Going Green at Home

Going "green" seems to be the way to go these days. Going green can be really easy or really difficult. It all depends on you as a consumer and as person who is either willing or unwilling to make a major change. It may take a bit of getting used to, but going green is not only a great way to help the earth, it's a great way to save you money every year.

You don't have to be a celebrity or a millionaire to do this. Going green at home is easy as long as you know how to do it. There are tons of resources out there to help you do this and I'm just providing one more list on ways you can go green at home.

This is a basic one that everyone knows about. Unfortunately, not enough people recycle. You can recycle paper, plastics, cans, electronics, clothes, etc. You can recycle things that you probably wouldn't think of. There are more and more companies out there finding new and creative ways of taking your old and used stuff and turning it into useful products such as furniture, building materials, carpet, and more.

If you are interested in recycling you should go to Earth911. This site is great for not only finding places to take your regular recycling to but also the more dangerous stuff like batteries.

By recycling, not only are you keeping a lot of harmful waste out of landfills, you will help create new and possibly earth friendly products.

Speaking of recycling, have you tried rechargeable batteries? People spend tons of money and throw away billions of batteries each year. That's really bad for the environment, not to mention your wallet.

Rechargeable batteries have been around forever but they are getting better and better as the years go on. When I was about fourteen/fifteen, my dad gave me a set of rechargeables and the big bulky charger that went with them. He had had the batteries for many years and he gave them to me so I would have something to use with my GameBoy Color (yeah, I was cool like that). Well they were coming to the end of their lives and I was a lazy teenager that was frustrated by the need to constantly charge my batteries so I didn't use them as much as I should have.

I found some rechargeable batteries recently called "Reuse". A bit pricey but for those of you who can't stand the big chargers or lose them constantly, these may be the answer for you. The top flips off to reveal a USB that you can just plug into your computer to charge it up. Cool, huh?

These days I use a regular charger and some batteries that I got at Wal-Mart because they are relatively cheap for what you get. They are made by Ni-MH which I didn't find out till later are actually supposed to be really good reusable batteries and they are still working on making their batteries longer-lasting and safer for the environment.

So instead of throwing away maybe 32 batteries a year as well as about $30, why not throw away 0 for $20 or less and still have batteries for the next year and perhaps the year after that?

Need to update your house-hold appliances? If you're going to update, why not go green and save yourself some money in electricity? About half of the electricity use in a home is from electronics that are being plugged in. Think about it. A lot of these are probably in your kitchen, living room, and laundry room. There are tons of products such as washing machines, dryers, ovens, microwaves, TVs, computers, toasters, refrigerators, etc. that are more energy efficient than what the average household uses.

One of the easiest ways to tell if an appliance is energy efficient is to look for an "Energy Star" label. These products, even if they make only a small difference, can save you money each year. I'm not saying "go out there and spend all your money for new stuff!" I'm just saying, if you need to get rid of one of your appliances and get a new one, it will probably be worth it to spend a little more to buy one that will use less of your energy.

Speaking of electronics using a lot of energy, have you ever heard of the vampires that live in your house? We all have them. Vampire power is the power that is still being used by your plug-in electronics even when you have them turned off. If it's plugged in, it's probably still sucking on your power.

The amount of power that is used this way varies on your plugged in equipment but it is taking money out of your wallet regardless. The most basic solution is to unplug ALL of your electronics when you're not using them. Unfortunately, this isn't a very realistic idea for most people.

There are, of course, alternatives. There is one device (which I will give a link to through Amazon below so you can check it out) that you plug into a wall and then plug your device in to it. It basically tells you how much power your electronic device is using and you can then decide if you need to replace it or if this is something you need to leave unplugged when it is not in use. Then again, it may not be using much power and you can just leave it alone if you choose.

This one is really cool. I saw it on a green show several months ago but I have seen it more and more recently which makes me think that it is a really good idea that is quickly catching on. It's called the "GreenSwitch" and you can read more about it at GreenSwitch. It is a setup in your house (and if I remember right, certain apartments will let you do it) that allows certain products (your choice) to be completely turned off, as if they were unplugged, with one switch. This has an initial cost of course but it can save you tons of money each year.

Another great way to save on electricity is to produce your own. This one is getting way more popular these days. People want to help the environment but they also really want to keep as much money in their pocket as possible.

I've looked at some of the solar panels and wind generators and they can cost over $1000 for one device. I recently found this site where they are helping people save hundreds if not thousands on the initial setup price but also saving them about that much each year in electricity. HomeMadeEnergy.org teaches you how to make your own energy saving you tons of money each year. And they do this for a fraction of the cost that many other companies do. It is also possible that you can make enough energy that the energy company will pay you for your surplus of power.

Things that involve temperature can cost you quite a bit of money. Here are a couple of really basic tips for reducing your heating bill.

First of all, if you like to turn on the air conditioner when it's hot or the heater when it's cold, that's fine, you're normal. What you can do is when you turn on the heat, turn it up a few degrees less than you usually do and maybe put on some warmer clothes to compensate. Same idea for air, if you have to turn the cool air on, leave it a little warmer than you usually do and put on a sleeveless shirt or some shorts.

If you're the type that likes long hot showers you might try making it just a little cooler than normal. It may not sound like much, but it will save you some money.

These are just a few of the MANY ways in which you can help the environment and yourself at the same time. There are tons of great books and sites out there that can help you out. Below I have provided a link to the electricity monitoring device mentioned above as well as some links to guides that may help you out in your journey to becoming green at home. It can be easy being green!