Green Tips

Green Tips

Greening Your Home

PO Box 748

Port Angeles, WA, 98362

Ph: 360.452.8160

Fax: 360.452.8197

Email info@builtgreenclallam.org

10 EASIEST WAYS TO GREEN YOUR HOME

Being earth-friendly doesn’t require going solar or growing all your own food. There are plenty of easy ways to make a big difference. The best way to be Earth-friendly is to cut down on what you consume and recycle whenever you can. The U.S generates about 4#s of solid waste per person per day, 208 million tons of municipal solid waste a year. Every little bit helps; recycling just one glass bottle saves enough energy to light a 100 watt light bulb for 4 hours.

1. Green up your appliances. Getting rid of that old refrigerator in the garage could save you as much as $150 a year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Appliance use comprises about 18% of a typical home’s total energy bill, with the fridge being one of the biggest energy hogs. If any of your appliances is more than 10 years old, the EPA suggests replacing them with energy-efficient models that bear their "Energy Star" logo. Energy Star-qualified appliances use 10%-50% less energy and water than standard models. According to the Energy Star site, if just one in 10 homes used energy-efficient appliances, it would be equivalent to planting 1.7 million new acres of trees.

Also, consider what you put in that energy-efficient refrigerator. Pesticides, transportation & packaging are all things to consider when stocking up. Buying local cuts down on the fossil fuels burned to get the food to you while organic foods are produced without potentially harmful pesticides and fertilizers.

2. Watch the temp. Almost half a home's energy consumption is due to heating and cooling.

· Turn down the thermostat in cold weather & keep it higher in warm weather. Each degree below 68°F (20°C) during colder weather saves 3%-5% more heating energy, while keeping your thermostat at 78°F in warmer weather will save you energy and money. A programmable thermostat will make these temperature changes for you automatically.

· Clean your furnace's air filter monthly during heavy usage.

· Consider a new furnace. Today's furnaces are about 25% more efficient than they were in the 1980s. (check out furnaces carrying the Energy Star label.)

· To keep your cool in warmer weather, shade your east and west windows and delay heat-generating activities such as dishwashing until evening.

· Use ceiling fans instead of air conditioners. Light clothing in summer is typically comfortable between 72°F and 78°F. Moving air feels cooler, so a slow-moving fan easily can extend the comfort range to 82°F, according to "Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings" by Alex Wilson.

3. Save water. The Web site "Water -- Use it Wisely," created by a group of Arizona cities, lists 100 simple ways to save water. A few are:

· Put an aerator on all household faucets & cut your annual water consumption by 50%.

Install a low-flow toilet. They use only 1.6 gallons per flush, compared to 3.5 gallons per flush for pre-1994 models. If you have an older model, adjust your float valve to admit less water into the toilet's tank.

Of course, you don't need products to save water -- behavioral changes also add up quickly: using a broom instead of the garden hose to clean your driveway can save 80 gallons of water and turning the water off when you brush your teeth will save 4.5 gallons each time.

4. Clean green. Stop buying household cleaners potentially toxic to both you & the environment. In his book, "The Safe Shopper's Bible," David Steinman suggests reading labels for specific, eco-friendly ingredients that also perform effectively. These include grain alcohol instead of toxic butyl cellosolve, commonly found in carpet cleaner and some window cleaners as a solvent; coconut or other plant oils rather than petroleum in detergents; and plant-oil disinfectants such as eucalyptus, rosemary or sage rather than triclosan, an antifungal agent found in soaps and deodorant. Or, skip buying altogether and make your own cleaning products. Use simple ingredients such as plain soap, water, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), vinegar, washing soda (sodium carbonate), lemon juice and borax and save money at the same time. Check out these books by Annie Bertold-Bond for cleaning recipes: "Clean and Green" & "Better Basics for the Home."

5. Let there be energy-efficient light. Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs) use 66% less energy than a standard incandescent bulb and last up to 10 times longer. Replacing a 100-watt incandescent bulb with a 32-watt CFL can save $30 in energy costs over the life of the bulb.

6. Save a tree, use less paper. Buy "tree-free" 100% post-consumer recycled paper for everything from greeting cards to toilet paper. Paper with a high post-consumer waste content uses less virgin pulp and keeps more waste paper out of landfills.

Other tips:

· Remove yourself from junk mail lists. Each person will receive 560 pieces of junk mail this year, which adds up nationally to 4.5 million tons, according to the Native Forest Network. About 44% of all junk mail is thrown in the trash, unopened and unread, and ends up in landfills. To stem the flow into your home, contact the Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Service at P.O. Box 643, Carmel, NY 10512, or download the online form. Opt out of credit card or insurance offers at OptOutPrescreen.com or by calling 888-567-8688, a single automated phone line maintained by the major credit bureaus.

· Buy unbleached paper. Many paper products, including some made from recycled fibers, are bleached with chlorine. The bleaching process can create harmful byproducts, including dioxins, which accumulate in our air, water and soil over time.

Finally, here's a third answer to the old "paper or plastic" question:

No thanks. Carry your own cloth bags to the store to avoid using store bags.

7. Want hardwood floors? Opt for bamboo or local sustainably harvested wood. Bamboo is considered an environmentally friendly flooring material due to its high yield & the relatively fast rate at which it replenishes itself. It takes 4-6 years for bamboo to mature, compared to 50-100 years for typical hardwoods. Look for sources that use formaldehyde-free glues. Locally harvested and milled wood eliminates gasoline consumption and related air pollution.

8. Reduce plastics, reduce global warming. Each year, Americans throw away 100 billion polyethylene plastic bags -- from grocery and trash bags to ultra-convenient sandwich bags. Unfortunately, plastics are made from petroleum -- the processing and burning of which is considered one of the main contributors to global warming, according to the EPA. In addition, sending plastics to the landfill also increases greenhouse gases. Reduce, re-use and recycle your plastics for one of the best ways to combat global warming.

9. Use healthier paint. Conventional paints contain solvents, toxic metals and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can cause smog, ozone pollution & indoor air quality problems with negative health effects, according to the EPA. These unhealthy ingredients are released into the air while you’re painting, while the paint dries and even after the paints are completely dry. Opt instead for zero- or low-VOC paint, made by most major paint manufacturers today.

10. Garden green. First, use compost instead of synthetic fertilizers. Compost provides a full complement of soil organisms & the balance of nutrients needed to maintain the soil’s well-being without the chemicals of synthetic fertilizers. Healthy soil minimizes weeds & is key to producing healthy plants, which in turn prevents many pest problems from developing.

Use native plants as much as possible. Native plants have adapted over time to the local environment & support native animals. They also use less water and require less of your attention.

Focus on perennials. Gardening with plants that live for more than one year means you don't have to pay for new plants every year; it also saves resources used commercially to grow annuals.

Stop using chemical pesticides. American households use 80 million pounds of pesticides each year, according to the EPA. These toxic chemicals escape gardens & concentrate in the environment, posing threats to animals & people, especially children. A better alternative is to try a variety of organic & physical pest control methods, such as using diatomaceous earth to kill insects, pouring boiling water on weeds or using beer to bait slugs. Find more non-chemical pest control tips at the National Audubon Society's site.

Finally, consider using an old-fashioned push mower. The only energy expended is yours.