Yesterday, I was listing a few easy, quick ways to go green. Here are some more suggestions:
1. Fill up the dishwasher
Don’t run the dishwasher half full. Wait until you have a full load before you run it to be more efficient. If you have an Energy Star dishwasher, you will save an average of 20 gallons of water to do the full load of dishes in it rather than doing them by hand. That can average out to about 5,000 gallons of water a year. So, not only are you saving water, you also end up saving money and time.
2. Replace the washer
No, not the clothes washer, but your faucet washer. If you have a drip, it can mean you lose up to 5 gallons of water each day. As we learned in #1, you are losing water AND money! So, replace that washer – it should only cost about 50 cents to fix that drip.
3. Turn down the water heater
The normal temperature for a water heater is 140 degrees. But, did you know you could turn that down to 120 degrees and save some money. It will also help your tank last longer by slowing the mineral buildup and corrosion.
4. Slow down
We are all in such a hurry to get places we need to be, but if you slow down, you save on gas. Any time you go 10 miles an hour over 70 mph (and plenty of people here in Memphis go that fast on the expressway), you can add another 50 cents a gallon to those already too high gas prices because you are eating up more gas. So slow down and save.
5. Add dimmer switches
Adding dimmer switches to the living room and dining room instead of the traditional on/off switches can save you on electricity.
So as you can see, a few easy changes can not only help save the planet, but also save you money.