Green Thoughts

At Home

Take shorter showers. Those low flow showerheads do get all the shampoo out and one with a flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute or less can conserve almost 15,000 gallons of water a year for a family of four.
Clean the kitchen with a cloth rag instead of paper towels. If every U.S. family replaced one 70-sheet roll of paper towels with a reuseable alternative, it could save over 500,000 trees. That's over 6 million trees a year for families that use one roll of paper towels a month!
As it gets warmer, keep the curtains or blinds closed during the day to keep out of the sun's heat. Open them up for the cooler night air. Ceiling and window fans can move enough air to delay turning on that air conditioner too soon.
Keep that refrigerator door closed. Every time it opens, more energy is used to readjust the temperature so try to get everything you need to prepare a meal in just one trip.
The typical American creates 4.6 pounds of garbage a day and packaging makes up a lot of it. Every few weeks, skip a trip to the grocery store and try to use up what's in the fridge and pantry.
When you think about it we waste a lot of water. Boiling Easter eggs soon? Pour the water into a pitcher and water the house plants. Little changes can add up to a lot of savings.
A programmable thermostat will control temps when you are not at home or on spring break. Timers on lights and electric equipment shuts off what you don't need at night and on weekends, cutting back on electricity costs.
Tin foil is made of aluminum. So rinse off food and throw it away with your recyclables. Remember for plastics, they have to have a number 1 or 2 on the container to be recycled.
You could be wasting a $100 a year if you leave your X-Box or Playstation on 24/7. So save the game and power down when you're done playing. Also enable the auto shutdown, powersaving mode if you've got it.
Washing your car at home uses more than 500 gallons of water and any cleaners can be washed into the storm sewers which go directly to rivers, lakes and streams. Commercial car washers use about 32 gallons of water per car so that's the greener choice.
Set up a compost bin and turn your kitchen scraps into natural fertilizer and mulch for a great garden this year. The homemade compost reduces the amount of petroleum-based fertilizers going into the ground.
Cut your energy use on your TV as much as 25% by reducing the brightness. When shopping for a new set, look for TVs bearing the Energy Star Mark. They are up to 30% more energy efficient.
Choose the right size burner for the size of the pan on your stove. If the pans too small you send unused heat into the air and if the pans too small it takes extra energy to heat things up.
Surprise your Valentine with a candlelight dinner. To make it even more eco friendly go with soy candles, made from natural ingredients. Compared to parrafin, soy candles reduce the amount of soot released into the air by 90 percent.
Add your fireplace ashes to the compost pile. After they cool, of course. The ashes are a valuable soil amendment that will nourish your garden, when spring finally arrives!
Drafts seep in through your electrical outlets and let heat escape. Insulated electrical outlet plates are simple to install, cost around 2 dollars adn will help save energy this winter.
Believe it or not toothbrushes account for 50 million pounds of trash in U.S. landfills yearly. You can protect the environment and your pearly whites by choosing a toothbrush with a handle made from recycled materials. Check out <a href="http://www.recycline.com"> Recycline</a> or natural food retailers.
In the winter, ceiling fans recirculate heat into living areas and can reduce your energy bill by 10 percent. But remember to reverse the fan's setting to circulate warm air.
Women across the country are now having green-cleaning parties, as so many household cleaners contain toxic chemicals linked with asthma and reproductive health. Find out how to clean green by going to Women and Environment.
Turn down the thermostat to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions and you can save about one percent on your heating bill for each degree you turn down the temperature over an eight hour period. A programmable thermostat is great to use when you are at work.
You can really reduce your carbon footprint by limiting red meat in 2009. It takes a lot of energy to grow feed for livestock and process red meat. Cattle also produces methane, a greenhouse gas. Try limiting your red meat to twice a week for a healthier new year.
Add your fireplace ashes to the compost pile. The leftover ashes are a valuable soil addition that will help nourish your garden next spring.
Can you believe that you can save 1,000 gallons of water each morning by limiting your shower to five minutes. Use a sand timer and try and beat the clock each day.
Pass on the beauty products int he plastic bottles and stash your green tea bags in the fridge. Use them as cleansing pads in the morning to gently exfoliate your skin. The tea has anti-inflammatory properties that can help get rid of morning puffiness.
