Sustainability is on everyone’s minds these days. Protecting our children’s environment for the future should be a priority for all of us. Here are four sustainable changes you can make next year.
- Reduce your consumption of household energy – You can start by replacing all lightbulbs in the house with LED bulbs. This will change consumption by more than 75% per year. Another way you can reduce household energy use is to turn the thermostat up or down by 1 or 2 degrees you will reduce energy consumption by up to 15%/year. Turning the lights off in rooms that you’re not in can also make a significant difference.
- Reduce amount of water you use – An upgrade to your toilets to more efficient models can reduce use by as much as 50%. Also, don’t leave water running while brushing your teeth. (The average amount of water wasted while brushing your teeth is as much as three gallons of water!) Don’t leave shower water on before getting into the shower. Often we leave the water on until we know it is hot but, this can waste up to four or five gallons of water.
- Walk or use your bike – Many of us are used to just hoping into the car to go a block to get milk or eggs. Take your bike or walk. It is great exercise and can reduce the amount fuel you burn by a few gallons per month.
- Reuse your plastic zip-lock bags – Often we put left-overs like cheese or vegetables in zip-lock bags and when we use up the rest of the food in the bags, we throw them out. Leave the empty bag for cheese in the cheese drawer in your fridge and the same for veggies. When you have leftovers next time, just open the drawer and reuse the bags designated for cheese and veggies. This also works for bacon, sliced meats and fruit.
The most important thing to remember about sustainable changes you can make next year is that even a little bit will make a big difference, when we all do it together. Let’s all make it a priority to make sustainable changes in our daily lives.
.svg)
