evaporation.
- Buy Energy Star appliances.
- Join a "green" club instead of a book club and help your local community become more environmentally responsible.
- Install a programmable thermostat into your home.
- Unplug appliances when they aren't being used.
- Clean your home the "green" way with green cleaning products.
- Get rid of plastic water bottles and start using a stainless steel water bottle that is safe to reuse.
- Use plastic dishware instead of buying paper plates for barbecues and picnics throughout the summer.
- Grow your own garden and grow herbs and plants indoors to reduce VOC levels inside your home.
- Clean your lint filter in your dryer often, a dirty filter causes 30% more energy to be used.
- One sponge can last as long as 17 rolls of paper towels. Be sure to sanitize it by running it in the microwave for 2 minutes once a week to kill bacteria.
- Never use disinfectants to clean a refrigerator. The food inside will pick up the taste and odor of the cleaning solution. Warm soapy water works well and is a less harmful choice.
- To freshen the air in your home, put a few drops of lemon juice in your vacuum bag when you change it. The fresh smell will spread throughout the house when you vacuum.
- Adding a skylight is one of the quickest ways to make any room brighter, creating an open and airy feeling. Skylights produce a top-lit architectural drama that windows often can't match. Plus, dollar-for-dollar, they'll usually bring in more light than windows.
- Around 50 percent of heat loss in the average home is through loft space and walls. Proper insulation can be an investment initially, but could end up saving you hundreds of dollars over the life span of your home.
- In the winter, opening drapes and curtains on sunny days takes advantage of the sun's heating power. Then, close all drapes, blinds or shades at night in the winter to make use of their insulating properties.
- Any joints between building materials is a likely place to find heated air leaking out of the house. If two dissimilar materials meet, the chances of air leakage are even greater. When tightening up your house for the fall, scrutinize these areas with particular care.
- Heat loss through windows represents a significant amount of most heating bills. Some sources estimate that heat loss through windows alone could account to 35 percent of heating bills. In home designs that feature multiple or large windows, it is important to caulk cracks, install clear plastic film to the window trim inside the house or decorate windows for efficiency. Decorating solutions include closed shutters, shades, blinds or lined draperies. For long-range solutions, installing storm windows and doors will eliminate problem drafts.
- Ceiling fans can save energy in both the summer and the winter. In the summer, fan blades should revolve in a counterclockwise direction. In winter months, set your fan at its slowest speed and reverse it in order to push warm air down.
- Fill empty spaces in your refrigerator and freezer with water jugs. You'll save energy and money because it takes more energy to run an empty refrigerator and freezer than a full one.
- To maximize efficiency, wash only full loads of clothes when possible and always clean the dryer's lint filter after every load.
back to top