Going Green Tips

Going Green Newsletter

   Jul 08

What Does Going Green Mean?

Most people are recycling, reducing their energy and fuel consumption and using environmentally friendly products.  All of these factors are consider part of going green.  This is the common term used for being environmentally conscious in today’s world.  It’s all about considering the impact that the decisions you make in your daily life with make on the environment.  Here is an overview of the three ways people change how they live in order to become “green”.

Recycling – This is more than just recycling tin cans, plastic and paper.  It’s also about buying used and recycled items and/or reusing old items for other purposes. There’s almost always a way to reuse old things even if they seem unusable.  For instance, an old pair of jeans that is no longer wearable can be turned into a tote or purse.

Sustainable Living – Sustainable living is the part of going green that involves being more aware of the consumption of our natural resources. Ways you can reduce this consumption include reducing your use of oil, gas, propane, natural gas, electricity and water. For example, if you live near your job, you could ride a bike or electric scooter to work instead of using gas driving your car.

Buying Green – Part of this is similar to recycling, but goes a little deeper. When you buy organic foods, use nontoxic environmentally friendly household cleaners and recycled items, you are making an effort to decrease the damage caused to out air, water supply, soil and animal life.
There are many ways to go green in this world.  The above examples are just a sample of what you can do to save our valuable resources.  You can get more detailed information about going green online.

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   Jul 18

Going Green Outside of the Home

You can make some changes outside of the home too for a better planet. Unfortunately, no matter what changes you make in your home there are others who still waste. You should take every opportunity to make changes, even when you are not at home, to reduce your energy consumption. Here are some go green tips that you and your family can use to make a difference with your energy consumption at home by changing some things outside of your own home and even in the world today.

  1. Set your outside lights on a timer, this ensures that you don’t leave your lights on all night and waste energy.
  2. Check your attic and basement insulation, especially on the outside. By doing this you can reduce energy waste (and consequently cost) by 20%.
  3. Plant trees around the home to buffer it from the sun and winds. In addition, keep your air compressor in a shaded area so that it doesn’t have to work so hard when it runs.
  4. Replace any signs you may have with LED signs, which save energy. You can suggest this to your boss at your next staff meeting as part of a way your company can go green.
  5. Ask your electric company about using renewable energy resources to power your area; they can consider solar power, water power, or wind power depending on what area of the country you live in.
  6. Use businesses that use green power resources and products for their company.
  7. Invest in commodities that support green energy or that represent green energy.
  8. Dispose of hazardous materials appropriately. Batteries, computers, oil, etc. need to be disposed of in specific ways and not thrown into the garbage.
  9. Take part or sponsor recycling awareness programs.
  10. Donate items that you aren’t using anymore to charity programs for reuse. This can be clothing, dishes, furniture and even bicycles, and motor vehicles.
  11. Don’t buy disposal water bottles. If you want purified water, purchase an in home purifier and fill up a thermos or reusable water bottle from the tap.
  12. Buy natural products made with green technology. You can find food, clothing, and even cosmetics that are green.
  13. Recycle everything that you can. Nearly anything is recyclable these days and most cities have recycling centers that take metal, aluminum, paper, plastic, cardboard, computers and more.
  14. Use natural products to care for your lawn. This makes it a safe place for your pets and children to play while lessening your contribution to air pollution.
  15. Keep your yard full of items that are native to your area. In addition, shrubs and certain plants require less water than even grass, so consider planting those in your yard.
  16. Don’t drive when you can walk or ride a bicycle. If you are going to your neighbors for dinner or the convenience store for a loaf of bread, you don’t need to drive (unless the weather is bad), choose alternative transportation.
  17. If public transportation is available, take advantage of it. Public transportation reduces pollution and gas consumption. Use the time to catch up on your reading, take a nap or even call your mom on your way to your destination.
  18. Consider turning off your vehicle at a long light or when you are in a line at a drive trough rather than idling your engine.
  19. When flying, wherever possible take a direct flight. If you are on business, attempt to combine meetings in one city. Even better, use virtual meeting sites by connecting via video conferencing whenever possible.
  20. Purchase organic clothing, especially if it is made of cotton since cotton fertilization and pest control produce the most pollutants than any other crop in the US.

