Who has time to overhaul the whole house and go from “regular life” to green? Doesn’t Al Gore realize you have a life? Of course! So do it little by little! Take a moment, once a month even, and walk around your house to look for 3 things you could change to have your home be more environmentally friendly. Rome wasn’t built in a day!
Here are some things to look for:
Light bulbs- buy a pack of Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs). Have them on hand to switch out for the regular bulbs when they burn out. Did you know that if every home in the U.S. switched just one bulb, we would save enough energy to light 2.5 millions homes for one year??? That’s outrageous!
Where do you buy them? Target, Home Depot, and many local stores have them. Buy them online at Green Lights. They give 10% of their profits to green causes too! Double points for that!
Unplug things! Cell phone chargers are a major culprit! Don’t just unplug the phone from the charger, take that charger out of the socket! Chargers that are left plugged in are called vampire appliances. Did you know that 95% of the energy used by the charger is wasted? The charger doesn’t even know if there is a cell phone connected on the other end.
Use your drapes! Ok, this may sound hokey at first, but think it out…if the sun is shining through your glass windows, don’t you think it might heat up the room a little? And you have your AC on? Use your drapes- to keep the place cool away from the sun, or welcome the sun and use less heat!
Mind the gaps! Either check yourself, or call in a professional to make sure that there are no “leaks” in the house. Is everything insulated properly?
Turn off the water! No, we didn’t mean entirely! We aren’t that hardcore! But look and see when you can reduce water use! Does everyone in your house turn off the water when brushing their teeth? Did you know that the average person uses 2 gallons of water for brushing if the water is left running?
Use the SHORT CYCLE! Do you know that your dishes and clothes will get just as clean if you use the “quick wash” cycle? Unless you have feasted 3 days ago and let everything sit, you will be fine…try it! Test it out!
Is everything being recycled that could be? Would it help to put an extra can or box near the kids’ desk for recycleable trash?
