7 Basic Ways to Go Green

Would it be nice to know some simple things to protect the planet? As a resident of earth, you are personally responsible in caring for the place where we live in your own special way. To start a green routine is very easy and will definitely save you money too.

Here is 7 Basic Ways to start your Green Living:

Don’t Open your Wallet Today

The first thing you can do today is not to buy something. Do nothing! Green living is not about things that you buy but what you “don’t” buy. Keeping away from buying products will save you from buying products that will harm our environment and sometimes you don’t even need. Can you do this just for one day?

Go Green through Organic Foods

Organic foods are foods not using pesticides, other chemicals, and fertilizers. They are healthier for your body and for the planet. It can be a little bit pricey but it’s worth it. If you’re in a budget, try to look for smart buys in organic foods. Or grow your own vegetables. You can be sure they’re always fresh.

Tune Up your Car

If you are thinking of buying a new hybrid car to be green, just save your money. It is more economical to keep your old jalopy. You just have to take good care of it by having regular tune-ups, smart tire maintenance, and some basic car care. This will keep your old car running efficiently for years. You can check on online accredited colleges to save on gas if you’re planning to back to school.

Turn Down your Thermostat

Whatever weather you are experiencing right now, I am sure you have energy used to control the temperature in your space. When you turn your thermostat in one direction or another, you will save money and your electric bill will dramatically drop to a lower one.

Go Green in Cleaning

Most of the cleaning products that you can buy in the supermarkets contain chlorine, ammonia, and other chemicals. You can look for green cleaning products to help our environment. Even your shampoo contains chemicals that are harmful. Look for the sulfate free.

Change One Light Bulb

Your incandescent bulbs are old fashion and they contain mercury which is not safe for humans. It can cause brain damage, birth defects, and other conditions. It is many times more efficient to use a Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL) than a regular bulb. It is an energy saving light because it uses less power. You can also try LED lights. They are very safe to use, money savers, and they last longer too.

Recycle Habit

It is a good green idea to make it a habit to recycle one thing in a day. When we recycle, we are helping our forest by being chopped down and mountains being leveled everywhere to get raw materials. Landfills are also dumped with all debris of the fast paced consumer lifestyle of today’s generation. So, if you recycle a plastic water bottle, glass jar, magazine, or newspaper, you are making a big difference in the world.

Start living green in your own small way because if all people will do the same thing you’re doing, it’s a big help in saving mother earth.

 

 

 

10 Tips in Living Green through Energy Saving

We can help save the earth through reducing and reusing things. There is another way to live green and it’s through energy saving.

Here are 10 Tips on how to save Energy to be Eco-Friendly:

1.    Energy Use Monitoring

You can reduce your monthly by 15% when you monitor your energy usage. By knowing how much power you actually use, you’ll know where you can be effective and cut back.

On all outlets where you plug in appliances or devices, add a plug load monitor. This will show how much energy consumption for every device you have. With this, you can decide which ones to turn off at a certain time. There are programmable models to cut power automatically. They only cost $25.

2.   Dimmer Switches Installation

If you’re still using the incandescent bulbs and not ready to change them, consider dimming a light because it will save 10% more than the bulb’s life. The switches only cost $10.

3.   Add a Motion Sensor

Your outdoor lighting fixtures should have motion sensor to have enough light just when you needed it. The light will be turned off automatically when nobody is present. It’s about $20. You can place them in a hallways, basement, and guestroom.

4.   Programmable Thermostat Setting

By turning down the heat at certain times of the day or night, you can save $200 in a year. You can cut down energy usage by 1% for every degree you lower the thermostat for an 8 hour period. For example, if you change it 10 degrees lower, you will save 2o%. Programmable Thermostat can cost about $50.

5.   Get a Snuggie

If you’re alone at home, you don’t need to turn on the heater. Just get your snuggie and wrap yourself around. You’ll save energy for sure.

6.   Energy Star rated Appliances

If you’re planning to buy new appliances, look for energy star appliances. Aside from saving energy, you’ll get a rebate too.

7.   Permanent Weather Stripping

It’s wise to safeguard your windows and doors from heat and keep out chilly gusts by installing a permanent weather stripping around them. By doing this, you can save up to 15% in heating and cooling costs.

8.  Window Treatments

Install cellular and honeycomb shades on your windows to reduce heat loss up to 86% and gain up to 80% in one fell swoop.

9.   Replace the Aerator on your Faucet

Your regular aerator flows 2.2 gallons per minute and by replacing it to and efficient aerator, the flow will be reduced to 1.5 gallons per minute. And this only cost $5! It’s a big return on a small investment. This is a great way to save water.

10.  Floor Mats

By placing a door mat in front and at the back doors of your house, you can minimize the amount of pesticide residue tracked inside by 25%.

Final things to do:

• Use cold water for laundry and you’ll save $40 a year
• To speed up drying time, clean the lint screen.
• Remove the dust from the coils behind your refrigerator.
• Put your computer to sleep if you’ll leave it for a couple of hours instead of leaving it open.
• Unplug all appliances when not in use.

Now that you know how to live greener by saving energy, I hope you’ll do your part to save money and help our world. With your savings, you can now enroll yourself to the best online schools available today.

Reduce and Reuse: Wasting Less but Saving More

There are many things in this world that are wasted but if you come to think of it, you can replace those old habits to have a cleaner environment and you’ll even save money . Practice eco-friendly living.

Here are Some Great Ways to help you Reduce and Reuse

Refillable Drinking Container 

You can bring your own travel cup for your coffee. You may have a discount by not using the coffee shop’s cup. Bring with you your water bottle too. When it’s empty, look for a drinking fountain then just refill it.

Microfiber Towels

Instead of using paper towels, use a microfiber towel to wipe the kitchen counters, spills, and other things that needs wiping. It’s gentle to use on any surface too. You will save 60 rolls of paper towel by just using 1 microfiber towel.

Cleaning Products

You can buy cleaning products in large containers and then just refill a small container or spray bottle for your daily use. This way, you will not waste many small containers every time you buy the small ones. Just reuse the old small bottle. You will also save money because buying in small quantities end up paying more than buying in big containers.

Buy drinks on Jugs

Instead of buying those milks or orange juices in cartons, buy the ones in a plastic jug so you can recycle it. If your brand are not available in plastic jug, consider switching to a brand that will  help you recycle more. But, don’t sacrifice your taste buds and your health. Get the healthy drinks only.

Printing Habit

If you need to print a direction or not so important thing, instead of using a new paper why not use the back side of a paper that you’ve used just once because you’ll not need it anymore. You can also choose “properties” and then “fast draft” to save ink if you’re not printing an important document. Or if it’s not so important, don’t print at all. Just take down notes.

Rechargeable Batteries

Instead of buying the AA batteries, switch to portable power. The batteries that you used to buy cannot be thrown in the landfill because it has cadmium which is not safe for the environment. If you use rechargeable batteries, you’ll never buy batteries anymore. You’ll save money.

Grocery Bags

Bring your own grocery bag when you shop and reuse them until you can.  Some stores give incentives when you shop with your own bag. If you cannot bring your own grocery bag, choose paper bag instead of plastic because they are friendlier to the environment. Then, reuse them for other purposes in your house.

We can waste less and help our surrounding to be cleaner and safer for the future generations to live. You can learn how to be a social worker if you want to help the society in a better way. If you have other “reduce and reuse” tips, I would be glad to hear them from you.