Tag: saving money

Categories
Eco Tips Featured

Four Ways to Switch Up Your Exercise Routine

Winter weather means comfort food, sweaters, holidays, family time and boots. That also means we get comfortable with all the big, baggy clothes. Don’t get comfortable, get fit! Here are three tips to green your exercise routine.

Get Rid of Cotton

Cotton is a common fabric but it isn’t the most eco-friendly material. Did you know that it takes on average 400 gallons of water to grow the cotton required to make one t-shirt? Imagine how much water it takes for a sheet set. However many designers for home and fashion have started using bamboo. Bamboo is a great material for work-out clothes because it’s softer and wicks moisture and harmful bacterial away from the skin and it’s better for the earth!

Exercise Outside

While gyms are super convenient to work out, they are super hard on the environment. Many of the exercise machines stay plugged in all night, whether or not their being used. Talk about a phantom load! That also doesn’t include televisions and lights that are used every hour inside.  Our advice? GO OUTSIDE! Ride your bike, go for a run, clean up your yard and more. It’s more eco-friendly and some studies show that spending time outside will help naturally boost your spirit.

Water Bottles

We all know that one-time use plastic water bottles are bad for the environment. It’s time to commit to using a refillable water bottle for your workout routine. By using a refillable bottle means less waste in landfills and more money in your wallet!

Recycle Your Sneakers

Bought a new pair of sneakers because your old ones are starting to have holes in the soles? Instead of just tossing them to the curb, give your shoes a new purpose with Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program. Old shoes are used to build tracks, basketball and tennis courts!

Categories
Featured Furnishings Home Improvement

Ceiling Fans Can Help Reduce Your Energy Costs

Everyone who lives in a climate that gets over 80° is interested in reducing energy costs.  Installing a ceiling fan is one way that you can save some money and stay cool in the summer.

Why a ceiling fan

An important tidbit of information to remember is that ceiling fans don’t lower the temperature in the room, they just provide a breeze that can help make you feel up to 5° cooler. However the movement of the air inside the house in the summer may be enough to lower the thermostat a couple degrees, thus saving you a few dollars on your electric bills. Ceiling fans cool you off which will help reduce the temptation to keep lowering the thermostat. It is important to remember to make sure the blades are rotating counter-clockwise for a “cooling” effect.

Where to put a ceiling fan

If you are remodeling your home or having a new home built, don’t forget to order the wiring for a ceiling fan in every room (where you could possibly want one), even if they don’t get installed right away. It is much cheaper to have the rooms wired in the remodel/building stage than after the fact.  It’s a good idea to put a ceiling fan in every room where your family spends a lot of time (kitchen, family room, living room, the den, and of course the bedrooms).

What ceiling fans won’t do

Ceiling fans won’t keep your home cool if you leave them on when you aren’t home.  They don’t cool the air, they just provide you with a breeze that cools you off.  If you leave your fan on in the room when you aren’t there you aren’t saving energy – you’re wasting it!

Categories
Eco Tips Featured Gadgets & Gear

4 Kitchen Appliances You Can Live Without

An easy way to start reducing your electric bill every month is to cut back on appliances you do not really need. If you are like the typical household you have drawers and cabinets filled with gadgets and small appliances. To help conserve energy, resources, and money consider getting rid of some of these gadgets and using the alternative instead.

Electric Knife

Most people break out the electric knife twice, maybe three times a year (Thanksgiving, Christmas dinner, and maybe Easter). However why not ditch your electric knife and use a nice sharp knife instead? It does the exact same thing as an electric knife but does not use any electricity.

Juicer

Are you surprised to find an electric juicer on the list? This is an easy switch that won’t screw up your healthy juice regimen. Hand-held juicers require a little muscle, but they produce big energy savings.

Electric Mixer and Stick Blender

An electric stick immersion blender has a single mixer attachment, so to make something like whipping cream, a hand-held mixer is your best bet. The old fashioned, quiet hand mixer works like a dream. Often you can find these in antique stores with wooden handles. Don’t forget vintage is totally in right now.

Coffee Grinder

It’s early in the morning and it’s awfully easy to plug in the coffee grinder to pulverize fresh beans. Just think how much faster you’ll wake up if you have to do it yourself.

Categories
Eco Tips Featured

How-to Reduce Summer Heat in Your Home

With summer right around the corner and the thermostat on the rise, it’s only natural for the electric bill to be on the rise as well. By using household appliances and household electronics is raises the temperature inside your home. Here are 10 tips to help reduce summer heat in your home!

  • Try not to use the oven. Use a microwave oven, or use a barbecue grill.
  • Use a slow cooker to prepare one dish meals without adding extra heat to the house.
  • While cooking put lids on pots and pans to hold the heat in.
  • Most hot water heaters have thermostats that are set to 140 degrees for hot water. It isn’t necessary–turn the thermostat down to 120 or 115.
  • You’ve probably heard that taking a bath uses less water than a shower. That may be true, but if you take a short shower, about 5 minutes, you’ll only be using one third of the amount of hot water than you would with a bath.
  • Don’t use the drying function in your dishwasher. Let the dishes air-dry.
  • Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes. Dry your clothes on hangars or outside.
  • Try to do any ironing all at once to prevent having to heat the iron several times.
  • Do “wet” chores in the early morning or at night when it’s cooler. This will help to keep humidity down. This includes washing clothes or dishes, mopping floors, watering indoor plants, etc.
  • Turn off computers, printers, copiers, and home electronics when they are not in use. Surge protectors that allow you to plug several items into one strip with an on/off switch make this even easier.