Living Greener Tips

TODAY'S TIP

Check your cars air filter, air filters in your vehicle that are dirty can reduce the mileage by as much as 25%. Along with your air filter and tire pressure being correct can save you money with these ever increasing fuel prices. 

Showers Save Water

Put a five gallon bucket in your shower, when you shower an average shower can trap up to four gallons of water that can be used to water plants or simply flush your toilets. If you have three showers per day in your household you can capture up to twelve gallons of water per day or 4,300 gallons per year. 

Pet Chef

If you want to know exactly what is going into your furball’s food dish, or your pet suffers from allergies, you can always make your own puppy (or kitty) chow. If the idea of becoming a fulltime pet chef is just crazy talk, making the occasional meal or treat is completely doable. Those broccoli stalks left over from your last stir fry also make some tasty morsels for your pup.

Bottled Water

Are you aware that tap water meets stiffer requirements than bottled water. Tap water is monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency and has to meet much higher standards. Bottled water is monitored by the FDA where the standards are much less.
Tap water is better and safer for you.

GET BETTER GAS MILEAGE: 

1. Go easy on the brakes and gas pedal: Avoid "jackrabbit" starts by accelerating gradually whenever possible. Also, anticipate stops to avoid sudden braking.

2. Avoid long idles: Turn off the engine if you anticipate a lengthy wait. Instead of idling at a drive-up window, park the car and go in. Idling burns more gas than restarting the engine. Limit car warm-ups in winter.

3. Avoid carrying unneeded items in the trunk: Extra weight decreases gas mileage. Also, reduce drag by placing items inside the car or trunk rather than on roof racks.

• Pay your bills online to save paper, energy from postage 
  vehicles, emissions, etc. (the average household pays 20 bills per 
  month which adds up to 771,000 tons of paper)
  

• Try not taking your ATM receipts next time you go to 
  the cash machine. 
  (every year consumers throw away enough ATM receipts
  to wrap the equator of the earth 15 times)
  
  

• Conserve fuel by turning down the heat at night and while
   you are away from your home — or install a 
  programmable thermostat.
  
  

• Take your own bags to the grocery store. If you take plastic 
  bags, use them until they are worn out.
  
  

• Compost your food waste and use as nutrient rich 
  soil for your lawn.

• Putting power strips on all your TV's can help reduce energy consumption. 
  Did you know that a TV even when turned off draws 40% energy. 
  

• Change your light bulbs to CFL fluorescents. If everyone replaced one 
  light bulb, that is like taking 800,000 cars off the road every year.
  

• Take your own coffee mug to your favorite coffee shop.
  

• Grades of plastic that are good to purchase, 2,4,5. Look at the bottom 
  of the bottle to verify. 

• Use aluminum bottles for water at the gym. The amount of water we 
  purchase each year, we could allow for each person in the world
  to have safe clean water.

• Stop 70 to 90% of your junk mail and have trees planted by going to 
  www.greendimes.com , check it out. They have real-time counters of trees
  planted and pounds of junk mail stopped.

• Things to do in the bathroom. Take shorter showers, don't run water when brushing your teeth or shaving. 

• Put gaskets behind your outlets.

• Drive a flex fuel vehicle, ethanol is much cheaper and it supports the United States economy.