Whether you rent or own your home there are many ways to make it green friendly while saving some cents or even dollars. Most of this is regular common sense but, it is funny how common sense gets lost in some aspects when you have your life going on. Your pals here at Sustain the Green have made it easy for you with some tips that we found and want to share with you:

  • When you light bulbs need to be replaced, buy Compact Fluorescent bulbs (CFLs). They tend to cost a little more but last years longer and only consume 25% of the electricity as compared to regular incandescent bulbs. Keep in mind these type bulbs do contain mercury and should be recycled as opposed to being thrown in the trash.
    GE CFL Energy Smart Standard 26W Light Bulb - 3 Packs (3 bulbs ea)
  • This day in age many of us have our homes loaded with electronic devices, some of those devices still continue to use electricity even when they are turned “off”. It would be a hassle to unplug/plug in all these items on daily basis but, in the instances where you are not going to be home for a few days ort you are not going to use a certain device for a while, unplug it. It will lower your spending on your electricity bill.
  • We are all guilty of this, paper towels are for the most part an unnecessary waste. Sometimes there is no way around but when possible, you should use clothe towels for cleaning. The will last way longer than a roll of paper towels and do not fill our landfills.
  • instead of turning on the lights during the day, try opening a few blinds to let natural light in. If your just hanging out reading a book it wouldn’t hurt to just walk to your nearest park or even you yard and enjoy the fresh air and get some of that vitamin D that our sun provides for us.
  • Our parents have told us this many times but, if you are not in a room than make sure the light is off. It will reduce your electricity bill and expand the lifetime of your light bulbs (even if you get another few days or week out of the light bulb that’s some pennies you saved).
  • Washing dishes by hand is a huge waste of water. A method I learned was to fill a sink with water to rinse thedishes instead of letting the faucet run for the entire time. If you do have a dishwasher which is the greener way to wash dishes and make sure the dishwasher is full when you run it.