With Earth Day just around the corner, it's a wonderful time to re-evaluate your home and how you live. Being green doesn't have to cost you money — in fact, in most cases integrating sustainable choices into your lifestyle will actually save you money!
Getting started
Don't know where to start? Here are three tips to get you started.
• Recycle.
• Source local materials.
• Repurpose items from your home.
Eco-friendly lifestyle tips
• Take off your shoes when you walk into the door of your home to prevent tracking in pollutants.
• Turn off lights when you leave a room.
• Wash your clothes in cold instead of hot water.
• Wash full loads of laundry.
• Switch from carpet to hardwood (carpeting traps odors and dust mites).
• Capture and re-use rainwater to water household plants.
• Use low- or zero-VOC (volatile organic compound) paint.
Eco-friendly kitchen tips
• Make your own cleaners. Lemon juice and water is a fantastic cleaner, also baking soda and vinegar.
• Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs or LEDs.
• Purchase Energy Star appliances.
• Toss your coffee grounds into your household plants; they make a great fertilizer when applied lightly.
• Buy a programmable thermostat and lower your setting throughout the day/night.
Eco-friendly bathroom tips
• Use a nylon shower curtain instead of a vinyl one — it almost feels like fabric, and you can wash it.
• Purchase low-flush toilets to conserve water, showerheads and faucets.
• Put down the toilet seat when flushing the toilet — micro particles are released into the air when a toilet is flushed.