10 Ways To Save The Earth (& Money) In Under A Minute
So you want to help the environment, but you don’t think that you have enough time? Here are 10 simple things that you can do in under a minute that will help the environment and save you money at the same time:
1. Use Half The Amount (time: none): Try using half the amount of the products you use every day. Most of your everyday household products will work just as well when you use half the amount that you are currently using. Some that you might consider using this method with are laundry detergent, shampoo, cleaning supplies, etc.
2. Cold / Cold Wash (time: under 5 seconds): A knob turn on your washing machine can save about $100 a year in energy costs. Simply move the water temperature knob to a cold/cold wash setting instead of a hot/cold wash. Since the greatest cost of washing clothes is heating the water, a cold/cold wash can save a significant amount.
3. Put A Towel In The Dryer (time: under 15 seconds): Go and get the most absorbent towel you can find and place it near your Dryer. Each time you put in a new load of clothes to dry, also throw in the towel. This absorbent towel will reduce the time it takes for the entire load to dry and will save approximately 10% of the energy use.
4. Turn Down Your Water Heater Temperature (time: under 5 seconds for gas water heaters - electric water heaters are a bit more complicated and while adjusting them can be done in under a minute if you are mechanically inclined, you may want to have someone do it for you if you aren’t): Most water heaters are set at a higher temperature than they need to be. Adjust your water heater down to 130°F and you will save 3% to 5% on the cost of heating your water for every 10°F the temperature is reduced. On the gas water heaters, all it takes is a turn of the temperature knob to accomplish this.
5. Adjust Your Thermostat (time: under 10 seconds): With summer just around the corner, adjust your thermostat up a degree or two and for each degree you do so, you will save 3% to 4% on the cooling costs of your house.
6. Turn The Water Off When Brushing/Washing (time: under 5 seconds): The average bathroom faucet runs at about 2 gallons of water per minute. That means every time you brush your teeth or when you wash your hands with the faucet running, you use about 4 gallons of water. If you brush your teeth twice and wash your hands three times per day, it adds up to 600 gallons of water per month.
7. Turn Off Your Car Engine (time: under 5 seconds): If your car is going to be idling for more than 45 seconds, it’s more fuel-efficient to turn the engine off and restart the car again when you are ready to move.
8. Close Cooling Vents (time: under 5 seconds for each vent): There is no reason to cool the portions of your house that you are not going to be in. Walk around your house and close the cooling vents in all the rooms where you don’t spend a lot of time. This will help your air conditioner work less (and thus save energy and money) than if you had all the vents open. Just be sure that there is not a temperature sensor in the room when you close the vents.
9. Replace Light Bulbs (time: under 30 seconds per light bulb): If you haven’t done so already, replace your regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CLF). CLFs last ten times as long and only use 25% of the energy that a regular light bulbs uses. Over the life of each light bulb, you should save approximately $40 in energy consumption.
10. Turn Off Your Lights (time: under 5 seconds): One of the easiest ways to save money and help the environment is to simply turn the light switch off when you leave the room. There is no reason to keep lights on when there is no one there.
It really doesn’t take much time or effort to make a difference. In less than 10 minutes, you can make a significant contribution to the environment and save yourself some money at the same time.
Regarding #9 and #10: Replace only those bulbs that you are regularly using for extended periods (above 15 minutes). Switching CFLs on only for a short time is both a waste of energy and shortens the bulb’s lifetime.