You care about the environment, but don’t know what you can do.
Here are 10 tips to make your house/apartment and life eco-friendlier:
#1 Install a Smart Meter
Remember your heating bill from last winter? Imagine cutting it in half and saving the planet at the same time. Heating systems are one of the biggest uses of energy and are often left on longer than they’re needed. Trust us, installing a smart meter will make the difference. Your heat will turn on and off when it should, saving you money and reducing your carbon footprint.
#2 Switch to Energy Efficient Light Bulbs. It’s 2019.
Incandescent light bulbs are old school. It’s time to get with the program. LEDs use 75 percent less energy and last 25 times longer than incandescent lighting. Save money and energy. It’s a win-win.
#3 Unplug Appliances When They’re Not in Use
Eliminate power loss and reduce energy consumption by unplugging appliances that aren’t in use. Feels like a burden to unplug every lamp and charger? We get it. Use a power strip instead and have just one thing to unplug.
#4 Clean Naturally
Harmful chemicals may clean your countertops, but they hurt the environment by contaminating our water supply. For most day-to-day cleaning tasks, natural products like vinegar, citric acid, and baking soda clean just as well. Pro tip: they’re also cheaper!
Start with getting recycling bins. Designate a place for your plastics, your papers and cardboard, and your metals. It’s easy and makes a big difference.
#6 Compost
Your kitchen scraps and leftover food can be earth’s future nutrients. Food waste in landfills is one of the leading causes of methane emissions. Composting reduces the release of harmful greenhouse gases. Check out our composting article here THE COMPOST BASICS YOU NEED RIGHT NOW for all the details!
#7 Less Paper Towels. More Reusable Cloths.
We feel it too. Paper towels are heaven on earth. But we need to protect earth on earth. Clean with rags, old t-shirts, or reusable cloths. Your sinks will shine just as bright.
#8 Take the Stairs
If you live in an apartment building, limit your elevator usage. Reduce energy consumption and tone those legs along the way.
Fill your dishwasher all the way before running it and, if you can, run it in the middle of the night during off-peak hours. (Hello, delay button.) You'll be reducing peak energy demand on the grid and may even save a few bucks too.
#10 Adopt Meatless Mondays
Skipping one serving of beef every Monday is equivalent to taking your car off the road for 348 miles. The amount of energy needed to produce one quarter-pound beef burger could power an iPhone for 6 months. Livestock production creates more greenhouse gases than the entire transportation sector combined. Need we say more?
