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From the wacky to the practical, renting instead of buying can save you serious money, as well as benefit the environment.
1. Tools
In these tough economic times many people are looking for ways to shave expenses off their budgets. One tried-and-true method is to rent instead of buy. Environmentalists have long pointed out that we can also significantly reduce our impact on the planet if we borrow the things we only need occasionally.
If you’re looking for simple ways to save energy at home, your refrigerator is a good place to start. That’s because your fridge is one of your home’s single biggest electricity users (other members of this club include your air conditioner and your water heater.) But with a few simple steps you can make your current refrigerator more efficient — and when it’s time to buy a new fridge, these resources can help you make a smart choice.
1. Build a clothesline
Next to your refrigerator, your dryer is likely the biggest energy-guzzling appliance in your house. And while we wouldn’t ask you to store your food in a vintage icebox, an old-fashioned clothesline is actually a pretty good idea. (If that sounds too retro, think of it as a “solar dryer” instead.)
You can buy a pulley kit like the one pictured here at the hardware store. Or you can order the components online. But it’s easy to make a traditional clothesline yourself, using 4×4 or 6×6 pressure-treated posts for the uprights and 2x8s for the cross arms (which don’t need to be pressure-treated). Simply notch the posts to receive the cross arms, set them in concrete, and run the lines on eye hooks between them. A 4- or 5-foot cross arm should give you enough room for five lengths of line, nicely spaced.
Lumber: $42
Hardware: $10
100 feet of line + 100 wood clothespins: $17
Total: $69
The object of reducing is to ultimately eliminate excess consumption in your household. In order to do this you’ll want to first measure how much consumption is in your home by determining how much garbage your family produces each week. Take note of what takes up the most space in your trash and try to reduce it.
Here are some suggestions of easy ways we can reduce the amount we are using and throwing away in our daily lives:
- Replace your incandescent bulbs with compact florescent light bulbs which consume much less energy.
- Look at the cleaning products in your home and replacing them with biodegradable cleaning products.
- Buy food in bulk, such as grains or cereals. Be sure not to buy large quantities of food that will spoil quickly.
There’s a reason so many builders are leaning green these days.
After all, who doesn’t want a home that’s healthier, keeps energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions in check, and doesn’tsquander water and other natural resources? But you don’thave to buildfrom scratch to turn your not-so-newhouse into a dwelling that’s eco-friendly and more economical to run.
Whether you own or rent, the following 45 simple ideas can help you save money (and the planet) today.
By changing your light bulbs you’ll save money, reduce pollution, improve lighting and feel good about your environmental decisions.
Some home improvements aren’t as noticeable as others but they can still be an important step in creating just the right environment for your life. Changing the lighting in your home can not only affect the mood and environment, it can also save you money and improve your green rating. In fact, changing the lighting in your home can be as simple as changing your light bulbs.
Home composting is a simple task. All you need is common household and garden waste, air, a bit of heat, moisture and time for the organic materials to break down into a rich, loamy soil-like material that your plants and soil will love. If you’ve been considering composting at home, read on for inspiration and information.
Advantages of Composting at Home
Home composting is good for you and your family, your garden and the planet. Here are the basics. Compost is filled with healthy nutrients for your plants and soil. Because you choose the ingredients in your homemade compost, you don’t need to worry about harmful compost materials in your garden and yard where your children, pets and birds play. Most importantly, by composting at home, you are doing your part for the environment by putting to good use ingredients that would otherwise end up in the trash and, ultimately, a landfill.
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