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Tips for Greening Your Home
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Author:  Doug [ Fri Apr 24, 2009 8:35 am ]
Post subject:  Tips for Greening Your Home

Recycling is important, but first and foremost: Use less. The things you do use can often be used over and over again – either for the same purpose or for something totally new. Be creative.

Set aside bins in your green home to separate and collect recyclable materials, including newspapers, white paper, clear and colored glass, plastic water and milk bottles, aluminum, cardboard, batteries and fluorescent light bulbs. Check with your local trash-collection company, municipal government or business directory to find out what recycling services are available.

Packing peanuts and other loose fill will sit in a landfill for centuries, but there are lots of places you can bring them for recycling. Call the Peanut Hotline at 1-800-828-2214.

Many computers, monitors, cell phones and other electronics include toxic materials that should not sit in landfills, and you’d be surprised how many retailers and other companies will take your old gadgets for recycling. The Environmental Protection Agency can help you find local electronics recyclers. And that's not all: Did you know you can recycle athletic shoes? Mattresses? Dry-cleaning hangers?

Cleaning
Use non-toxic, environmentally safe, biodegradable cleaning products, including laundry products, which you can find at any natural grocery and even many mainstream stores. Just read the labels carefully. Don’t pollute your indoor air or mask odors that could alert you to a problem. Choose fragrance-free products.

Gardening
Use nontoxic gardening techniques. Many gardeners over-apply or improperly apply pesticides, putting themselves, their families and pets at increased health risk. Nearly half of all households have pesticides stored within reach of children. About 230,000 people each year are treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries related to various lawn and garden tools. Our clean air and drinking water are affected by pesticides and garden equipment emissions.

Energy
Unplug the “secret energy addicts” in your home: TVs, VCRs, DVD players, cable TV boxes, computers and printers, video game consoles, microwave ovens and AC adapters for cell phones, digital cameras and other electronics. Most electronic equipment, including anything that uses a remote control, is designed to consume energy when it is turned off. That “off” setting is actually a “standby” or “idling” mode. Standby power in the average household consumes 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually. That’s enough energy to power an entire home for two months, or more. The solution? Unplug anything that isn’t being used.

Use compact fluorescent lamps in your lights.
Wash your clothes in cool rather than hot water.

Source: U.S. Green Building Council

Author:  Organo Gal [ Sun Nov 29, 2009 11:17 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Tips for Greening Your Home

How does using compact fluorescent lights constitute green living?

I know I hear this all the time. But they contain mercury which is one of the most toxic chemicals. To be "correct" you should call haz mat to clean up if you break one of those bulbs. And you have to find a hazardous dump to dispose of them.

That is my understanding. Is that not correct?

Author:  mickle_john [ Fri Nov 18, 2011 4:11 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Tips for Greening Your Home

Doug wrote:
Recycling is important, but first and foremost: Use less. The things you do use can often be used over and over again – either for the same purpose or for something totally new. Be creative.

Set aside bins in your green home to separate and collect recyclable materials, including newspapers, white paper, clear and colored glass, plastic water and milk bottles, aluminum, cardboard, batteries and fluorescent light bulbs. Check with your local trash-collection company, municipal government or business directory to find out what recycling services are available.

Packing peanuts and other loose fill will sit in a landfill for centuries, but there are lots of places you can bring them for recycling. Call the Peanut Hotline at 1-800-828-2214.

Many computers, monitors, cell phones and other electronics include toxic materials that should not sit in landfills, and you’d be surprised how many retailers and other companies will take your old gadgets for recycling. The Environmental Protection Agency can help you find local electronics recyclers. And that's not all: Did you know you can recycle athletic shoes? Mattresses? Dry-cleaning hangers?

Cleaning
Use non-toxic, environmentally safe, biodegradable cleaning products, including laundry products, which you can find at any natural grocery and even many mainstream stores. Just read the labels carefully. Don’t pollute your indoor air or mask odors that could alert you to a problem. Choose fragrance-free products.

Gardening
Use nontoxic gardening techniques. Many gardeners over-apply or improperly apply pesticides, putting themselves, their families and pets at increased health risk. Nearly half of all households have pesticides stored within reach of children. About 230,000 people each year are treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries related to various lawn and garden tools. Our clean air and drinking water are affected by pesticides and garden equipment emissions.

Energy
Unplug the “secret energy addicts” in your home: TVs, VCRs, DVD players, cable TV boxes, computers and printers, video game consoles, microwave ovens and AC adapters for cell phones, digital cameras and other electronics. Most electronic equipment, including anything that uses a remote control, is designed to consume energy when it is turned off. That “off” setting is actually a “standby” or “idling” mode. Standby power in the average household consumes 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually. That’s enough energy to power an entire home for two months, or more. The solution? Unplug anything that isn’t being used.

Use compact fluorescent lamps in your lights.
Wash your clothes in cool rather than hot water.

Source: U.S. Green Building Council


Waooo.,
Great tips here..
Nice view that how can we make our home green..
Thanks for sharing..

Author:  tylerwalker1230 [ Wed Nov 30, 2011 11:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Tips for Greening Your Home

Particularly in the actual property business, greening your private home might be one other great selling level to potential buyers. This is a way to green your own home without spending a lot of inexperienced.You are doing quite nice trick to greening the home.

Author:  growingthings [ Thu Feb 09, 2012 9:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Tips for Greening Your Home

Organo Gal wrote:
How does using compact fluorescent lights constitute green living?

I know I hear this all the time. But they contain mercury which is one of the most toxic chemicals. To be "correct" you should call haz mat to clean up if you break one of those bulbs. And you have to find a hazardous dump to dispose of them.

That is my understanding. Is that not correct?


The mercury is a problem, but the "green" aspect of the lights is energy consumption. If disposed of properly, the mercury should not be a problem.

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