Tip 1 -

Turn the lights off any time that they are not needed, even if you are just moving from room to room in the course of your day. According to Energy Star, as much as 20 percent of a home's overall energy use comes from its lighting. Using compact fluorescent light bulbs requires as much as 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent light bulbs, but the best way to save energy is to only use your lighting fixtures when you absolutely have to.

Tip 2 -

Wash your clothing in cold water, because washing machines use as much as 90 percent of their energy just heating the water, and higher temperatures mean greater costs to both you and the environment. You can even make your clothes last longer by washing them in cold water, so there is no real reason not to.

Tip 3 -

If you have a gas or electric clothes dryer, you can realize great savings simply by keeping the lint trap cleaned. Tests have shown that this can amount to a savings of $34 per year per dryer, which really adds up.

Tip 4 -

Keep the dryer shut off all together by opting for a clothes tree or clothes line instead. These only tend to cost a few dollars and can save you significant amounts of money when it comes to energy costs throughout the year.

Tip 5 -

Find out if your local utility companies are using green energy. Some local utilities are now using low impact, hydro-electric energy options through solar farms and windmills, so ask if using these power sources will allow for you to realize a savings on your monthly utility bills.

Tip 6 -

If your refrigerator is next to a dishwasher, a vent or a stove, your fridge will have to work harder to keep cool, so by isolating your fridge in another area away from these heat sources, you may be able to reap the benefits through a lower cost energy bill.

Tip 7 -

Forgo the standard, chemical cleaning products and opt instead for a combination between plain water and white vinegar, which is the ultimate cleaning product when it comes to green living. Many companies are now beginning to market environmentally friendly cleaning products as well, should you need something a little more powerful than what vinegar can provide.

Tip 8 -

Choose a better type of grass, like a hardy perennial. There are drought tolerant types of grass that require far less watering and no chemical care, allowing you to have a healthy and beautiful lawn without requiring a lot of water. Don't bother shooing away beneficial critters like insects, birds, toads and frogs as they can actually help your lawn maintain its best.

Tip 9 -

Buy biodegradable pottery for your garden, choosing bamboo, coconut, rice or wheat fibers instead of plastic pottery so that your pottery will biodegrade in the earth instead of ending up in a landfill.

Tip 10 -

Shop green and leave the plastic behind whenever possible. Draperies, shades and other window treatments are available in natural fibers. Furniture can be upholstered using silk, latex, wool and natural robber, or even foam that is made from soybeans. By purchasing natural materials like this, we are eliminating the need for petroleum based products in our home and saving the environment at the same time.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2009-01-26 05:26:55. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Related Posts

• Quick and Easy Steps to Green Remodeling For a lot of home remodelers, the idea of going green can be absolutely overwhelming. Luckily, there is a wealth of information out there, and just because you are not already implementing these ideas, that does not mean you're too far behind to make some leeway. According to leading remodelers......
• M Brace Raised Bed Gardening If you’ve ever wanted try raised beds, either to extend your gardening season or because you have limited garden space, now you can do so without having to spend hours building a bed. The M Brace makes it easy for anyone to create a stunning raised bed for gardening.......
• Counting Down to Quality There are five common errors that builders make in the efficiency of energy, resources and health. There are far too many green builders out there that are completely missing the mark. There are five mistakes that are being perpetrated, but that you can avoid easily with the right know-how. #5:......
• The Truth of Green Product Claims If you are confused when it comes to green building products and the claims that are being made by their manufacturers, you are not the only one. Navigating the complex world behind green products and the claims that they make is not always easy, but it has become necessary in......
• Sensible and Cost Effective Green Building Green construction has to be neither cost prohibitive or complicated, according to experts at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference. According to these experts, building homes that are green and energy efficient does not have to be rocket science at all, but rather you can build a very efficient home at......

Related Websites

• 9 Easy Ways to Green Your Home Greening up your home is actually a lot simpler than spending thousands on solar panels for your roof, and does not have to involve composting or growing all of your own food if you do not want it to. You do not have to be a hippy tree-hugger to want......
• Review: Joey Green's Fix-It Magic: More than 1,971 Quick-and-Easy Household Solutions Using Labeled the Mad Scientist of Home Improvement, Joey Green has come out with another book where he lists of over 1900 easy household solutions using products you probably already have around the house. This tome is definitely a good one for the green movement, as you will be reusing products......
• Save Time, Money and Space in Over 80 Ways If you're looking for handy gadgets, tools and various items that can save you time, money or space (or all three!) this list of more than 80 top products is just what you need. Everyone's got saving money on their minds these days- whether your at the grocery store, or......
• Solar Power Your Home For Dummies By Rik DeGunther As energy prices keep going up, many homeowners are starting to investigate cheaper alternative energies that can be easily installed, and run on a daily basis. Whether you’re trying to cut costs, or you just want to go green, solar power is often the first choice of many homeowners. The......
• Stream Techniques In streams, wild trout generally find their food, their shelter and the right temperatures behind rocks as well as in or near currents and under banks or around logs. You should be moving quietly and casting from downstream as trout will generally be facing up current and they will have......

Online Stores

• Electric Cooktops Ranges & Cooking Appliances Major Appliances Home Store
• Super Energy From Legere Pharmaceuticals Supplements & Diet Exercise & Fitness
• Electric Ceiling Fans Home Lighting
• Pottery 1600-1799 Native Americana Cultures, Ethnicities Collectibles
• Cleaning Vintage Watering Cans Watering Equipment Gardening & Plants Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living Nursery

If you liked this article, vote for it on del.icio.us and stumbleupon.



Categories:

Eco-Friendly, Going Green Tips, Home

Tags:

cleaning product, clothes line, clothes tree, compact fluorescent light, compact fluorescent light bulbs, electric clothes dryer, energy options, energy use, fluorescent light bulbs, green energy, heat sources, hydro electric energy, incandescent light bulbs, lighting fixtures, lint trap, low impact, plain water, power sources, solar farms, white vinegar