Make Your Home Greener in 5 Easy Steps

1 - Switch to compact fluorescent bulbs. You can get a pack of 3 for around $10. While they are a little more expensive than traditional bulbs, they reduce electricity in your home from anywhere between 20 to 25 percent. Plus they last about 10 times longer than traditional incandescents. So not only are you saving money (up to $30 a bulb over it’s lifetime), you’re using a significantly less amount of energy. We rolled all the loose change we had laying around the house and in our car . . . and had enough money to buy bulbs for 75% of the lights in our house. It’s that easy.

2 - Turn down/up the thermostat. In the summer, keep your house a little warmer by bumping that air off while you’re not at home. In the winter, keep your house a little cooler and wear warmer clothes while lounging around. Plus you get the added benefit that jogging pants are more comfortable than shorts!

3 - Utilize your blinds and curtains for more than decoration. In the summer, turning your blinds facing up (instead of down) will keep the sun from coming directly into your house and save a great deal of energy and money on your electricity. In the afternoon when the sun is on the back of the house and the 6 full windows, we close the blinds and pull the curtains.

4 - Seal up those air leaks. Warm air leaking into your home during the summer and out of your home during the winter can waste a lot of your energy dollars. One of the quickest dollar-saving tasks you can do is caulk, seal, and weatherstrip all seams, cracks, and openings to the outside. You can save as much as 10% on your heating and cooling bill by reducing the air leaks in your home. You can test your home for air tightness really easily. On a windy day, hold a lit incense stick next to your windows, doors, electrical boxes, plumbing fixtures, electrical outlets, ceiling fixtures, attic hatches, and other locations where there is a possible air path to the outside. If the smoke stream travels horizontally, you have located an air leak that may need caulking, sealing, or weatherstripping.

5 - Another great “hot spot” to watch is the fireplace. In the winter, when the fireplace is not in use, keep the flue damper tightly closed. A chimney is designed specifically for smoke to escape, so until you close it, warm air escapes—24 hours a day!

6 - Close doors to rooms you’re not in. Or don’t use. For example, when we don’t have guests staying with us, we keep the door to the guest room closed. We also close the vents in that room. This effectively decreases the square footage and size of our house by 15%. Which theoretically means that our house is using 15% less energy. This may sound a bit excessive . . . but if no one is going in there or using that room . . . why pay money and use energy to cool and heat it? Close the vents and shut the door.

7 - Unplug! Even if your appliances are turned off, they are still using energy! Buy a few power strips and plug multiple appliances into them. When you’re not using them, just simply flip the power on the switch. Something as simple as an HDTV and a Wii can cost as much as $20 a month if it stays plugged in all the time, even if it’s not being used!

8 - Pay attention to that hot water heater! Your hot water heater is one of the biggest and most expensive energy users in your home. When you go on vacation turn off your hot-water heater or put it into a “vacation mode”. Or go out and buy a hot water heater timer and set it to come on a few hours before you wake up and a few hours before you come home after work. You can always override it if you need to, but simply setting your hot water heater to come on when you need it will save you more than just warm water!

9 - Instead of using paper or plastic bags at the store, carry a few cloth sacks. Or if you only have a few items, try going without a bag. When you’re at the bookstore and you pick up a couple of books . . . just ask for the receipt and no bag. If you’re just picking up a gallon of milk on the way home, do you really need a bag? If you have to use plastic bags, hold on to them and bring them back to the store the next time you’re there.