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Water Conservation Saves the Earth and Saves Money

May 19, 2014 0

water conservation

NOTE FROM SWEET GREENS: This post, Water Conservation Saves the Earth and Saves Money was written by Jenna. Jenna is a freelance writer who writing focuses on eco-lifestyle, health and wellness.

Your home is one of the first places to start conserving natural resources and reduce your carbon footprint. Making sure your home is properly insulated not only keeps you warm during the cold months, the insulation, venting and weather stripping can also reduce your energy usage during the warmer months that are popping up ahead.

While energy conservation at home is super important, another area of concern is water conservation. The truth is that there is a shortage of fresh water on this planet. In fact, including municipal water supplies, less than three percent of the water on this planet could be considered fresh. Adopting water conservation practices now will not only preserve our water supply, it can also save you money. There are several ways to conserve water around your home. The two easiest ways are to modify the appliances and equipment that use water, and to modify your behavior.

Appliance and Equipment Modification

Appliance and equipment modification usually involves making changes to your plumbing, or to the devices that use water in your home. Even if you don’t own your home, or you live in an apartment, you can still make many of these changes:

  1. Upgrade Your Toilets
    Prior to 1994, the average residential toilet used 3.5-to-5 gallons of water per flush. In 1994 all residential toilets were required to operate on 1.6 gallons or less. However, if you have an older toilet, you could still have a high-flush model. If you can’t replace the toilets, insert a displacement device into the upper tank to conserve your water use. A displacement device makes the water level appear higher than it is, similar to when you sit in a full bathtub and the water rises. Common displacement devices include bricks and water-filled plastic containers. If you want to add a bathroom to a space in your home that doesn’t have traditional plumbing – a Saniflo toilet could be the solution for you.
  2. Install Special Aerators on Your Faucets and Showerheads
    The aerator makes the water bubbly and provides good water pressure while simultaneously reducing the amount of water flowing through the faucet. So you can enjoy your shower, and actually rinse your hair, without using too much water.
  3. Install Shower Timers
    To reduce your time in the shower, and the amount of water down the drain use a timer when you jump in the shower.
  4. Check and Repair All Leaks, Especially in the Toilet
    Toilet leaks can send hundreds of gallons of water down the drain and cost you a lot of money in water and sewer fees.
  5. Invest in High-Efficiency Washing Machines and Dishwashers
    When it is time to replace the machines that you currently have choose machines are designed to clean effectively with the minimum amount of water.

Behavior Modification

Behavior modification is essentially changing the way you use water, here are 7 ways that will have you conserving water in no time:

  1. Take fewer showers during the week, if possible;
  2. Plug the bathtub drain, during your shower, and reuse the collected water to flush your toilet;
  3. Consider only flushing the toilet once a day, or when you have solid waste;
  4. Avoid running the water while shaving, brushing your teeth, or washing dishes;
  5. If you have a dishwasher, avoid running the washer when half empty;
  6. If you have a washing machine, adjust the water level based on the size of the load;
  7. Use rainwater for gardening, washing your car, and other outdoor uses.

YOUR TURN: How are you conserving water in your home?

Thirteen

May 15, 2014 0

Jennie and Eben Lyon (Jennie-PC's conflicted copy 2014-05-12)Hello, Friends! Today, my one and only child – my pride and joy turns 13! Can you believe it? I am officially the mother of a teenager and I have to tell you, it is pretty amazing. I feel very lucky to get to be the mother of such a wonderful human being. Eben has accomplished so much in his short life and he has taught me that giving up is never an option. I am very proud of him and can’t wait to see where his journey will take him in the coming years. I will be there, right by his side, every single step of the way! I love you Eben, you are my favorite – for sure!

Winter in May? Going Green to Beat the Winter Blues

May 12, 2014 0

Winter in May How to Green Your Winter Blues

NOTE FROM SWEET GREENS: This post, Winter in May? Going Green to Beat the Winter Blues was written by Jenna. Jenna is a freelance writer who focuses on personal finance, eco-lifestyle, and health.

I know that a lot of you around the country are still dealing with winter – snow in May, no fun! Even if you don’t officially suffer from Seasonal Affect Disorder, dealing with the prolonged winter is difficult for anyone. Sure, you appreciate the break in the heat and the cooler wetter days when it first arrives but as it drags on—especially since snow in May isn’t rare anymore—it’s easy to get gloomy. It is important during the last dregs of winter that you take steps to keep your mood and your home as easy to live with as possible.

Believe it or not, one of the best ways to deal with the winter blues is to go green or “green up” your home. Seriously! Think about it for a second: going green helps improve the overall environment in your home, which can improve your mood. It also, often, helps reduce your utility costs (which tend to spike in winter as you run the heater and keep the lights on longer) which reduces stress. So what, specifically, should you do to green up your home for winter?

1. Go Green Literally

Plants are a fantastic addition to any home. They scrub the air, making it healthier to breathe. They also add moisture to the air, which is always helpful during the winter when the air—even when it’s raining—is drier than it is during the summer. Beyond that, there’s the decorative factor—bright green plants add a great decorative touch to a room. Plus, you can always go to a retailer like Willis Orchards to buy palm trees or other organic tropical plants and flowers and pretend you’re at the beach!

