Green up Your Home for Free

Going green doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Actually, there are many aspects of being environmentally friendly which have no cost. Although solar panels and wind turbines are important to lowering the overall pollution output, you can still make many different green changes at home without the use of such technology.

The three R’s of waste management are extremely important and can help us turn the planet around and help us live in a healthier environment.

Here is what you can do for free at home to help the environment:

Reduce

• Turn your thermostat to 78 or higher in the summer and 68 or lower in the winter.
• When you leave home, turn up the thermostat several degrees in the summer or down several degrees in the winter and just change it back when you get home.
• Open your windows and turn on a fan on mild days instead of running the AC.
• Turn your water heater to 120 degrees or lower.
• Take shorter showers and no baths! Baths are a huge waste of water and can use as much as 5 times the amount of water used during a shower.
• Turn off the water when shaving and brushing your teeth. You can plug up the sink and have about two inches of water for shaving.
• Keep the fridge and freezer door closed until you know what you want. When the fridge is open too long, it then has to work harder to cool.
• Take care of your vampire electronics. Your television, DVD player, computer, and other electronics suck power when they aren’t even turned on. Unplug them whenever possible.
• Don’t water your lawn. Watering lawns is a huge waste of our resources. If your neighborhood lets you, don’t do it. You’ll save hundreds of dollars. If you must water your lawn, follow these guidelines:
  1. Water the lawn between 4 a.m. and 9 a.m. to reduce the water lost to evaporation.
  2. Don’t water the street or sidewalk.
  3. Water the lawn only when it is needed. This will help your grasses’ roots grow deeper and force weeds to die out. Many weeds have shallow roots and are encouraged to grow with frequent waterings.
• Pay your bills online and get rid of paper.
• Pile the clothes in the washing machine. The more clothes a washer has (to an extent anyway) the more efficient it becomes.
• Pile the dishes in the dishwasher. More dishes equals less wasted water.
• Turn off the lights when you leave the room. The ghosts can see in the dark.
• Turn your electronics off and not in standby mode. Standby mode is a waste of electricity. Go ahead, turn them off. It is safe.

Reuse

• Donate your old clothes to Goodwill or other shelters instead of throwing them out. You know those clothes you can’t wear anymore? Donate them.
• Hold a yard sale for old products and furniture you don’t use or want any longer. Almost everyone has old products laying around in boxes they don’t use anymore. So why not make a few bucks and let someone else use them?
• Create art out of damaged products. Don’t let broken products let you down. If you can’t make it into art, someone else can.

Recycle

• Create a compost pile. It will not only lower the amount of garbage you throw in the landfill, but will also create a natural fertilizer.
• Take your recyclables to the local recycling center. paper and aluminum are the most popular, but more plastic recycling centers are popping up. Many will pay you for the deed too.

Do you have any free green tips?

Written: May 13, 2009

5 Responses to "Green up Your Home for Free"

• Matt @ My Financial Recovery
  May 13, 2009 @ 1:16 pm
  
  

  Thanks for the tips! I have been trying out most of these things already and am working on getting buy in from the rest of the family.
  As a society I think we overlook just how much damage we cause way too easily.

  • Gary R. Hess
    May 14, 2009 @ 9:31 pm
    
    

    Definitely. The thing is, if everyone just did one of these things the world would be far better off. Sadly, way too many people do absolutely nothing.

• Technoloy Professional Org
  May 15, 2009 @ 2:05 am
  
  

  Very informative! I learn a lot from your post and I wish that most of us will think of ways to save Earth.

• ian
  May 18, 2009 @ 5:32 am
  
  

  i read i think in the Forced Green blog/website that we can put a brink inside our toilet’s water tank. this displaces space water will otherwise occupy, helping us save some water with every flush =] i’ve tried a variation of it, the flush doesn’t “sound” the same, but so far each flush looks/smells “adequate” =]

  • Gary R. Hess
    May 26, 2009 @ 10:13 pm
    
    

    Doing something like really depends on the toilet (less water means less suction power). Besides that, I don’t recommend doing it this way and find the advice a bit discouraging coming from otherwise great resources (even Planet Green gives this advice).

    Instead of placing a brick or a full 2 liter bottle in the tank, adjust the height of the pump. That way, you don’t have to worry about the brick causing problems later or the 2 liter getting bacteria.

    Of course, doing the pump or the brick or 2 liter may still cause problems. Flushing liquids will of course be fine, but solids require more suction force and may end up clogging your toilet or not flushing at all. That is why I always suggest dual flushing toilets or toilet pumps instead.