Greenr Life

We were down for a few days while the hosting company figured out the site had a DNS issue. Ah the joys of hosted web services.

Back when I grew up we didn’t have a dishwasher in our house. Well, that’s not exactly true, I was the dishwasher. But with today’s energy efficient appliences, like dishwashers, is it better to use real plates and glasses or the plastic and paper alternatives?

Let’s consider this. Using a dishwasher, although it uses water and electricity, is better on the environment due to the fact that the water used can be treated and reused. All those plastic and paper products go to land fills where they sit until they decompose (if they do) and take up precious land which is degraded because of the solid waste.

Another consideration for using real vs. paper is that it means having to make a trip to your local grocer or wholesale club to replace the paper and plastic when it runs out. This takes more money not only to buy the new product, but also in gas to get there and back.

So the next time you go to the cupboard to pull out a paper plate, consider the impact that one plate has on the environment and your wallet. You may find reaching for the real plate a better solution for not only you, but for everyone.

Shower heads that is. A low-flow shower head can save you tens of dollars in water and energy bills per year. Low-flow heads can be found at your local home supercenters and can cost as low as $10 per head.

You can reduce the time required to dry clothes by placing a clean, dry, absorbent towel (like the ones used for bathing) in with a load of wet laundry. The dry towel helps distribute the moisture in the dryer resulting in faster drying times. Possibly up to 25% faster.

Keep and extra towel by your clothes dryer to use exclusively for this tip. That way you will always have one handy.

Give it a try next time you dry your clothes.

I’m sure by now everyone has seen a Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) in either one of the big name do-it-yourself stores or on the shelves of the grocery or supercenter. CFLs use less power and have a longer life than that of the standard incandescent bulb. Although CFLs initially cost more than an incandescent bulb, the cost can be re-cupped over the life of the bulb because of the lower energy use.

Typically, CFLs can be used in the same fixtures as a standard incandescent which make them an easy replacement. The bulbs also produce the same quality of light of an incandescent without the heat output of a standard bulb.

One important item to note is that CFL bulbs do contain a small amount of mercury which can complicate disposal. Caution should be taken to properly clean if a CFL is ever broken.

So the next time you need to replace a light bulb, consider a CFL. You will be pleasantly surprised at the quality of light and will reducing energy costs at the same time.

I’ve been wanting to create a web site and blog that focuses on living a green life. So here we are. I’m looking forward to posting interesting and informative articles that we all can use to live green.

So stay tuned and visit often to see the latest tips and tricks.

Thank you!

Scott