30 tips for a greener lifestyle.

  

At Nature Clean® we like to make it easy to be green. When things are easy to do, they’re the most successful.

So, we’ve polled our team and came up with 30 simple, easy green tips that you can follow! 

Trust us, just try them out! Once you see how easy they are to do, we’re sure you’ll keep at them .  Even if you only end up maintaining 5 of them, you’re taking great steps.

Collectively little things make a big difference!

Plant a tree – they increase the amount of oxygen in the air! Or decorate your home with plants that clean your indoor air. The Toronto Botanical Gardens website lists 50 plants that can help to clean indoor air. Click here to see their list.

 

Take shorter showers. Next time you take a shower, be conscious of how long you’re in there and try to reduce the time as much as possible. Each time you take a shower, time yourself. Try to get a better time with each shower you take!

  

Weekender project! Make your own Toilet Dams. Conserves water & your money!

Visit the EcoAction teams website for detailed instructions, click here.

 

Replace standard incandescent light bulbs in your home with compact fluorescent lighting (CFL) blubs.

Most of the energy produced by an incandescent bulb is wasted heat. A fluorescent bulb produces less heat, so it’s much more energy efficient. A fluorescent bulb can produce between 50 and 100 lumens per watt. An incandescent bulb only produces 15 lumens per watt!   Nowadays there are many more “natural”, softer looking CFL bulbs on the market. Talk to a store representative to find one that’s right for you.

 

Bring your own lunch to work.  Try for a litterless lunch. Use reusable containers and bags. I really like my glass food containers because they last a long time, I can pop them in the microwave or dishwasher and don’t worry about chemicals leaching out of plastic into food. However I’ve heard glass containers use more energy to make than plastic containers do – so I try to use reusable plastic containers for food items that I don’t microwave, like nuts or veggies.

 

Turn down your heat or A/C before leaving your home, to save on energy and reduce your bill.

Also, consider getting a programmable thermostat, they automatically adjust the temperature so you can save energy & money while you’re out of the house or on vacation. 

 

Use Green Dry Cleaners. Traditional dry cleaning facilities use nasty chemicals like perchloroethylene. Perc is a suspected carcinogen, soil & earth contaminant and contributes to smog/air pollution.

Opt for a green dry cleaner. The Canadian Center for Pollution Prevention, lists green dry cleaners across Canada. Click here for their website. 

 

Replace your old model shower heads. An energy efficient shower head or flow controller conserves energy without affecting water pressure. Attach aerators on faucets.

 

Make a conscious effort to turn off the lights whenever you leave a room today. Open your blinds and drapes during the day; you won’t even need to turn the lights on.

 

Spring cleaning? Use non-toxic, natural cleaning products. Traditional cleansers can contribute to poor indoor air pollution – not to mention using nasty petroleum ingredients.

 

Dry your clothes naturally. Clothes dryers are one of the biggest consumers of household energy. Use a clothes line or racks/hangers and hang your clothes to dry. This saves energy and stress on the environment. Plus if you dry outside, sunlight provides natural bleaching!

Keep the 3 R’s in mind – RECYCLE - Try to recycle as much as you can, glass, plastic, paper… Keep recycling bins on every level of your house. That’ll make it top of mind and easier than lugging toilet rolls and empty shampoo bottles downstairs all the time to bins in the kitchen or garage.

 

Keep the 3 R’s in mind - REDUCE - When shopping buy what you need. Our lives are filled with items we don’t really need or want. Keep it simple.

 

Keep the 3 R’s in mind – REUSE - Next time you’re shopping for CDs , DVDs and games consider purchasing second hand. You can get great deals. Donate old toys, games & clothing, you’ll be helping others and reducing landfill waste.

 

Carry cloth shopping bags with you wherever you go. Try to keep one bundled up in your purse so you don’t forget it in the car.

 

Use a commercial car wash instead of washing the car at home. Yes, it’s surprising, but commercial car washes are more environmentally friendly than washing at home!   In Canada and the US there are laws that require commercial car washes to drain the waste water into sewer systems, where it gets treated before being released into bodies of water.  Many have also adopted water recycling and have special machinery to use less water. When you wash at home the waste water enters storm drains & water ways directly with no treatment to remove nasty chemicals.

Click here for more information.

 

Wash only full/large loads of laundry and use cold water wash.

 

Weekender Project! Install a tankless water heater (demand water heater).   It heats up water when you need it. The Sears Canada website says, “Unlike conventional hot water tanks that heat and reheat the same water 24 hours a day, a tankless water heater is more efficient because it only heats water when it is needed. You could save up to 40% on your energy bills switching to a tankless unit. Plus tankless water heaters qualify for an ecoENERGY rebate. You could get up to $653 in rebates.” 

To visit the Sears website, click here.

Instead of buying special bags and liners for your compost bin, simply line your bin with newspapers that you’ll be recycling anyway. 

 

Buy in bulk! From drinks to cereal to cleaning products – purchasing in 1 large container rather than many small containers is less wasteful! Many food items are now packaged in single serving sizes, and while they’re convenient, they use a lot of packaging. Buy in bulk simply refill a small reusable container.

 

Spread the word! Talk to your family & friends about the environment and how easy it is to adopt greener habits. If you have children, teach them about reducing, reusing and recycling. Teach them to love our world!

 

Recycle rain water for garden use. Save rainwater in barrels.

Unplug your appliances. Yes it’s great that you turned it off, but if you have an appliance that’s plugged into a wall (TVs, VCRs, Coffee makers, Computers) it’s probably still using phantom power! 

Even when they’re turned off, they’re still sucking some power to keep the clock going, or the power light on…

Look at all the appliances that have a clock – do you really need to be able to tell the time on your coffee maker, toaster, microwave and kitchen stereo all at once? Unplug these small appliances when not in use.

To learn more about Phantom Power, click here.  

 

Practice grasscycyling. It’s the practice of leaving grass clippings on the lawn after mowing. The clippings will dehydrate then decompose on your lawn returning nutrients to the soil. Taken from the Eco Action teams website, click here.

 

Make it a habit of visiting your local farmers market. Purchase large quantities of fresh and local fruit & veggies. Clean, chop and freeze for use later.

 

To help reduce water consumption consider using products that don’t use water. Instead of liquid soap – try using bar soap. Instead of laundry liquid – try using laundry powder.

 

If possible, take transit, walk or bike to work.

If you must drive, obey the speed limit, reduce idling and maintain correct tire pressure.

Taken from EcoAction team website, click here. 

Recycle your old home computers, cell phones, printers, TVs and other electrical appliances by dropping off at recycling centers. Check with your city or municipality website for a listing of drop off depots.

 

Consider a reel or push mower instead of gas/or electric mover. There are many new versions on the market that make it easier to mow without throwing your back out! Extra bonus – it’ll help you get fit too!

 

Have you made it through all 29 tips? Take a look back and honestly evaluate which habits were easy for you to do and which were not.   Being green means being smart. So do some research, visit libraries, check out websites, poll your family & friends today and create your own tips on how to be green!

 

Good Luck!

From the Nature Clean® team.