The following are additional ways that you can follow to live a greener lifestyle:
- When your existing bulbs burn out replace them with Compact Fluorescent Bulbs. They last much longer and require less energy than incadescent bulbs. Note: Please visit this website to learn about how to recycle these bulbs when they burn out and what to do if one breaks.
- Opening your blinds/shutters during the day allows for more natural light to enter your room so that you don’t have to leave lights on during the day. I choose to raise my blinds halfway so that I can allow enough natural light into my room without overheating it.
- Set your thermostat at 78 in the summer and 68 in the winter and don’t touch it! Constantly turning the AC or heater on and off, or constantly adjusting the temperature, requires more energy than if the thermostat is left at one temperature all the time.
- If you don’t live on the first floor you can leave your windows open during the spring and fall and shut your AC or heater off. This will save power and will help keep you cool when indoors.
- Don’t always buy things new. Instead, see if you can’t find something used first. Shopping at garage sales is a good way to help reuse materials.
- Don’t overconsume. When purchasing something ask yourself if you really need it.
- Avoid the “phantom draw” and unplug your appliances when not in use. My room mates and I unplug all of our kitchen appliances and I do the same in my bedroom. For appliances which are plugged into power strips you can purchase Smart Power Strips. These power strips sense when your appliances are not in use and shut off the power feed to them, eliminating the “phantom draw”.
- Fill your home with plants, they help filter out harmful particles in the air (left behind by household chemicals) and replenish the oxygen supply.
- Recycle, recycle, recycle! If you are not sure where you can recycle what in your area, visit Earth911 to find out. Also, Preserve is currently running their Gimme 5 Program where they are accepting used #5 Plastic materials to recycle into new products. This prevents these plastics from ending up in landfills since very few recycling facilities accept #5 plastics.
