10 easy ways to “Green Up” your home or apartment

• Author: DigitalMind
• Filed under: Camping, Solar Power and Off-Grid Living, Uncategorized
• Date: Apr 25,2008

The world is overpopulated, and together we’re slowly killing it. There’s a lot of talk about being eco-friendly and “green”, but are you doing anything about it ?? I’ve spent the last year trying to minimize my ecological footprint, here are 10 easy things that i’ve been doing (or trying mostly) that I suggest you also do !

1 ) Replace all light bulbs with Compact Fluorescent bulbs (They use about 1/5th the power of classic light bulbs, and the bulb is brighter and whiter. )

2 ) Try not to take plastic bags from the corner store, grocery story, and anywhere you buy things. I carry a couple of plastic bags in a far corner of a jacket pocket for when I need it. I also have a couple of those grocery bags made of strong materiel that was bought at the grocery store for 1$ to promote NOT using plastic bags.

3 ) Recycle at home. I’m having a hard time with this, but I’m trying. My girlfriend Marina is better than I am at remembering. It helps a lot to recycle as much as you can from the house and put it in the recycling bin. Admittedly the recycling plants themselves need to upgrade to be able to recycle EVERYTHING, but you do your part by sending it there, and we’ll hope the cities will upgrade their recycling plants.

4 ) Sign up for online billing for everything you can. Save paper by getting your cell phone bills, internet bills, and anything you can be sent to you by EMAIL instead of snail mail.

5 ) Energy Efficient Appliances : Obviously I’m not saying to go change all your appliances for no reason, but when it’s time to change your fridge, freezer, washing maching, dryer, make sure you get ENERGYSTAR appliances. They use a fraction of the power that is used in older machines and will save you money quickly.

6 ) When using the washing machine, use COLD water. (Seriously, there are tons of cold water detergents, give up on the hot water, it’s a waste of electricity)

7 ) Save gas : Use your bike, walk, and use public transportation. Vehicules are one of the biggest polluters of the planet. Try and use your vehicule as LITTLE as possible whenever possible. I find it’s often easier when I’m working downtown to take public transit. Not only do I not pollute getting there, I don’t need to look and pay for parking !

8 ) Save Power : You’ve changed your light bulbs and gotten energy star appliances which is great, but have you tried NOT using them ? Turn the lights off in rooms you’re not using, turn off the computer when not in use, and dry your clothes on the clothesline in the summer ! Keep track of your power consumption, and then see what you can do to bring it down. It’s easy when you pay attention to it !

9 ) If you have an old toilet, reduce the water that it uses for every flush. Filling up and capping a coke bottle with water and putting it in the bottom of the toilet tank will mean that you’re saving the equivalent of that coke bottle in water with every flush!

10 ) Turn down the heating in the winter. Do you really need the room temperature to enable you to walk around the apartment in underwear and still feel warm ? Turn down the temperature of the heating a few degrees in the winter. It’s not that hard to throw on a sweater on extra cold days to make yourself cozy and warm.

This website, treehugger.com, has tons of tips on going green. I strongly suggest you visit it and read some of their articles on being and living green.