Wherever you are and wherever you go you should take it upon yourself to be as responsible as you can with your environment. You can’t control what others can do but you can control your actions and it is up to you to take the right steps to help save the world as best as you can. With these go green tips you are well on your way to successfully accomplishing your goal.


   Jul 18

Going Green Tips for Home

There may be things in this world that we cannot control but going green in our homes isn’t one of them. While we sit in our homes we can make the decision to save the planet or help destroy it. It is just that simple. You might be wondering what you can do to make a difference or how to and where to begin. Below are go green tips to assist you and your family with the process of going green at home. Small changes make a big difference.

  1. Save energy each year by installing a thermostat. This small step not only helps the environment–because it programmed to come on and go off–you also save money.
  2. Heating and cooling our home makes a big impact on the energy we can save. Turning the heat to 68 and the AC to 72 saves up to 6% each year.
  3. Look for the energy star when purchasing your next appliance. The more stars the more energy it will help save.
  4. Replace your CRT computer monitor for a laptop or flat screen monitor as these are more energy efficient (and space savers too).
  5. Pipes and plumbing going to the outside of the house should be sealed to prevent the escaping heat or cool air. This process is inexpensive and yet can save so much. Don’t forget about the exterior walls, cracking is very common in older homes and keeping those cracks sealed will save you money.
  6. Weather stripping can crack over time, make sure the stripping around your windows and doors are not allowing any air or heat to escape from your home. Replacing the weather stripping is very affordable when the time comes, and you don’t have to be handy to install is successfully.
  7. Water heater can be insulated with a blanket.
  8. Upgrade water heaters to a more energy efficient model. As a reminder, look for the energy star when making your selection. if budget allows, consider a tankless or solar heated model (a tankless model saves on energy costs as well as water usage).
  9. Pipes can be wrapped with insulating tubes as way to save more energy; this can be done with foam as well, (which should be done by a professional).
  10. Refrigerators coils need to be vacuumed to help it run efficiently.
  11. In order to run at its best, a freezer should be kept full of frozen food items. In addition to running more efficiently, keeping it full means that you aren’t using electricity to power a moderately used appliance.
  12. Microwaves should be eliminated as they use an enormous amount if energy. If getting rid of the microwave isn’t something you are willing to do then consider reducing the amount of times it is used. Make up for this reduction by baking in the oven.
  13. Save water by reducing the showers you take to one a day and for 5-7 minutes.
  14. Never let the water run while shaving or brushing your teeth; this applies in the kitchen as well.
  15. Fill dishwasher to full capacity before washing a load of dishes. Consider keeping hand washed dishes to a minimum to save more water. Choose an energy star rated dishwasher as well.
  16. Replace faucets with faucet aerators and shower heads with low-flow shower heads, (many states actually have laws in place for low pressure faucets and shower heads to reduce water consumption for new construction homes).
  17. Replace toilets with low flow types to save on water as well; again, in many states this is regulated and it’s impossible to purchase the old high flow toilets.
  18. Get a home energy inspection to see how your home holds up. Make any changes that comes back as unsatisfactory on the assessment. Most energy providers will audit your home for free.
  19. Use reusable tote bags for grocery shopping, these are inexpensive and will last for a long time.
  20. Recycle old televisions, computer monitors and cell phones.
  21. Reduce your dry cleaning bill and save the planet. Limit using dry cleaning service to necessity items.
  22. Clean with green products. Replace your laundry detergents and housecleaning supplies with all green products. These products clean just as good if not better, they’re environment friendly, and they are not harmful to pets and family members.


   Jul 17

Going Green in Everyday Life

The “green” revolution has taken the whole world by storm. People all over the globe have become more environmentally responsible by taking part in conserving our natural resources, recycling, buying and using sustainable products and by utilizing alternative transportation options. Here are some useful and effective Going Green Tips for doing your part in today’s world all while saving money.

