Surely you’ve been privy to the popular banter in regards to “going green.” It’s likely that you already participate in your area’s recycling program, but do you go beyond the bare minimum? If you have been feeling like you should be upping the ante a bit when it comes to environmental awareness, now’s your chance to lower your consumption, boost your sustainability and reduce your carbon footprint. The following are some strategies that are possible to begin implementing, starting immediately.
Just for a finite period of time, make it your goal to stop spending money on non-consumable products. This will reduce your gasoline emissions (assuming you are driving on these errands) and will also reduce the amount of environmentally unfriendly plastic packaging that manages to enter your home. While this goes against normally acquisitive human nature, reducing your overall spending will go a long way in both saving you money and diminishing your carbon footprint.
As your current lightbulbs burn out, replace them with those of the energy-saving variety. This strategy will reap financial rewards, as well as environmental: Not only do the Energy Star qualified bulbs use less electricity, but they last longer, as well, making lightbulb changes less frequent. Find out more about
Energy Star products
on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website. Pay more attention to when you’re utilizing lights; often, we leave fixtures turned on out of habit, and not due to actual need. If you’re able to see well, you don’t necessarily have to turn on the lights in the room.
Plugged-in appliances consume electricity, even when they’re not turned on. When you’re done using your toaster, hair dryer or other small appliances, be sure to unplug them in order to save electricity. This practice can also reduce your risk of experiencing a fire in your home, and will lower your electric bill, besides.
Out of habit, you may turn to the bleach- or ammonia-based cleansers that your mother used in cleaning your childhood home. While some rooms in your home, such as your bathrooms, may need to be disinfected, many times, gentler products can be used to restore your home to a satisfactory level of sanitation. Check out GreenHome.com to find products that not only work well, but also will help you achieve your goals for being “green.”
If you work out of town, attempt to locate someone with whom you can carpool; this not only reduces your gas emissions, but will save you gasoline money as well. If it’s impossible to arrange carpooling on an everyday basis, think of creative ways in which you can consolidate and combine your errands with others. For example, if you are driving out to the nearest city, ask your friends and family members if you can pick up necessary items for them, as well.
Going green and raising your environmental awareness does not have to entail complicated procedures or excessive financial output. Making incremental changes over a period of time can add up to a big difference in your energy bills and your carbon footprint.
Author Resource: Michelle Kulas writes about Five Ways to Start Going Green Today, for Hang It Up Closets. Hang It Up closets is an affordable and reliable Company for Closet Organizers in Connecticut.
