Easy Ways You Can Go Green

With Earth Day being right around the corner, April 22, 2008, there has been a lot of buzz about "Going Green." Going Green simply means being more environmentally friendly. This means being more energy efficient and conserving energy resources. There are tons of easy ways that everyone in your family can help do this.

One of the easiest ways to cut down on energy use is to switch from incandescent bulbs (round ones) to the fluorescent bulbs (spiral ones). Although the fluorescent bulbs are a bit more expensive, they last longer, save you money, and use up to 75% in energy use. Also, unplug items such as cell phone chargers, computers and TV's when not in use. Just because you are not using them, doesn't mean they still aren't drawing energy from the outlet.

Another way you can help in going green is to cut down on your use to bottled water. These bottles are flooding landfills each and every day. An alternative would to buy a filter such as Brita, and use it to fill a reusable water bottle. If you must buy bottled water, please remember to recycle it.

Speaking of recycling, there are many items you use everyday that instead of being thrown in the trash, can be thrown in your recycling bin instead. Examples would be shampoo bottles, detergent bottles, cereal and cracker boxes, newspapers, milk gallons, juice bottles, canned goods, and plastic bags from the grocery store. Check with your local recycling company for details on what they will and will not except, but usually any plastic with a number 1 or 2 inside on the triangle of arrows, is recyclable.

So much water is wasted every day in many households. You can save on this precious resource by taking shorter showers. Set yourself a timer and try to limit it to 10-15 minutes. When brushing your teeth, shut the water off after you wetted your toothbrush and turn it back on when you need to rinse. Make sure your faucets and shower heads are energy savvy as well.