Eco-Friendliness

20 Simple ideas to help save the environment and save you money in the long run:

1. Turn off the lights when not using them. Add night lights in important areas of your home for vision like the bathroom, kitchen and hallways if you need them. It's also adds a bit of a romantic atmosphere when the lights are off, my spice up your love life while saving money and the environment.

2. Don't wash clothes unless you have a full load. Use cold water for washing your clothes that will save you money on your gas or electric bill and help the environment.

3. Always turn on the dishwasher when you have a full load - don't wash a small load in the dishwasher. If you handwash your dishes, a larger load is better to wash at once to save on the water bill. Some recommend using cold water to wash dishes - but I disagree. Hot water is much better at killing germ and ridding the dishes of grease.

4. Wash dishes and clothes in the cool hours of the morning or evening. It will keep your house from heating up during the hot part of the day and saving you money on your cooling bills. This reduces the load on your air conditioner in the summer, and actually helps heat the house in the winter.

5. If you drink water please don't use bottled water. You are better off investing in a good travel mug to refill your cup. Bottled water is no healthier than tap water according the latest studies from many environmental groups. If you are thirst, stop by that convince store and purchase ice and fill your travel mug. [Some places do not charge for the ice and/or water]. Please read the 5 Reasons Not to Drink Bottled Water at Lighter Footsteps for more information.

6. Turn off the water when brushing your teeth. It wastes up to 2 gallons of water when standing their with the tap running and simply unnecessary to have the water running.

7. Turn off any appliances that are not in use. I know too many people that will not turn off a TV and go outside to do 'other things' - this simply wastes electricity and money while hurting the environment.

8. Make sure the doors and windows are closed when running the air conditioner or heater. Bump your thermostat up 2 or 3 degrees in the summer and down 2 or 3 degrees in the winter - you'll be surprised that it will not make a lot of difference to the room temperature but will save you money on your bill.

9. Turn your thermostat down a bit on your hot water heater. You don't need it scalding hot while needing to turn on the cold water to regulate it. Simply turn down the thermostat.

10. Curb your spending habits! The more you buy the more waste is produced. Try to live as humbly and simply as possible.

11. Energy efficient light bulbs. Use them.

12. Take shorter showers or use less water in your bath. Install an energy efficient [water saving] shower heads.

13. Eat left overs instead of throwing them away. If you do not like leftovers then do not cook as much at one time.

14. Reuse and Recycle please. That jar of jelly can be reused to store other things and your old butter bowl makes a great container for those leftovers. It doesn't take that long to separate your garbage and recyclables.

15. Find any drafts in your home and fix them. Break out that caulk gun and weather stripping! It may seem like an out of pocket expense to 'plug up the holes' but you are already spending extra money every month in heating/cooling bills.

16. In the summer, keep drapes and curtains closed on the sunny side of the house. In the winter, open those drapes and curtains on sunny days to take advantage of the sun's heating power. Close all drapes, blinds or shades at night in winter to make use of their insulating properties

17. Electric cooktops are energy drains - gas is cheaper if you are able to switch over. Use the appropriate burner for your pan size. Also, flat bottom pots make better contact and conduct heat from the elements more efficiently than pots with warped or rounded bottoms.

18. Use an exhaust fan to pull excess heat and humidity out of the kitchen and bathroom in the summer. Be aware, however, that exhaust fans can rapidly pull the heat from your house in the winter.

19. Use ceiling fans. They can save energy in both the summer and winter. In the summer, fan blades should revolve in a counterclockwise direction. Since moving air feels cooler, using ceiling fans in the summer allows you to raise the thermostat temperature, reducing the workload of your air conditioner. Air conditioners use considerably more energy than ceiling fans. In winter months, set your ceiling fan at its slowest speed and reverse it in order to gently push warm air down from the ceiling without generating a breeze.

20. Take advantage of the 'free' air conditioning during the spring and early autumn. Turn off the air conditioner or heater and open the windows. It's healthy to air out the house and will save money, energy and the environment.