TIPS TO GO “GREEN” IN YOUR APARTMENT

There are so many benefits to the apartment living people who decide to go green. It helps to protect the environment and it also helps you to live a healthier lifestyle while saving money in the process. Doing your part to protect the environment once meant separating paper from plastic in your recycling bin and buying organic vegetables that you carried home in a reusable cover. But these days, there is a lot more you can do to create a green and healthy home.

Some of the tips to go green in your apartment are as follows:

1. Switch to energy-efficient light bulbs. Light Bulbs such as halogen incandescents, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), and light emitting diodes (LEDs) use about 25%-80% less energy than traditional incandescents and can last 3-25 times as long, saving you money and reducing your energy use. Check out this room-by-room guide to choosing energy-efficient light bulbs and learn how to recycle used light bulbs.

2. Those plastic grocery bags cause considerable harm to our environment. Not only do we commonly see them floating around as litter on the roads and highways, many of the bags eventually make their way to the water. Experts say 80 percent of marine litter is that bag you get for one item you only use for a few minutes when walking to and from the car. Switch to reusable bags! Not only are they more durable and won't clutter up your apartment like plastic bags, but many stores will give you a small discount when you bring your own carry bags.

3. Take shorter showers to reduce water use. This will lower your water and heating bills too. Install a low-flow showerhead. They don’t cost much, and the water and energy savings can quickly pay back your investment. Make sure you have a faucet aerator on each faucet. These inexpensive appliances conserve heat and water, while keeping water pressure high.

4. Make Your Own Cleaning Supplies or Buy Natural Cleaning Supplies. This is not as hard, or time-consuming, as it sounds. For example, a mixture of 50% water and 50% white vinegar is an effective general cleaner, especially when used with a reusable microfiber cloth. You can find recipes for other natural cleaners online. If you won't take the 2 minutes it takes to mix these two ingredients together, then at least buy eco-friendly cleaners. No need to dump more chemicals into our environment.

5. Get a water filter and a reusable water bottle instead of purchasing bottled water. Tap water is highly regulated, and a water filter can make it taste even better. Plastic water bottles sit in landfills and take a long time to decompose, so a reusable water bottle is a much more environmentally-friendly choice.

6. Turn off lights and unplug appliances when not in use. You don’t have to unplug everything, but if there are things you don’t use often or you’re going on vacation, turn off energy-hogging appliances. A power strip makes it easy–you can plug a bunch of things into it, and “unplug” everything at once by turning it off when not in use.

There are lots of big and small ways apartment dwellers can go green in every room of their home. By incorporating these ideas into you daily life, you can save money and protect the planet.

For more details: Noel Projects