70 Ways to Save Energy and Money

Everyday Steps

1. Recycle, Recycle, Recycle. Recycle everything that you can.
2. Turn off lights that are not in use.
3. Turn off bulk freezers when not in use.
4. Take shorter showers, 5 minutes at most.
5. Turn off the water when brushing your teeth
6. Set your hot water heater at the lowest possible setting.
7. Use cold water to wash your laundry.
8. Turn your thermostat down during the day, wear a sweater.
9. Turn your thermostat down at night, use extra blankets.
10. Use a fan instead of an air conditioner during the summer.
11. Close up unused rooms.
12. Turn off dehumidifiers when not needed or buy an Energy Star approved unit.
13. Turn your hot tub down or off when not in use.
14. Turn your computer off when not in use.
15. Use a microwave instead of a stove or oven when possible - they use less energy.
16. Wash and reuse zip lock bags.
17. Use power strips. Appliances often use energy even when they are turned off. Plugging appliances into a power strip and turning the strip off when they are not in use prevents useless energy loss.
18. Replace incandescent light bulbs with CFL’s or LED’s. This will save you money on your electric bill.
19. Use a killawatt meter to learn about where the energy you use is going.
20. Use a clothesline instead of an electric or gas dryer

Shopping

21. Take your own reusable canvas or cloth bags to the store.
22. Purchase products in glass instead of plastic. Glass is easier to recycle and is a fully recyclable material without material loss.
23. Plan your shopping trips with the use of a tool like Google Maps.
24. Look for products with minimal packaging.

Health and Diet

25. Eat lower on the food chain. Eat less meat.
26. Buy bulk products to reduce waste produced by excess packaging.
27. By locally produced foods whenever possible.
28. Reduce the purchase of processed and frozen foods.
29. Purchase at least 10% organic foods
30. Purchase dairy products that do not contain rBST
31. Avoid canned goods due to Bisphenol-A

Gardening

32. Compost - the natural process of decomposition produces less methane emissions than the breakdown of waste a dump or landfill.
33. Rake leaves, do not waste energy by using a leaf blower.
34. Use rain barrels to supply water for gardens and lawns.
35. Plant a tree.
36. Use an electric or push mower for your lawn
37. Use native and drought resistant plants.
38. Reduce the amount of lawn planted.
39. Work on an edible landscape

Home Maintenance and Updates

40. Purchase a programmable thermostat.
41. Caulk and weatherstrip your doors and windows to prevent air leaks
42. Clean your chimneys
43. Shrink wrap your windows during the winter.
44. Purchase easy to use wrap around foam insulaters for your pipes.
45. Insulate your attic.
46. Insulate the duct work in your home.
47. Insulate the joist bays in your home.
48. Have your furnace cleaned and tuned annually.
49. Add solar powered outdoor lamps.
50. Insulate your water heater
51. Insulate your Garage Door
52. Replace your windows with Energy Star rated Windows
53. Use Low or Zero VOC paints in the home
54. Replace the wall-to-wall carpet with environmentally friendly flooring

Traveling

55. Walk or ride a bike - it is healthy!
56. Take public transportation or carpool.
57. Change your car’s oil regularly
58. Make sure your car is properly tuned up
59. Replace the air filter regularly
60. Inflate the tires on your car to the proper level. This increases fuel efficiency.
61. Drive at the speed limit. A speed of 35-55 MPH results in maximum fuels efficiency for most vehicles.
62. Turn your car off when parked. Never leave your vehicle idling.
63. Do not use drive-thru’s. Park your vehicle, turn it off, and walk inside.
64. Avoid having unnecessary weight in your vehicle.

Other

65. Freecyle - giving things away prevents them from ending up in the landfill, where they will end up producing harmful methane emissions as they break down.
66. Check out thrift stores and yard sales for furnishings and accessories
67. See if your favorite magazines have an online or digital edition
68. Use Online Banking from your financial institution and eliminate paper billing
69. Join a video subscription service or use Cable pay-per-view instead of purchasing movies

Simple Tips to Keep Your Business ‘Green-Friendly’

As global warming and environmental awareness continues to be a much discussed topic, it is possible that we have become completely desensitized to this pressing issue and have simply written it off as ‘too hard’ or ‘not something that we can do anything about’.

On the contrary, there are many seemingly small practices and changes that business and individuals can implement in order to ‘do their bit’ for the environmental situation.

From turning off the lights and your PC when they are not needed to using recycled paper, every little thing, when reproduced across the globe, can indeed have a positive effect. And in most cases not only will you be helping the environment but you will save on costs too!

Some examples of ways that you, and particularly businesses, can ‘do your bit’ include:

* Turn off lights when the room is not in use, this includes meeting rooms, offices, living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens.

* Turn off your computer when it is not in use, this includes overnight and can even stretch as far as turning it off when you go to lunch if you want to really be conscientious and proactive.

* Use recycled paper - this may be as small as reusing scrap/waste paper by printing drafts and documents for review on the reverse blank side, or even reverting to purchasing and utilising fully recycled paper for everything from contract and documents to business letterhead.

* Only print what you need to - do you really need a hard copy of that email, or can you store a copy electronically? There may be many other types of files that you can store electronically as well.

* Ensure that you, and your employees, not only have access to but make use of recycling bins for paper, bottles, jars, cans and any other recyclable material that your business may use.

Some businesses have become particularly proactive in the environmentally friendly arena. With technology such as video conferencing it is possible to meet with clients and do business deals without leaving your office. This not only saves travel time and costs but will reduce the impact on the environment as there is no transportation required, whether this is via taxi to the next suburb, or airplane to the next state.

As a way of ensuring that your workplace moves forward towards a ‘greener’ future you can possibly look to implement regular review and reporting processes. This may be through appointing a staff member to be responsible for monitoring current practices or even incorporating environmental awareness into employee evaluations, depending on what is appropriate for your situation.

Whatever steps you choose to take, the fact remains that we all need to start addressing what we can do to move towards an environmentally friendly workforce and business community.

Use Cloth Napkins

Purchase cloth dinner napkins and/or small fingertip towels for non-disposable use at the table or as wipes for children. It works for us. For normal everyday use, we simply use standard cotton washcloths that we have gathered over the years. They are durable and easy to care for. Just toss them in with a regular load of laundry when done with them. You can use your older washcloths to recycle or purchase them from a thrift store for relatively inexpensively.

For formal occasions, you can use linen or cotten napkins made for this purpose to cut down on waste. Napkins are a lost commodity in today’s throw away society. This eliminates a waste stream from your home and reduces your footprint without even trying.

Going Green

The phrase ” going green” is something that we hear frequently these days. It seems everywhere we turn we are bombarded with products and suggestions that promise to help our families live a more green lifestyle. Unfortunately, it is not always economically feasible for every family to make some of the more obvious large changes. However, there are many small simple changes everyone can make that will have a big impact on the environment over time. Read more