Posts Tagged ‘ saving energy ’

Go Green at Home, Even on a Budget

Jul 19th, 2008 | By Wise Snob | Category: Sustainable Living
Rating 3.00 out of 5

green4 Go Green at Home, Even on a BudgetYou don’t have to buy a Prius to be eco-friendly. In fact, there are a lot of other little things you can do around your home that can reduce your carbon footprint in the world. Here are some great ways to help the planet while still sticking to a good budget.

Use Reusable Bottles.

Commercial water bottles are so over-rated. 38 billion plastic bottles end up in the trash each year as opposed to the recycling bin. Instead, consider purchasing sturdy, reusable plastic or metal bottles and invest in a water filter. Brita has a great faucet filtration system that costs $20 and attaches directly to the sink faucet. Turn it off when you need to do dishes, and turn it on when you need to quench your thirst. It’s easy, simple, money-saving, and trash-reducing.

Wash Organic.

Doing dishes stink, but what stinks more is the large amount of harsh chemicals you end up washing into the sewers, and eventually, into the ocean. Earth Friendly Products’ Dishmate Lavender dish soap is one of my favorites. It gives you an honest-to-goodness, power-packed clean without toxins, petrochemicals, bleach, ammonia, phosphates or other harmful ingredients. It’s less than $4 and can be found at a local Trader Joe’s.

Make Your Home Energy Efficient.

Your home contains appliances that just suck up energy. From your refrigerator to the air conditioner, there are ways you can adjust settings to decrease the use of energy and to drive down your monthly bills. One trick I learned is to fill your freezer, because less space in there means less energy needed to freeze your goods. You can also adjust the temperature control settings in your home to 78 degrees instead of 75 degrees. This is a minor difference in temperature, but can be a significance difference in overall energy usage. Lastly, make sure you change your lightbulbs to the energy saving bulbs that use less energy but can last ten times longer than traditional bulbs.

To learn more about living green, check out A Field Guide to Buying Organic, which provides a ton of tips and information about knowing what to buy when you are out shopping. The bonus: this book is only $6. Go forth and spend accordingly.

How do you save energy while on a budget?

[del.icio.us] [Digg] [Facebook] [Google] [MySpace] [Sphere] [StumbleUpon] [Technorati] [Twitter] [Yahoo!] [Email] More »