It's tough to clean the pesticides off soft, thin skinned fruits and vegetables. Try organic versions of peaches, apples, strawberries, celery and bell peppers. How do you know if they are organic? At the store, check the produce sticker for a 5 digit number that begins with a 9. A 4 number digit means it was conventionally grown.
Overloading your refrigerators uses more energy to circulate air and it makes it harder to find those yummy leftovers.
For home and holiday displays L.E.D lights are the way to go. They use 90% less energy and are not so hot when you touch them.
If you are cooking a big meal, make sure to reverse your ceiling fan to make sure warm air gets forced down in your room. Remember when turning off your oven to be sure to turn off the kitchen exhaust fans. They are a major source of heat loss.
The next time you purchase paper towels, toilet paper, napkins or other paper products, buy recycled products. Look on the label for the percentage of post-consumer content – the higher the percentage means more of the materials have been used before.
Truly, go GREEN. Purify the air in your home naturally by decorating with PLANTS. Live plants act as natural air filters, removing harmful chemicals like benzene and carbon monoxide from the indoor air.
Cut down on the use of paper and plastic products in your kitchen– and even as you're out at your favorite festival this summer! Bring your own reusable container or plate, cup, and cloth napkin. Enjoy the summer festival season in a greener way!
You can can "go green" right in your own yard by using compost. Composting reduces the burden on overcrowded landfills and makes a great natural fertilizer for plants and gardens. You can find a composting setup at a garden supply or hardware store. Start off with yard trimmings, fruit and vegetable food scraps, and coffee grounds.
Save in the shower! Showers account for 32% of home water use. Install a low-flow showerhead and you’ll reduce your water use by nearly two gallons per minute. A family of four using low-flow showerheads can save about 20,000 gallons of water per year.
Hot weather or cold weather, energy-efficient windows are a wise investment. Look for the Energy Star label on windows that are lined with special coatings that reflect heat and provide insulation, keeping your home warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, saving you money on energy bills.
Is there a baby in the house? Reduce or eliminate your use of disposable diapers, which are the third largest single consumer item in landfills
Use a clothesline instead of a dryer whenever possible


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At Home Take shorter showers. Those low flow showerheads do get all the shampoo out and one with a flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute or less can conserve almost 15,000 gallons of water a year for a family of four. Clean the kitchen with a cloth rag instead of paper towels. If every U.S. family replaced one 70-sheet roll of paper towels with a reuseable alternative, it could save over 500,000 trees. That's over 6 million trees a year for families that use one roll of paper towels a month! As it gets warmer, keep the curtains or blinds closed during the day to keep out of the sun's heat. Open them up for the cooler night air. Ceiling and window fans can move enough air to delay turning on that air conditioner too soon. Keep that refrigerator door closed. Every time it opens, more energy is used to readjust the temperature so try to get everything you need to prepare a meal in just one trip. The typical American creates 4.6 pounds of garbage a day and packaging makes up a lot of it. Every few weeks, skip a trip to the grocery store and try to use up what's in the fridge and pantry. When you think about it we waste a lot of water. Boiling Easter eggs soon? Pour the water into a pitcher and water the house plants. Little changes can add up to a lot of savings. A programmable thermostat will control temps when you are not at home or on spring break. Timers on lights and electric equipment shuts off what you don't need at night and on weekends, cutting back on electricity costs. Tin foil is made of aluminum. So rinse off food and throw it away with your recyclables. Remember for plastics, they have to have a number 1 or 2 on the container to be recycled. You could be wasting a $100 a year if you leave your X-Box or Playstation on 24/7. So save the game and power down when you're done playing. Also enable the auto shutdown, powersaving mode if you've got it. Washing your car at home uses more than 500 gallons of water and any cleaners can be washed into the storm sewers which go directly to rivers, lakes and streams. Commercial car washers use about 32 gallons of water per car so that's the greener choice. Set up a compost bin and turn your kitchen scraps into natural fertilizer and mulch for a great garden this year. The homemade compost reduces the amount of petroleum-based fertilizers going into the ground. Cut your energy use on your TV as much as 25% by reducing the brightness. When shopping for a new set, look for TVs bearing the Energy Star Mark. They are up to 30% more energy