5. Move the three R’s in as an extra guest.
Reduce, recycle, and reuse should be your mantra for 2008. Repairing items is reusing them. Donating your old clothes to charities or thrift stores also reduces what goes into the landfill. Reusing an item is even better than recycling so that it doesn’t have to be reprocessed and then reintroduced into the chain of production. When you purchase long-term, durable goods, you reduce waste. The same goes for buying products with less packaging. According to the EPA, by 2006, curbside recycling programs served almost half of the American population and moved 82 million tons of material away from landfills.
6. Buy a laptop and let it sleep when you sleep.
Laptops use less energy than desktops and I shut my down every night. If you’re the type that wakes up in the middle of the night to use your computer, then just put your computer in standby mode, which on a PC you can do by going into your Control Panel>Power Options.
7. Wash in cold and dry clothes part-time on a line.
We’re lucky to have an Energy Star washer and dryer, but I change the temperature of each wash cycle from hot/warm to cold. Save the hot water for filthy laundry, and make sure it’s a full load. The same goes for our dryer; I switch it from high/medium to low and choose to line dry all of my intimate items and clothing that could use a break from fading and shrinking in the dryer.
8. Save some water.
Run the dishwasher only when it’s full. Take shorter showers instead of baths. Keep the temperature down in that shower and your winter skin will thank you. When you are waiting for the water to heat up, put a bucket in your shower to collect that water and use it on your houseplants. Think about installing low-flow faucets and showerheads.
9. Let your oven be your sous chef.
A clean oven is more energy efficient. Don’t preheat your oven unless your dish needs to cook for more than an hour. When cooking, use the broiler whenever possible since preheating uses more energy. Use the leftover heat from your oven for warming food and plates.
10. Cool your food so your refrigerator doesn’t have to.
See if your refrigerator has a tight fit and shuts on its own; if not, the gasket might need replacing. The best way to save energy is to turn the freezer temperature down and raise the fridge temperature.
Helpful Tools:
The Home Energy Saver
Carbon Footprint Calculators
Energy Saving Now!
Related Story: 50 Green Tips for Earth Day and Beyond
Updated September 28, 2008
