In the past few years, we’ve discovered so many different ways to live an eco-friendly lifestyle. Everyone wants to go green, but not everyone has the time, money, and effort to do everything. Fortunately, changing just a few of these little habits can make a huge difference. Here are the top ten easiest (and cheapest) things you can do to go green!
1. Recycle: If you’re anything like the average American, you probably produce more than 1,600 pounds of waste every year. Recycling is one of the easiest ways to preserve our limited natural resources. Just put any recyclable items in a separate recycling bin, sorted according to the type of item it is. For instructions on what’s recyclable in your area, go to http://www.wordpress-837916-4114959.cloudwaysapps.com/GreeniacsGuides/Recycling-101.html.
2. Turn off the lights: Usually, when we roam around the house, we only need one or two lights at a time, but much more than that are left on. This wastes electricity and costs you money. Fortunately, changing your habit is easy. Take note of any extra lights that you don’t need at the moment, and turn them off. You can stake this a step further and take out the light bulbs in any multi-bulb lighting fixtures you have when you don’t need all the bulbs to light up your room.
3. Bring your own bag: Instead of throwing away a plastic bag every time you go shopping, bring your own reusable bag to the store. When plastic bags are thrown away, they can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade in a landfill. Plus, sometimes they can end up as litter around the city or oceans, wreaking further havoc on the environment. Bringing your own bag can be a great solution to this problem. For more ideas and information on bringing your own bag, you can check out the Greeniacs guide: http://www.wordpress-837916-4114959.cloudwaysapps.com/GreeniacsGuides/Bring-Your-Own-Shopping-Bag.html.
4. Adjust the temperature of your refrigerator: You may not know it, but one of the best ways to save electricity is to raise the temperature control inside your refrigerator. The colder the temperature is set, the more energy your refrigerator has to use in order to keep everything cold. Setting your freezer between 0° F and 5° F and your refrigerator between 38° F and 42° F will keep your refrigerator energy efficient.
5. Turn off the water: Many of us use a great deal of unnecessary water every day without even realizing it. When washing your hands or face, be sure to turn off the faucet when you are scrubbing or lathering. Also, don’t just keep the water running when you are brushing your teeth. Just turn it on when you need to rinse your brush or fill up your rinsing cup. You’ll be amazed at how much water you’ll save. For more specific ways to reduce your water usage around the house, check out some Greeniacs resources:https://greeniacs.10web.site/GreeniacsGuides/How-to-Conserve-Water-in-Your-Kitchen.html, http://www.wordpress-837916-4114959.cloudwaysapps.com/GreeniacsArticles/Water-Conservation.html.
6. Use a reusable water bottle: Buying bottled water is costly, bad for the environment, and is no healthier than filtered tap water. While the bottles are recyclable, 80% are actually put into the trash and sent to landfills, where they take an average of 450 years to degrade. Be sure not to just refill your plastic bottle, since the plastic can leak back into your water. Instead, buy a reusable water bottle. You can fill it up for free, anytime, anywhere. For more info, check out: http://www.wordpress-837916-4114959.cloudwaysapps.com/GreeniacsGuides/Buy-a-Reusable-Water-Bottle.html.
7. Buy rechargeable batteries: Normal non-rechargeable batteries are often thrown away in a landfill, where their chemicals (lead, cadmium, mercury, silver, zinc or nickel) can leak into the environment, our food, and even our water supply. When you use rechargeable batteries, you not only save money, but much fewer batteries get thrown into the environment.
8. Fully load your appliances (dishwashers, washing machines, dryers): When you load less than the full amount, your appliance still uses the same amount of water and electricity, which goes to waste. The best way to get the most out the energy and water that you use is to turn on your appliances only when they are fully loaded.
9. Print double-sided: One of the easiest things you can do to save paper is to print double-sided. Some printers have a double-sided feature, while others don’t. If your printer doesn’t have this option, just print the odd pages first. Flip the paper over, re-feed it into the printer, and print out the even pages. Not only will you help reduce your paper usage, you’ll also save money on paper. Try to buy recycled paper as well whenever possible!
10. Change a light bulb: Did you know that compact fluorescent light bulbs use a quarter of the energy of fluorescent light bulbs? Simply changing all the light bulbs around your house to either CFL’s or LED’s can save you money on your electricity bill and save the environment. Greeniacs published some guides to help you decide what the best option may be for you: http://www.wordpress-837916-4114959.cloudwaysapps.com/GreeniacsGuides/Switch-to-Compact-Fluorescent-Light-Bulb.html.
These are just some examples of easy ways to make your life more eco-friendly. Hopefully these changes will make Mother Earth, as well as you and your family, feel much better every day!
