Go for an energy upgrade
For most of us, going off the grid may not be in the budget (unless you got a huge tax refund that is). But if you’re looking for mucho savings on your electric bill, here are three super-easy changes you can make.
Install a programmable thermostat that automatically adjusts your home’s temp. Replace incandescent light bulbs with efficient CFLs or LEDs. Americans spend 20 percent of their electricity budget on lighting alone. Energy-efficient lighting can save the average household more than 1,000-kilowatt hours of electricity, 1,600 pounds of carbon dioxide and (get ready for this one) up to $110 per year in electricity costs.
It sounds simple enough, but when you consider the huge difference it makes, you’ll wonder why you still have naked windows. While the sunlight is refreshing in the summer, using light colored blinds and drapes – which reflect light instead of absorbing it – can save you up to $210 per year on heating and cooling costs.
If the initial cost of a programmable thermostat (about $115) deters you, keep in mind that it can reduce your energy usage by more than 15 percent in the summer and up to 25 percent in the winter.
For those of you that need hard numbers, that’s up to $250 in heating and cooling costs every year you use it and $2,500 over the course of 10 years.
Shade your windows.
Wash your dirty car
While you may think you’re doing your car (and your wallet) a favor by hand-washing it at home, it’s actually the opposite.
According to the International Car Wash Association, automatic car washes use less than half the water used when washing your car at home. The average home wash uses 80-140 gallons of water while the commercial average is 45 gallons.
Commercial car washes often reuse water and send the runoff to treatment centers instead of nearby lakes and streams. They also use high-pressure nozzles that require less water usage.
But if you’re dead-set on washing your car at home with the kids, here’s how to keep the impact to a minimum:
- Park on gravel or grass so soapy water soaks into the ground, becomes filtered and recharges groundwater.
- Avoid soaps with labels that say “harmful, danger or poison.”
- Turn off the hose when you’re not using the water. During a 15-minute car wash, you could use 150 gallons of water if there isn’t an automatic shut-off nozzle.
Cleaning
Make your own cleaning products. Five basic ingredients serve as the buildings blocks for many safe, home cleaning needs: baking soda, borax, soap, washing soda, and white vinegar or lemon juice. Check out some of these resources to make your own cleaning products for laundry, dishes, glass cleaning and more:
Dispose of cleaning products at a hazardous waste collection center. It is illegal to dump toxic chemical down the sink or in the storm drain.
Purchasing
Don’t buy new textbooks. Either buy used books (excellent website: BetterWorldBooks.org also supports charity), or reuse other people’s textbooks and let them use yours for free! This service is available on sites like Bookins.com, PaperBackSwap.com, or SwapTree.com. You could also rent books through some of your favorite book purchasing sites (like Chegg or Amazon). Not only can you stay green by doing this, but you can also save a lot of money.
Go green with school supplies. Buy recycled products. Always purchase 100% recycled content paper; the higher the % of post-consumer content the better.
Shop second-hand stores. A place like Los Angeles is home to tons of excellent thrift, consignment, and vintage stores that can offer anyone great options for second-hand clothing and accessories. Buying pre-loved items decrease your environmental footprint in a BIG way because it saves huge amounts of resources used in producing new items, and it saves you a lot of money!
