5 Eco-friendly Tips that Make ‘Going Green’ at Home Easy

“Going Green” at home is a great way to help the environment and save you money. Today is Earth Day and to celebrate Bowen Family Homes is providing you with some everyday eco-friendly tips that will help you become more “Green” around the home.

Recycle: Recycling is an easy way to do something good for the environment. Many items can be recycled including paper, plastic and aluminum. You can also recycle or reuse many ink cartridges, turn your Christmas cards into gift tags for next year or reuse old tissue boxes as a plastic bag dispenser.
Conserve Water: According to the American Water Works Association the average daily household water use is 350 gallons. Some easy ways to cut back on your water usage is to take shorter showers, don’t let the faucets run and only run the dishwasher when it is full.
Pay Attention to Your Thermostat: By lowering your thermostat in the winter and raising it in the summer, you will save energy and reduce pollution. For every degree you lower in the winter and every degree you increase in the summer, you will save one to three percent on your heating and air bill.
Change Your Lightbulbs: Replacing one incandescent lightbulb with a compact fluorescent bulb saves the equivalent amount of energy as driving your car coast to coast. In less than a weekend you could save 20 to 25 percent on your utility bill.
Wash Your Laundry in Cold Water: 90 percent of the energy use by washing machines goes into heating which means the higher the temperature the higher the cost to you and the environment. Many loads can be done in cold water even if the tag says to wash in warm water, so do as many loads as possible in cold water.