- Make your household a green one.Recycle image by sarkee from Fotolia.com
While large businesses and other industries do cause massive amounts of environmental destruction due to non-green practices, things that you do within your home often also play a part in the health of the environment. By making minor modifications to your daily routines, you can decrease the damage that you cause to the environment. By integrating these green practices into your daily routine, you can do your part to ensure the continued environmental health of the planet. - While you don't want to freeze or melt in your home, you can reduce your energy usage by adjusting your thermostat just a few degrees each season. Instead of keeping your home at the ideal 72 degrees winter, spring, summer or fall, play your part in helping the environment by dropping the temperature in the winter, thereby allowing your furnace to take a break, and raising it a few degrees in the summer, giving your air conditioning a cool-down period. Not only does this practice help keep the environment healthy, it also can help you keep some extra cash in your pocketbook.
- When the weather is just beginning to heat up, don't immediately switch on the air conditioning. Instead, make the most out of your fans. Fans use 98 percent less energy than central air, reports Earth 911. By holding out for an extra week or two and relying on the cooling power of fans, you can greatly reduce your energy consumption.
- Instead of always soaking your duds in scorching water, try using cold water whenever possible. World Watch reports that 85 percent of the energy used by a washing machine is used to heat the water. By giving your garments a bath in cooler water, you can save loads of energy while you do your weekly loads.
- Long, luxuriating showers may feel good on your achy muscles, but they aren't particularly good for the environment. Instead of soaking up the hydration for 20 to 30 minutes each time you shower, cut your shower time down to a more reasonable 10 to 15 minutes. Help your kiddos do the same by purchasing a whimsical egg timer and setting it before they hop in the shower. Make it into a game, encouraging them to take an effective shower, yet still step out just as the egg timer is sounding.
- With ever-changing technology, many families dispose of an abundance of technological gadgets each year. Instead of sending these devices to rot in the landfill, recycle them. Many electronics stores and community recycling programs currently offer electronics recycling. Drop off your used MP3 players, laptops and cell phones, instead of pitching them, to ensure that the potentially dangerous chemicals these electronics contain don't end up leaching into the ground at the landfill.
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