Easy Tips for a Green Home

Congratulations! This is a huge step into living green. If you're reading this then you are taking the initiative to GO GREEN. So give your self a pat on the back for being earth-friendly.

Now, sit back and read on for easy tips for a Green Home

Conserve Water

It's something that we're taught ever since we were kids. Always conserve water, but how do we actually conserve water? Simple! Just turn off the tap when not in use.

1. When washing your hands
• Turn off the tap when your soaping your hands. 
2. When brushing your teeth
• Turn off the tap while your putting toothpaste on your tooth brush
• Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth. 
• Instead of scooping running water from the tap, use a glass and fill it with water, use the glass for gargling.
3. When washing the dishes
• Turn off the tap when your soaping your dishes
• If possible, recycle the water you used for rinsing the soaped dishes for cleaning other stuff
4. When washing clothes
• Use soaps that have the 1 rinse technologies
• Don't keep water running while your washing clothes
5. Use lower shower heads
• Lower shower heads needs less water pressure
6. Don't open the tap full out. 
• Just let enough water flow. It may be slower but it saves more water

Save Electricity

Aside from saving a lot of money because of a lower electricity bill, you're helping save the earth by reducing the amount of energy or electricity that needs to be produced

1. Unplug anything that you're not using
• Appliances that doesn't need to be plugged in 24x7 (air conditioner, electric fan, oven toaster, microwave, bread toaster, television. radio, laptop, cell phone chargers, computer, computer AVRs)
2. Do not over-charge your gadgets
• Aside from lessening the battery life of your gadgets, you won't consume too much electricity if you unplug the chargers
3. Switch off the lights
• Lights are "appliances" that you can't unplug, so just switch them off when you're not using it
• If it's still bright outside, just use the natural light from the sun
4. Use energy efficient light bulbs such as LED bulbs or fluorescent lights. You'll also discover that these lights aren't hot on the skin
5. Use rechargeable batteries
1. Instead of buying and disposing batteries, just buy rechargeable ones. You'll save a lot.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle + Repurpose

Yeah, yeah, you've heard of the 3 Rs in school loads of times, but let's add another R in the equation. Repurpose or more known now as upcycling. Now, let's get down and dirty on those 4.

Reduce

Reduce waste. Use less of everything. We have to change our mindset that new stuff is good stuff.

1. Reduce plastic consumption
• User your own bag when shopping
• Refuse plastic bags if you can carry the items by hand or put it in your bag
• Don't use drinking straws
2. Reduce paper consumption
• Use your own bag when shopping
• Refuse paper bags if you can carry the items by hand or put it in your bag
• Print on both pages of papers
• Use scrap paper for writing down small notes
• Don't scribble unnecessarily (oops! I'm guilty of this!)
3. Reduce water and electric consumption

Reuse

Most things around us are not for single use. Again, this requires that we change our mindset that new is good, or new is better, or that new is the only way to go.

1. Reuse plastic (or glass) bottles
• Reuse bottles from vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, water, juice and softdrinks. Use them as water pitchers or juice bottles
2. Reuse plastic/styro cups and bowls
• When in a party or convention, you can reuse the cups that you got for drinking water or coffee
3. Reuse plastic bags/paper bags that you got from shopping either by
• Using them the next time you shop
• Carrying your things when going somewhere
• Using it as a gift bag
• Using it to segregate your trash/ trash bin covers

Recycle

You can recycle almost anything now. From the conventional way of recycling, to earning you a few bucks.

1. Make a compost, even if you're not planning to put up a garden now, you'll never know when the urge hits you, or when you'll need rich soul. Use biodegradable material for your compost
2. Use the soapy water you used for rinsing clothes for cleaning your car, the garage, or anything else that needs cleaning
3. Segregate
• Segregate your trash and sell paper, glass bottles, plastic bottles and plastic bottle caps to a junk shop or a nearby recycling facility

Repurpose

Upcycling

is now a fashionable trend. Gone were the days when people who use trash for decoration were considered weird. Now, upcycling things is so fab that a lot of people are doing it and sharing tips from one another. A lot of people even sell their upcycled crafts, and people buy it. Being green is now a fashion statement.

1. Old magazines, papers, newspapers
• Coasters
• Beads
• Jewelry
• Pictures/Picture frames
•  Fireplace logs
2. Tissue Rolls
• Napkin ring holder
• Wall art
• Scrap book art
3. Plastic Bottles
• Lamps
• Flowers
• Scoop
• Spritz bottle

I hope you find these tips useful and more importantly, doable. All the small things that we do matter, especially if we are greater in number, so do share this.

Do you have any more tips or suggestions? Do tell us what you think.