How to Create to a Greener, Environmentally Friendly Home

Greening your home doesn't mean that you need a change of color around the house. What you need is a change of the way certain activities take place. To what end? A cleaner, greener, more environment-friendly neighborhood and probably a better world. Greening your home doesn't require to make any major sacrifices. It only means that you have to make small changes and use things in moderate amounts, like water and electricity. How can you do this and still lead a normal life?

Change your appliances

Many of the appliances found in your kitchen contribute to all sorts of ozone-destroying, environment-unfriendly activities. Just take a look at your refrigerator. Are you still using Freon to run that old fridge? You can save more than $100 on electric bills by getting rid of it and buying a new, energy-saving model that can still keep your drinks cool and be environmentally friendly at the same time. In fact, any of your appliances that are over 10 years old should be replaced. What should you buy? Look for anything with the "Energy Star" logo and you can use up to almost 50% less energy which means considerable savings. You will just have saved acres and acres of trees as well.

Temperature control

Is your house equipped with a thermostat? Believe it or not but when its cold, turn it down and turn it up a bit when it's warm. This will help you save both energy and money. If you can't stand the cold, you might want to consider using a furnace instead. Make use of the fireplace if your house has one. In warm weather, you can always make the place cooler by shading your windows and dressing everything in lighter colors such as your curtains, bed sheets, etc. This is probably the oldest trick in the book since darker colors absorb more heat than lighter colors do. And lastly, another way to cool of in summer months is to use electric fans or ceiling fans instead of air conditioning. Think about it. Why would you want your place to be too cold when that was exactly what you were trying to avoid in the winter?

Water Patrol

Watch how you use your water and keep tabs on the amount of water that you use. In fact, water should be rationed at best as it can. One way to save on water is to install infrared-controlled faucets. These work only when the infrared sensors detect movement underneath the faucet, such as when you wash your hands or brush your teeth. When movement is detected, the faucet will allow water to flow. When there is no movement detected, the flow of water stops. These special faucets are not that expensive and run on batteries so they don't need to be plugged in to any wall sockets. Another way to save water is to install low-flow toilets. These toilets use half of what normal toilets use and you still get the same cleaning and flushing effect. Outside of the house, you can use a broom to clean your driveway instead of hosing it down with water. You will be saving gallons of water for the world and more money for yourself.

Saving money and saving the world can both be in the same agenda. Make a difference by changing the way you do things in your household and encouraging others to make a greener home for themselves as well.