SEATTLE AVENUE

With everything being about the environment and going green it’s easy to think that it’s something that we cannot do anything about. But the funny thing is that we can all do really simple things that will not only reduce our impact on the environment, but it will even save us money. And it doesn’t require any big investments. Actually, to do any of these 5 things you don’t have to invest anything at all, although sometimes a small investment can make the difference even bigger.

One — Lights out

The first and easiest thing you can do is to switch of lights you don’t need. Even if you only leave a room for a few minutes the amount of energy saved far outweighs the wear on the light bulb. And if you have heard that a bulb uses much more electricity when you switch it off than when it’s running… well, you are right, but that only happens for such a short time that it’s negligible. As soon as you see light it’s already warmed up and working at normal efficiency.

Which brings me to the lack of efficiency that light bulbs are. 80% of all the energy comes out as heat and only 20% as light. You could actually describe it as a heating element that as a side effect gives off light. There the compact fluorescent light is much more efficient. A 15W fluorescent light gives off as much light as a 60W incandescent light bulb, so the investment here is to buy compact fluorescent light bulbs when they are on sale at your local DIY store, and then replace your old school incandescent bulbs. As a positive side effect there is much longer interval between changes, so the little effort you put in lasts a long time. Just remember that they do contain mercury and should not go in your normal garbage. I have some rooms where I have even put in daylight compact fluorescent. Makes my room feel like a bright day all year round. Oh, and try to remember to unplug all unused equipment, like phone chargers and even the TV or DVD player. They all use a little electricity all the time, and if you add them all up they might be using a lot.

Two — Cool down

Here is another really simple energy saver. Lower your indoor temperature with 2° (or increase it with 4° if you live somewhere where you have to cool your home). This will save you a lot of money and reduce your environmental impact. If your home is oil heated you might want to go even further with these prices. Putting on an extra fleece is a small price to pay. Good indoor temperature for heated rooms is about 68° when you are active and 64° when you are sleeping. Even lower when you are not there.

If you don’t have a computerized thermostat controlling your heater, that could be something worth investing in. Making sure that you give your heating system regular maintenance is also well spent money.

Three — Take a shower

If you take baths regularly, stop that. You are literarily guzzling water and heat. Instead, take a shower, and preferably a short one. You can even switch the water off when you shampoo your hair or lather your body, since you are not using that water anyway.

If you want to spend a little extra to make sure that you are extra environmentally conscious, get the most efficient shower head you can find. That can save up to three times the water of a wasteful one, with no or little difference in showering experience.

Four — Turn off the tap

To continue the tap water theme, you can save by switching off in more places than the shower. If you let the water flow while brushing your teeth or shaving, you can save a lot by only turning the tap on when you need water. To see the difference, try closing the drain one day and see how much water you actually use. The same goes for doing the dishes, or running the washing machine with just a few things in it. With the laundry you can save even more by switching to a concentrated detergent that also cleans well in cold water.

If you are thinking in investing money to save tap water the investments are slightly bigger, but if you are replacing your toilet anyway, get one with low gallons per flush, and even better, one with 2 buttons with one for liquid waste and one for more solid stuff. If you are thinking of a new washing machine, don’t just look at how much water it uses, but try to find out how efficiently it cleans in low temperatures. And if you often run small loads, maybe you actually would be better of with a smaller machine. Big is not always better.

Five — Buy local

This one might not look as straightforward as the ones above, but everything we use has a carbon footprint, which is a way of measuring how much energy was used to produce and deliver the product to you. And if food is grown locally or products produced locally, the amount of energy used to transport them is naturally much lower. And on top of that you aiding your community to keep more job diversity in the vicinity. And that is not a bad thing either. So check your local farmers’ market and talk to the small manufacturers and retailers around you to see what you can do for your local area.

Finally, I admit that I do not always live even according to these five rules, and often I do other things, like drive when I don’t have to, or buy products with excessive packaging materials. But I think that if we all try to do the right thing for the environment most of the time we can make a huge difference. And it doesn’t have to hurt our wallets, rather the opposite. So set your mind on green and together we can change the world for the better.