Going Green at Home

  • Conserve water by making sure the taps are all completely turned off, use cold water whenever possible, only wash full loads in the dishwasher and try to take shorter showers
  • Conserve energy by turning off lights when not in use, turn up the a/c or turn down the heat depending on the weather, utilize the sunlight by opening the shades and allowing the sun to warm your home and one of the most important Going Green Tips is to contact your local power company for a home evaluation to find out how you can conserve more energy

Going Green By Recycling

  • Recycling means more than just putting your newspapers, soda cans and plastic bottles in a recycling bin. It also means reusing items around your home. For instance, you can help others by giving things you no longer use or need like your kid’s clothing
  • You can also get really creative with recycling and reusing by taking old things and turning them into something useful around your home. A couple of good examples include taking an old pair of unusable jeans and making a purse out of them or take your old comforters that are unusable and create a baby quilt or cover and old lampshade. There’s no limit to what you can do here
  • Use reusable items like water bottles instead of disposable plastic water bottles that create more waste and cost more to buy in the long run. It’s also a healthier option

Going Green By Buying Sustainable Products

  • Sustainable products are those that are environmentally friendly and offer benefits for the health and well-being of the general public. This is one of those important Going Green Tips that benefits everyone. For instance, organic foods, natural household cleaners and bamboo shades and flooring.
  • You can also grow your own foods, herbs and some spices that reproduce on a regular basis.

Going Green By Using Alternate Transportation

  • Ride your bike to work if you live close to your job to save on fuel costs and conserve fuel
  • Buy fuel efficient vehicles like scooters, motorcycles or mini compact cars to conserve fuel
  • Carpool with coworkers by taking turns driving each other to work
  • Find out if your company has a work at home option or look into work at home jobs in your field. Not all work at home jobs require experience. Note: A real work at home position will not ask you for any upfront money. This option allows you to be at home with your family more often and saves you a ton in gas
  • One of the most vital Going Green Tips in transportation is to keep your vehicle maintained to ensure it is not polluting and it is as fuel efficient as possible. Changing the oil and replacing filters not only helps your gas mileage but also conserves fuel

There are so many ways to “go green” these days. You can find several ways to go green and save money. The above Going Green Tips are just a sample of the ways you can become more environmentally responsible.


   Jul 17

Going Green Tips for the Newest Green Consumers

Going green sounds like such a great idea, but where to begin? This subject is vast and we can quickly feel overwhelmed. What we all need are some going green tips to help us get started along the road to a cleaner environment. A cleaner environment does not mean you have to go out of your way every day. There are simple things you can do which only require you to change your lifestyle slightly.

The first step you can take is to become a Green Consumer. Get out of the habit of buying stuff that is not good for the environment and buy more of that which is eco-friendly. These products are easy to find because most manufacturers will label it as such because they know the majority of people want to make healthy choices for themselves and the earth. As a Green Consumer, you need to familiarize yourself with these products. Anything made from recycled products is eco-friendly and a great place to begin going green.This is the world we live in and it is what we make it.

It takes one person at a time who is willing to make changes. One person at a time willing to become a Green Consumer. You may not have realized how big the going green movement has become, but it’s never too late to get in on it. A healthy environment means a healthier you. Of course there is a bigger picture and it encompasses your family, your friends, the town you live in, and eventually the whole earth. This means less sickness and disease because going green means no bad chemicals and toxins. Who would complain if health care cost less? Eco-friendly means higher quality. These products may cost more, but they will last longer, as will your health.

Some important going green tips are: do not try to change your entire lifestyle overnight and put on your thinking cap when you are shopping. Change takes time. You have to get accustomed to new ways of doing things and do people around you. If we want the world to change one person at a time, we cannot force it on ourselves or others. Going green is expensive, but the price of not going green is higher. Start will what feels easy for you and those you live with. It’s the little changes that help us start new habits. Shopping is a chore especially when you are on a budget. There are opportunities online that allow you to shop green and make money while doing it, while getting great deal on items you use. On a local scale, watch for sales and cut coupons.