Who
would have thought you could actually save money while helping
save the planet. Just by adopting some of these simple methods
in and around your home could help lower your energy bill
by more than 30%.
Choosing environmentally
friendly cleaning products --
and removing toxic ones -- goes a long way towards ensuring
a home with fresh, clean air. Clean air renews and rejuvenates;
it doesn't pollute our lives or the environment. Living
in a less toxic home, removed from neurotoxic chemicals,
improves sleep and concentration, makes babies less
fussy, and gives a sense of well-being.
92.
Metal filters coffee
filters , which cost about $16, can be reused
for many years — an environmentally friendly choice.
93.
Compostable Biodegradable
Lawn & Leaf Yard Bags - Made from corn
and other renewable resources, these durable leaf
bags will completely biodegrade in your compost conditions
in 30-60 days. Stop putting leaves and yard waste
into plastic bags that don’t biodegrade and
start using compostable biodegradable bags.
94.
100% hemp
shower curtains - Regular
vinyl shower curtains release chemical gases and odors
from their ingredients and are manufactured with non-renewable
and chemical resources. They are difficult to clean
and end up in a landfill where they don't decompose
and could release dangerous substances into the ground.
Hemp is naturally resistant to mold and bacteria and
it is also quick drying which means it won’t
trap moisture in the tub like those vinyl liners that
only add to mold growth (yuck!).
95.
String and Twine
100 % cotton or hemp - When gardening or just
tying a package use natural biodegradable materials.
Nylon string has become the norm for its strength
and its inexpensive price. However as you know that
nylon string will be still in the landfills after
a thousand years. Thousands of tons World wide are
produced every year and eventually in our landfills.
96.
Electric Usage
Monitor for a single appliance
- Whether or not you subscribe to the belief that
we humans are accelerating our damage to this planet,
I think we can all agree that the more power we use,
the more we have to pay. Unless you live off the grid
(another term we often hear...), you most likely have
to pay a monthly bill to your electric company. If
you would like to lower your electric bills and maybe
even help save the planet a little bit,
here is one that can help.
97.
A Whole House
Energy usage feedback meter
- helps you monitor your kWh power consumption. Using
information from the Power Monitor , you can start
to manage your kWh usage to save money. Use the product
to educate your family about the cost so they too
can save energy. Studies have shown that you can save
10% to25% of your power bill simply by monitoring
and understanding use!
98.
Starbucks
- Take out that dusty thermos out of your cabinet
and take it to Starbucks or where ever you go to get
your java fixin stead of using a paper cup.
99.
Unplug before
go on vacation! - Before you
leave for vacation, unplug all unnecessary appliances
— televisions, DVD players, stereos, microwaves.
They can still consume energy even when they're off,
says the EPA.
100.
Throw a green
party - When legendary sports
agent Leigh Steinberg (the real Jerry McGuire) threw
his annual Super Bowl bash in Hollywood, he offset
the party's carbon emissions. The green carpet was
recycled after the event, and there was a ban on plastic
and paper tableware. Even the table centerpieces were
planted after the party.
101.
Replace your
energy-draining appliances with
modern ones that save water and power. A
bottom-freezer refrigerator, for instance, is not
only cheaper to operate (a refrigerator is a major
power eater for houses) but provides more interior
room in a better configuration than a side-by-side.
Convection ovens produce a perfect baked chicken,
and do it with 25 percent less energy and faster,
and they cool down quickly as well. Put in a hood
fan and vent to avoid heating up the kitchen and making
your AC work harder.
102.
Use LCD monitors,
which use half the power of CRT's
or traditional models.
103.
Use Stainless steel
mugs to replaced styrofoam cups. Instead of a
disposable paper or foam cup, sip that triple-shot soy
latte out of your own travel mug or tumbler. Prevents
use of highly non-biodegradable polystyrene (a.k.a.
Styrofoam). While Styrofoam can be recycled, the facilities
that do so are few and far between, helping contribute
to an annual 25 billion cups of trash.
104.
Green Driving
to the environment is often underestimated but you can
make a difference. By driving in a more careful and
environmentally responsible way, you can be a safer
driver while you cut exhaust emissions, save fuel, and
at the same time—save yourself some money at the
gas pump.
105.
Avoid excess idling
in non-traffic situations. For example, consider parking
your car and going inside instead of using "drive-up"
lanes.
106.
Avoid "topping-off"
the gas tank when refueling. Overfilling your gas tank
could result in spilled gasoline that contributes to
air pollution when it evaporates.
107.
Remove excess weight.
