It’s easy to go green in your home. And it will save you money while saving the planet. To go green in your home, take stock of energy and water use around you. Reducing hot water consumption brings big energy savings. You’ll get even more savings by installing low-flow attachments to your faucets and showerhead. To further reduce the energy costs of heating water—and go green in your home, bathroom and kitchen—turn your water heater down to 120 degrees F. By wrapping your water heater with a water heater jacket or blanket, you can go green in your home by insulating the heated water.
Another way to go green in your home is to buy Energy Star appliances, to cut down on energy use. You’ll also go green in your home by turning down the thermostat at night and whenever you’re out of the house. Also, replace some incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), which last for many years and slash energy bills. Next, unplug all those vampire electronic devices — the stereo, the cell phone charger, the toaster — that suck power from outlets even when they’re turned off. An easy way to fight the vampires and go green in your home? Plug electronics into a power strip, and switch off the power to all of them at once.
You can also go green in your home — and outside your home — with organic gardening. Organic gardening is easy, and it helps you grow beautiful (and tasty) things without using dangerous chemicals like herbicides and pesticides. To go green in your home, don’t use conventional fertilizers for organic gardening: they’re not made sustainably and they’re filled with nasty chemicals. Organic gardening is as simple as loosening the soil to prepare a bed, adding organic compost, and weeding by hand.Water the soil lightly, spread the seeds, cover them with soil, keep the dirt moist, and voila: you’ve started organic gardening. Organic gardening even includes organic lawn care. To go green in your home and around it, leave natural plants like clover in your grass, making it drought-tolerant and pest-resistant.
Another way to go green in your home is to make sure you use green building techniques. Green building includes things like energy-efficient windows to reduce drafts. Weather-stripping is another way to avoid heat loss, go green in your home, and make your home a green building. Next, make sure to go green in your home by adding attic insulation as needed. Have a green building expert assess your insulation (do not investigate your attic if you suspect it might hold asbestos-containing insulation!). A green building professional will wear protective gear to avoid exposure to dangerous contaminants.
In these few easy steps, you can go green in your home, and make organic changes. You’ll be healthier. And you’ll help save the planet.
