29 Ways to Go Green in Your Home Today: Free & Cheap Tips For Saving Money and Energy Room by Room

29 Ways to Go Green in Your Home Today: Free & Cheap Tips For Saving Money and Energy Room by Room
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Want to go green in your home? Try these 29 easy tips. Most of them are completely free (we won’t tell you to buy all organic food or replace your car here). The green tips are organized by room, except for the first section which has ideas for going green that apply to the entire household.

The Green Home

These tips affect the entire household. Try incorporating some of these and watch your utility bills fall as you save energy.

Free ways to go green in the entire house:

  • lower the thermostat
  • lower the temperature on your hot water heater
  • wrap insulation around your water heater
  • fix leaky faucets
  • unplug unused appliances and chargers
  • turn off lights when you leave a room
  • use natural light -— put off turning on lights in the evening as long as possible
  • electronics like computers, cell phones and the like: donate or recycle properly instead of throwing away, and keep them as long as possible first

Inexpensive ways to go green in the entire house:

  • replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents (CFLs)
  • make your own cleaning supplies
  • make sure all faucets have aerators
  • look for energy efficient appliances when ready to replace old ones

Laundry Room

783168 italian laundry line

Just two simple changes in the laundry room will have a huge effect on energy conservation, because heating up water (for washing) and air (for drying) is very energy-intensive.

  • wash in cold water
  • use a drying rack or clothesline

Bathroom

Save water by going green in the bathroom.

  • take shorter showers
  • install a low-flow showerhead

Kitchen

523038 dishwasher

Buying food consciously, eating less meat, and ditching the paper cleaning items will make your kitchen greener!

  • go meatless once or more a week
  • purchase food from local farmers when possible
  • eat lower on the food chain
  • use a water purifier instead of buying bottled water
  • use a reusable water bottle
  • use cloth rags or biodegradable microfiber rags like Skoy cloths instead of paper towels
  • use cloth napkins instead of paper
  • run the dishwasher only when full

Home Office

The home office, with its computer and other electronic equipment, uses a surprising amount of energy. Go green in the home office with these tips.

  • shut down your computer completely at night or use an energy saver setting
  • pay bills online rather than by mail
  • reuse scrap paper by printing on 2 sides or by using it as notepaper, or let kids draw and color on the back sides

It’s easy to be more eco-conscious by taking small steps like these. Everything you do makes a difference, and every little bit adds up. Begin by trying just one or two of these tips to go green in your home, and before you know it, you’ll be seeing the results of your efforts.

References

10 Ways to Go Green and Save Green: https://www.worldwatch.org/resources/go_green_save_green

Images:

  1. https://www.sxc.hu/photo/1134582
  2. https://www.sxc.hu/photo/783168
  3. https://www.sxc.hu/photo/523038

This post is part of the series: Start Going Green Today

In this series learn how to get started going green and how to go green the cheap and easy way. You don’t need to spend a lot of time or money to get started going green — these tips will get you started with practically zero effort and still make a big helping impact on the environment!

  1. How to Get Started Going Green
  2. Cheap and Easy Ways to Start Going Green
  3. How to Go Green in Your Home