Whether you’re a renter or homeowner, you can make eco-friendly changes to your living spaces without breaking the bank or waiting for a landlord to take action. Plus, there are lots of simple, effective ways to conserve energy that don’t involve years of saving up for state-of-the-art solar panel installation. These tips can get you started.
Save water
1. Convert your toilet to a low-flush toilet. Fill a half-gallon bottle (such as a milk or juice container) with water and place it in the tank when it is empty (gravel or sand in the bottom of the container helps keep it in place). Each time you flush you’ll save half a gallon of water, which will add up to hundreds of gallons saved over the course of a month.
2. Save your gray water. Gray water is the waste-water from your shower or sink—it is not clean enough to consume but can be used for household purposes. Place a bucket in your shower while you’re waiting for the water to warm up, and wash your dishes in a tub instead of directly in the sink. Pour a bucket of gray water into your toilet to flush without using any fresh water. You can also use it to water any inedible plants.
Conserve heat
1. Make draft stoppers for your doors. (See the previous post for instructions!)
2. Plastic your windows. Windows are a huge heat sink, and insulating them in the winter could save you up to $20 per window, per winter. Get a window-insulating kit from your local hardware store—if you rent, your landlord may reimburse you—and follow the simple instructions.
3. Open up the curtains during the day to maximize solar heat gain, and close them at night to keep heat inside.
4. In the dead of winter it’s tempting to keep the heat turned up, but you can save a lot of energy and money by keeping your thermostat at 68 degrees when you’re at home and turning it down to 55 when you’re away or sleeping. To keep yourself toasty inside, put on a sweater (or two or three) and invest in a hot-water bottle. Stick one under your blankets to warm your feet as you fall asleep. Ahhh…
Cut down on electricity use
1. Get in the habit of turning off the lights when you leave a room.
2. Unplug all appliances when you’re not using them, or use a power strip. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, up to 75% of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed by products that are switched off but not unplugged. That’s a lot of wasted energy!
3. Instead of drying your laundry in the dryer, hang your clothes to dry outside or on a clothing rack. Nothing like the sun’s free energy! (See this post about the benefits of solar- and air-dried laundry.)
