Going Green At Home

Going Green At Home

Going Green At Home

You’ve probably noticed that green is everywhere these days–in the news, politics, fashion, and even technology. While it’s easy to get overwhelmed, it’s also simple to begin making a positive impact. Start going green by simply making small changes at home!

Think energy-efficient

When you are shopping around for new appliances such as refrigerators, dishwashers and ovens look for those that are the most energy efficient. These products have the Energy Star logo right on them and will give you all the information you need. Many of these large appliances, especially the upscale refrigerators, generate a lot of electricity. For many people these high-end appliances are not only cost prohibitive initially, but they will end up costing a great deal more to run as well.

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Remove Odors Naturally

Use Baking Soda: Baking soda is a natural deodorizer. Stick a bowl of it in your fridge to eliminate odor, sprinkle it in work boots, add it to your hot soapy water while cleaning the trash can, soak items in hot water with baking soda or sprinkle it on the carpet for an hour or so before vacuuming (you can even put it down after vacuuming since it won’t hurt the carpet).

Choose Natural Fragrances: When you would like to bring in some pleasant smells, choose quality essential oils (not to be confused with fragrance oils, which aren’t 100% natural) or incense. Create your own air freshner by adding several drops of your favorite oils to a bottle of water and spraying throughout your home. You can also use a diffuser for the oil or even try dropping a single drop on the lightbulb. Many purifying essential oils have actually been found to remove odors and cleanse the air. Another option is to hang dried herbs from the garden throughout your home, tucking sachets of them into drawers, closets, shoes, etc.

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Switch all your lightbulbs to CFLs/ LED

CFLs are simply miniature versions of full-sized fluorescents. They screw into standard lamp sockets, and give off light that looks similar to the common incandescent bulbs

LEDs are small, very efficient solid bulbs. New LED bulbs are grouped in clusters with diffuser lenses which have broadened the applications for LED use in the home.

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Wash laundry in cold water instead of hot

Washing in hot water is a practice that’s as costly as it is environmentally unfriendly. What’s more, it doesn’t make our clothes appreciably cleaner. Doing laundry in cold water will save you upwards of $80 per year or more.

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Pay your bills online

Not only is it greener, it’s a sanity saver.

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Swap Household Cleaners

Switching to green cleaners reduces air pollution both indoors and out, minimizing exposure to both asthma and allergy triggers as well as chemicals that can be harmful to your health. Look for plant-based products from companies that have a complete list of ingredients on their labels.

Avoid materials that have VOCs.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are released as gases from a variety of products. They are released at room temperature and are very detrimental to your health. Choose paints that have low VOCs.

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Plants that purify the air around you naturally

Bringing potted plants into a living space to liven it up is a trick that’s been used by interior designers for years, but did you know that our leafy friends are also powerful filters that purify the air around us? In fact, several studies have been conducted showing that certain plants can rid a room of up to 89 percent of harmful VOCs like formaldehyde and xylene. If you think about the prices of some of those fancy air filtration systems out there, it’s a bit surprising that more of us don’t just purchase some plants instead.

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Microwave Glass, Never Plastic

Heating plastics can cause leaching into food and many contain hormone-disrupting compounds (not just the much maligned versions made with bisphenol-A or BPA). Plastics that are labeled “microwave-safe” can simply withstand a higher temperature before losing their shape. So when popping anything in the microwave, opt for glass or microwave-safe ceramics.