efficient. Choose the right size burner for the size of the pan on your stove. If the pans too small you send unused heat into the air and if the pans too small it takes extra energy to heat things up. Surprise your Valentine with a candlelight dinner. To make it even more eco friendly go with soy candles, made from natural ingredients. Compared to parrafin, soy candles reduce the amount of soot released into the air by 90 percent. Add your fireplace ashes to the compost pile. After they cool, of course. The ashes are a valuable soil amendment that will nourish your garden, when spring finally arrives! Drafts seep in through your electrical outlets and let heat escape. Insulated electrical outlet plates are simple to install, cost around 2 dollars adn will help save energy this winter. Believe it or not toothbrushes account for 50 million pounds of trash in U.S. landfills yearly. You can protect the environment and your pearly whites by choosing a toothbrush with a handle made from recycled materials. Check out <a href="http://www.recycline.com"> Recycline</a> or natural food retailers. In the winter, ceiling fans recirculate heat into living areas and can reduce your energy bill by 10 percent. But remember to reverse the fan's setting to circulate warm air. Women across the country are now having green-cleaning parties, as so many household cleaners contain toxic chemicals linked with asthma and reproductive health. Find out how to clean green by going to Women and Environment. Turn down the thermostat to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions and you can save about one percent on your heating bill for each degree you turn down the temperature over an eight hour period. A programmable thermostat is great to use when you are at work. You can really reduce your carbon footprint by limiting red meat in 2009. It takes a lot of energy to grow feed for livestock and process red meat. Cattle also produces methane, a greenhouse gas. Try limiting your red meat to twice a week for a healthier new year. Add your fireplace ashes to the compost pile. The leftover ashes are a valuable soil addition that will help nourish your garden next spring. Can you believe that you can save 1,000 gallons of water each morning by limiting your shower to five minutes. Use a sand timer and try and beat the clock each day. Pass on the beauty products int he plastic bottles and stash your green tea bags in the fridge. Use them as cleansing pads in the morning to gently exfoliate your skin. The tea has anti-inflammatory properties that can help get rid of morning puffiness. It's tough to clean the pesticides off soft, thin skinned fruits and vegetables. Try organic versions of peaches, apples, strawberries, celery and bell peppers. How do you know if they are organic? At the store, check the produce sticker for a 5 digit number that begins with a 9. A 4 number digit means it was conventionally grown. Overloading your refrigerators uses more energy to circulate air and it makes it harder to find those yummy leftovers. For home and holiday displays L.E.D lights are the way to go. They use 90% less energy and are not so hot when you touch them. If you are cooking a big meal, make sure to reverse your ceiling fan to make sure warm air gets forced down in your room. Remember when turning off your oven to be sure to turn off the kitchen exhaust fans. They are a major source of heat loss. The next time you purchase paper towels, toilet paper, napkins or other paper products, buy recycled products. Look on the label for the percentage of post-consumer content – the higher the percentage means more of the materials have been used before. Truly, go GREEN. Purify the air in your home naturally by decorating with PLANTS. Live plants act as natural air filters, removing harmful chemicals like benzene and carbon monoxide from the indoor air. Cut down on the use of paper and plastic products in your kitchen– and even as you're out at your favorite festival this summer! Bring your own reusable container or plate, cup, and cloth napkin. Enjoy the summer festival season in a greener way! You can can "go green" right in your own yard by using compost. Composting reduces the burden on overcrowded landfills and makes a great natural fertilizer for plants and gardens. You can find a composting setup at a garden supply or hardware store. Start off with yard trimmings, fruit and vegetable food scraps, and coffee grounds. Save in the shower! Showers account for 32% of home water use. Install a low-flow showerhead and you’ll reduce your water use by nearly two gallons per minute. A family of four using low-flow showerheads can save about 20,000 gallons of water per year. Hot weather or cold weather, energy-efficient windows are a wise investment. Look for the Energy Star label on windows that are lined with special coatings that reflect heat and provide insulation, keeping your home warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, saving you money on energy bills. Is there a baby in the house? Reduce or eliminate your use of disposable diapers, which are the third largest single consumer item in landfills Use a clothesline instead of a dryer whenever possible