One thing I seem to always hear from my friend is “I wanna be green, but it just seems expensive and hard.” Okay, so maybe you don’t have thousands of dollars to replace your kitchen appliances with new Energy Star appliances all at once. And maybe it is too expensive where you live to purchase organic meats and fruit. Maybe you live in an urban area where you can’t grow your own produce or you don’t have enough money to trade your old clunker car in for a hybrid.
But, as I have said before, being green isn’t always expensive or even hard for that matter. Here are a few ideas you may have never considered:
1. Unplug
That’s right, just unplug things. I am bad about leaving my curling iron plugged in after I turn it off. I leave the Wii plugged in when we aren’t using it. But, things that are plugged in can still be drawing power. Unplug and not only will you be going green, you may also see a lower power bill.
2. Save your leftover containers
If you take leftovers home from the restaurant (and if you don’t, you should!) and they are in clear containers, put those to good use. If they aren’t recyclable, you can clean them and use them to organize things such as nails, screws, pushpins, buttons – anything small.
3. Check your fridge
If your refrigerator doesn’t have a thermometer, get one. Your fridge should be between 37 and 40 degrees. The freezer should be between 0 and 5 degrees. If either one is 10 degrees colder, it could mean you are using more energy than needed. Making sure they are the right temps could save you as much as 25 percent in energy consumption.
While you are at it, if your fridge is in the direct sunlight or near the range, move it if at all possible. Those two things can force your fridge compressor to work harder to keep the temperature the same.