2. Daylight LED Bulbs

People who are diagnosed with Seasonal Affect Disorder are usually told to spend some time each day sitting in front of special “sunlight” lamps. These are lamps that are designed to replicate the light and warmth of sunlight and have proven quite effective. They can also be quite expensive. There are, however, cheaper alternatives that you can find with a little investigating. Daylight simulation LED bulbs can be bought piecemeal from most home improvement stores. These are different than sunlight lamps in that they don’t mimic the warmth of sun, just the sun’s light. Look for LED bulbs that are at least 2,000 Kelvins though 5,000 Kelvins is better. Put these bulbs in lamps around your home—it will look like the sun is shining indoors.

Note: LED bulbs are more expensive outright but they save tons of money over time and are better for the environment!

3. Air Flow

During the winter, we tend to bundle up—both our persons and our homes. We latch the windows and close the doors, trying to keep every iota of cold and dry winter air out. It’s understandable that you don’t want to pay to “heat the outdoors.” At the same time, spending copious amounts of time in a stuffy room can do just as much to sour our moods as not getting enough light. Fresh air is important! It’s amazing how we don’t notice the air flow much at all until the air around us just sits still!

There is ducting that you can install in your home to keep air flowing year round, even when the windows are closed. Or, you can simply open your windows a few times a day to let some fresh air inside. There are a couple of ways to do this: you can do this in the late morning or early afternoon when the air outside is warmest. Or, at night when you’re going to bed, you can open the windows in rooms like your kitchen or living room—rooms that won’t need to be reheated right away.

These are just three of the things that you can do to “green up” your home to help combat those winter doldrums. What are some of the things you’ve been doing?

 

Disclosure Statement

Green DIY: Mini Succulent Wine Cork Planters

April 22, 2014 0

diy mini succulent wine cork planters

I wanted to celebrate Earth Day this year with a simple project (it’s a Tuesday, and school nights are super busy over here) that we could enjoy in our home year-round. Eben and I went to work transforming a handful of leftover wine corks into a trio of super sweet mini succulent planters. They are now hanging on our fridge and bring a little bit of the outdoors and happiness whenever we see them. Jump over to Target for the step-by-step tutorial, and get started – I guarantee you can finish this project up before dinnertime!

10 Simple Ways to Green Your Home For Under $10

September 25, 2013 0

by Jennie

Going green starts with small steps – it’s those little choices that can equal a huge impact in the long run. Many small steps are easy, affordable and start with the choices that you make when doing your marketing. Here are my 10 favorite ways to green your home – these are very affordable, in fact they all cost less than $10.

1. Ditch It Paper towels and napkins are used only once and then tossed in the trash. Ditch the paper and choose reusable organic cotton dishcloths and napkins instead. This simple step alone will save countless resources and eliminate the gas emissions created during the manufacturing and transportation of these paper products.

2. Bottle It Instead of buying beverages that come in plastic or even glass containers, pick up a BPA free reusable bottle for each member of your family. Keep the bottles with you at all times, attach your child’s to their backpacks when sending them off to school and throw one in your handbag or car for drinks on the go.

3. Bag It If you, your spouse or children take their lunch to school or work everyday, invest in a great reusable lunchbox or bag. Paper and plastic lunch bags are wasteful, since they are tossed after being used only once!

4. Recharge It The next time you need to pick up batteries for the TV or Wii remote, choose an eco-friendly, rechargeable version. Not only do rechargeable batteries save hundreds of single-use batteries from being tossed, they save you money too. Win, win.

5. Trash It Most trash bags on the market are not biodegradable, which means that it will take thousands of years for the trash bag to break down (not to mention the contents inside). Instead, pick up trash bags that are biodegradable and will break down in only a few months.

6. Compost It Instead of throwing those leftovers or salad scraps into the trash, compost them instead. Regardless of the type of home you live in, you can compost. There are many different composter options available, including ones that you can build out of recycled or leftover materials, rolling composters and even small electronic composters for inside a small home or apartment. (However, the later option is more expensive.)

7. Clean It One of the most dangerous, toxic and harmful items in your home, may be your cleaning products. Not only are these conventional products dangerous to the environment, they are dangerous to the health of your family. There are many all-natural household cleaning products available that are eco-friendly and non-toxic,  you can even make your own.

8. Go Low-Flow A low-flow shower-head will use less than 2 gallons of water per minute, that is still a lot of water going down the drain. However, it is much better than the 5 gallons per minute that an older shower-head will use. The best option is to turn off the shower while you soap up or shampoo your hair.

9. Bulk Up When you can buy products from the bulk section, not only is it more affordable, but you can bring your own reusable containers, eliminating the need for product packaging.

10. Hang It Instead of drying all of your clothes in the dryer, hang them up to dry. You can utilize a clothesline outside or hang them up in your laundry room. Not only does this save a lot of energy, your clothing will last longer and smell fresher too.

What simple, affordable choices do you choose when greening your everyday routine?
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