Unnecessary weight (unneeded items in the trunk for
example) makes the engine work harder and consume more
fuel.
108.
Move with Recyclable
or Reusable Packing Materials - the environmentally-conscious
mover would also want to be hoarding bubble wrap, cardboard
boxes, padded envelopes and other packing materials
instead of going out and buying them new. Many liquor,
grocery, hardware and other retail stores are happy
to give away large cardboard boxes they no longer need
and would have to otherwise discard or recycle. Calling
around first will save the headache and the emissions
of driving around to individual stores one-by-one to
ask
109.
Don’t Forget
Eco-Friendly Cleaning Supplies -and remember,
there is more to moving green than just moving. Use
only eco-friendly cleaning products when scrubbing down
the old place. Health food stores all carry green cleaners
that you can use yourself or instruct the hired help
to use.
110.
After the Move:
Cut Down on Junk Mail
A tip: File a temporary change of address with your
post office rather than a permanent one to cut down
on junk mail at the new place. The U.S. Postal Service
sells lists of permanent address changes to direct marketers,
but doesn’t bother doing so with temporary addresses.
111.
Recycling Options
for Fluorescent Lamps
Depending on the extent of your local recycling program,
FLB recycling may require special handling or disposal
at a hazardous waste facility. Check with your local
solid waste disposal program to find out how to recycle
fluorescent bulbs in your area. Go to Earth911.org
The site will identify your nearest residential
mercury recycling facility or mail disposal method.
If you find no specific information on CFL disposal,
go back and click on the link for “Mercury Containing
Items.”
112.
Check Your Green
Power Options
If you want to know whether you have the option of purchasing
green power from your utility, you can check the map
at The
Green Power Network, hosted by the U.S. Department
of Energy.
113.
Cell Phone Recycling,
Convenient Recycling Support for Cell Phone Users
Luckily, a new breed of electronics recyclers is stepping
in to help. Call2Recycle,
a for profit organization, offers consumers and retailers
in the United States and Canada simple ways to recycle
old phones. Consumers can enter their zip code on the
group’s website and be directed to a drop box
in their area. Most major electronics retailers, from
Radio Shack to Office Depot, participate in the program
and offer Call2Recycle
drop-boxes in their stores. Call2Recycle
recovers the phones and sells them back to manufacturers,
which either refurbish and resell them or recycle their
parts for use in making new products.
114.
Pooper-scooper Bags-
Those compostable bags specifically aimed at the doggy
market are also more convenient to use than plastic
bags for scooping poop because they are smaller and
thinner and therefore much more compact to carry (at
least when they are empty).
115.
Environmentally
friendly cat litters - Some kitty litters can
be burdens on landfills and the traditional clay variety,
which is often strip-mined, often contains silica dust,
a carcinogen endangering both you and your cat. Americans
dump 2 million tons of this into landfills every year.
The dust from these litters can be inhaled or ingested
when cats lick their paws and fur with obvious health
risks.
116.
Plug in a laptop,
not a desktop
In the market for a new computer? A laptop uses about
half the energy of its desktop counterpart. Choose a
model with the federal government’s Energy Star
rating and use 70 percent less energy than a noncertified
model.
117.
Clean up your dishwasher
-
Switch to a dishwashing powder that’s biodegradable
and plant-based. These cleansers cut through grime,
but they do it without the bleach and phosphates that
threaten river and marine life and leave chemical residue
on your dishes.
118.
Free the lint bunnies
The average U.S. household spends up to $135 a year
in energy costs drying clothes. A dirty lint filter
can use 30 percent more energy to get the job done.
119.
Dry Cleaning - Don't
take the planet to the cleaners! Did you know dry cleaning
is a hazardous process that uses toxic chemicals and
poisons the environment, our clothing, and us? Eighty
percent of the dry cleaners in the U.S. use a solvent
called perchloroethylene, or perc. Perc and other solvents
are placed in a rotating cleaning drum along with clothing.
The drum spins out the majority of the solvent, and
hot air evaporates the remaining fluid before the garment
is pressed and bagged. These solvents excel at removing
soils and stains without damaging fabrics. Unfortunately,
they also excel at making us sick. Perc has been linked
to cancer, liver and nervous system damage, infertility,
and hormonal disruption. Some 57 million pounds of perc
are used each year by the country's 34,000 dry cleaners,
and around 12 million pounds are released into the air.
120.
Packing Peanuts:
Many cities have recycling facilities that will take
plastic packing peanuts, or you can donate them to a
local mailing center. Arrange to drop them off at a
local packing, shipping or moving store.
