If you’ve been thinking about making your home more “green” but haven’t done so because you’re afraid it will be too expensive, or that you’ll have to sacrifice too much, you may be surprised it can actually just take some simple changes. There are many ways you can “go green” at home, you can buy natural foods from local markets, you can recycle more, you can replace harsh chemical cleaners with natural solutions. Perhaps the easiest and most effective way, is to change your habits when it comes to utility use. Here are a few simple tips on how to cut back on utility use and waste.

“Water Consumption”- Water consumption is probably one of the most common problems because we often times don’t realize we’re being wasteful. Letting the water run while brushing your teeth, shaving, or washing the dishes is actually wasting water. A simple solution is to only turn the water on when you need to rinse out the sink, rinse off your toothbrush or razor, or rinse off the dish. And if you want to be super-green you can brush your teeth, shave, and wash the dishes at the same time……just kidding.

“Doing Laundry”- When it comes time to do laundry, make sure you have an adequate load to put in, hold off on doing a smaller load or find things to add to it. Also, using cold or lukewarm water can cut back on energy used to heat the water.

“Electricity”- A very simple rule to have is, “if you’re not in the room, the light doesn’t need to be on”. This rule can also apply to anything from t.v.’s, fans, radio, etc.. A few other ways you can save on energy use are, to replace your standard light bulbs with energy saving compact fluorescent bulbs, actually unplugging appliances and devices (even the t.v.) when they are not in use, or you can get a smart power strip which will power these devices down when not in use instead of leaving them on stand-by mode.

So you can actually go green in your home by simply being aware and using common sense. Not only will it help improve sustainability, but your bank account as well.