A Budget-Friendly Guide to Greener Living
What it Means to Go Green
Many people are now pursuing livable communities and an environmentally responsible lifestyle that is mindful of the following goals:
- Maximizing energy efficiency and minimizing the use of polluting fossil fuels
- Conserving the limited water supply
- Preserving the earth’s valuable natural resources and limiting waste production
- Improving air and water quality by avoiding harmful chemicals and pesticides
Here are some easy and inexpensive ways you can make a positive impact:
Improvement Project
- Switch to an ultra-low-flow showerhead (1.5 gallons per minute)
- Saves YOU (per year): $100-135
- Saves the PLANET (per year): 12,000 gallons H20
- Replace light bulbs with efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) or light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs
- Saves YOU (per year): $110
- Saves the PLANET (per year): 1,000 kilowatt-hours (electricity)
- Install a programmable thermostat to lower the temperature automatically during off-hours
- Saves YOU (per year): up to $250
- Saves the PLANET (per year): Reduces energy use by 15-25% (and fossil fuel consumption)
- Seal gaps or cracks around windows and doors with caulk or weather stripping.
- Saves YOU (per year): $120
- Saves the PLANET (per year): Trims home energy use by 10%
- Change out the dirty air filters for HVAC units every 3 months so the system runs efficiently.
- Saves YOU (per year): $80
- Saves the PLANET (per year): 725 kilowatt-hours
- Use solar landscaping lights and entry or porch lights with motion detectors.
- Saves YOU (per year): $185
- Saves the PLANET (per year): 710 kilowatt-hours
- Program sprinkler timers to water before sunrise and for shorter time periods.
- Saves YOU (per year): $20
- Saves the PLANET (per year): 13,000 gallons of H20
Grow Savings in Your Own Organic Garden
If you have a green thumb and a little bit of land, you could slash your grocery bill by as much as $800 a year. Using natural fertilizers made from composted plant and animal materials avoids the environmental and health concerns associated with synthetic products full of chemicals and pesticides.
Source: Shift Your Habit, by Elizabeth Rogers (2010)