Can I Go Green Without Spending Money?

Well you can certainly make a start.

Here is a list of 10 practical steps you can take at home to get started on going green that won't cost you anything.

1. Turn down your hot water heater.

The hot water heater accounts for about 20% of all the energy used in the average home. If you turn it down to 130 degrees it will still be hot enough to kill deadly bacteria and you'll save money.

2. Wait until you have a full load of dirty clothes before using the washing machine.

3. Try turning down the central heating/cooling just 1 or 2 degrees.

It will make a difference over time.

4. When you use the kettle don't heat more water than you need.

5. Don't leave you appliances on standby when not in use.

Turn them off from the main socket or plug them all into an electric strip which has an on/off switch.

6. Hang out the washing instead of tumble drying it.

7. Paperless billing.

You can sign up for electronic billing with many companies. You are saving the paper it was printed on, the ink, the envelope, the resources used to deliver it etc.

8. Use paper on both sides.

If you have drawings, documents, notes that you are throwing out (hopefully recycling), try cutting them into handy sizes and stapling them together to make notepads for telephone messages, shopping lists, reminders etc.

9. Instead of using plastic wrap or aluminium foil in the kitchen use plastic containers that can be reused again and again

We all have a cupboard of these containers - have a look through yours and start using them again!

10. Low flow toilets.

Well obviously I'm not suggesting you rip out all your existing toilets and replace them with low flow energy saving ones - I'm suggesting you DIY low flow them.
In the average household 40% of the pure water coming into your home is flushed straight down the toilet. You can reduce the amount of water per flush by placing small plastic bottles filled with water or stones in the tank to displace water. A brick in a zip closing plastic bag also works. Another option is to bend the thin metal rod (at the center) that the float ball is attached to, downwards. The float ball determines the tanks water level so you save with every flush.

You could save 1-2 gallons per flush (depending on the size of your bottles, bricks or how much you bent that rod. If your household flushes 10 times a day that's 10-20 gallons a day saved. Over a year this really adds up.

Check out these other eco buzzwords.

Follow the picture links above to get the basic facts on each particular subject or view some of the commonly asked questions below.

Check out these other eco buzzwords.

Follow the picture links above to get the basic facts on each particular subject or delve a little deeper into the re-cycling subject with the section below.