This is Day 134 of the Green in 365 series! By Hilary Kimes Bernstein of Accidentally Green I remember when compact fluorescent lightbulbs were introduced to the public. My husband and I had just bought our first house, and we invested in dozens of CFL lightbulbs to conserve energy. Room by room, we replaced every incandescent bulb with a CFL one. The lighting definitely looked different, but we were excited at the thought of saving so much money. Then our electric bill … [Read more...]
Green in 365: The Living Room – Buying Electronics
This is Day 24 of the Green in 365 series! If you are like the average American family, a lot of your time spent in your living room centers around using electronics; watching TV or videos, listening to music, playing video games. And you know that your electronic equipment is almost obsolete by the time you bring it home from the store and get it out of the box, the technology is changing so fast these days. So, sometime within the next year you may be in the market for some … [Read more...]
Green in 365: The Living Room – Using Your Ceiling Fan
This is Day 22 of the Green in 365 series! Do you have a ceiling fan in your main living area? They may not be the most trendy of interior decor, but did you know that they can improve air-circulation in a way that actually helps to lower your heating and cooling bills? There should be a little switch on your ceiling fan that changes the rotation of the blades from clockwise, to counter-clockwise, and back. In the summer, be sure you fan is set to rotate counter-clockwise, or … [Read more...]
Green in 365: The Living Room – Window Treatments
This is Day 21 of the Green in 365 series! We talked last week about weatherproofing your windows, and hanging window treatments is another easy way that you can green your living room, and other rooms in your house. Hanging heavy, lined curtains can help keep your home insulated from the outside weather, both in the winter, and in the summer. Photo by Pottery Barn In the winter, close your curtains at night to keep the warm air in, and the cold air out. Be sure to open … [Read more...]
Green in 365: Living Room – Plug in a Power Strip
This is Day 11 of the Green in 365 series! Our living rooms are mostly likely home to many of our electronic devices. Our big-screen TVs, cable boxes, DVD players, stereos and CD players, gaming systems, maybe computers, iPads, or iPods and all of the chargers that go along with them. There's a lot of electricity coursing through this room, and the reality is that it is ticking up our electric meter, even if none of our electronics are on, or running. Electronic devices pull … [Read more...]
Green in 365: Living Room – Switch Your Lightbulbs
This is Day 10 of the Green in 365 series! Now that we're inside our homes, one of the rooms that gets a fair amount of use is the living room, or family room in some homes. I'm talking about the space where we hang out with our families, watch TV, listen to music, relax, play games, and more. Most of the tips we'll talk about over the next few days and weeks will cover the main living area in our homes. Our family lives in a smaller home, so our living room is the first room … [Read more...]
Green in 365: The Entryway – Weatherproof Your Door
This is Day 8 of the Green in 365 series! Now that we're inside our homes, with our shoes wiped off and left at the door, stop and pause for a second. Do you still feel the cold air from outside leaking in through the door? A lot of energy can be lost and wasted through a drafty front door. We have an old front door, but have made some changes over the past few years that have helped it not to be so drafty. There are some easy ways that you can make sure that your entryway … [Read more...]
FAQ – Are Reusable Products Really Better For The Environment Than Disposable?
Photo by Andreanna Moya Photography I'm starting a new monthly series here at Live Renewed - Frequently Asked Questions - FAQs. I often get asked similar questions from friends, family, and people who are learning about going green, or know what my blog is about and ask me about it. Also, I really want to hear from you guys, my readers, what you have questions about, or want to know or learn more about. To start things off, since we've been talking some about reducing our disposables … [Read more...]
9 Easy Ways to Winterize Your Home
Photo by starmist1 Since we've been talking all about ways to keep warm around the house, another great way to make sure that we are saving energy and saving money this winter is by winterizing our homes. There are lots of simple, easy and inexpensive ways to keep the warm air inside our houses and the cold air out. 1. Open all your vents and clear them of objects that would impede the heat getting out and circulating around the room. 2. If you have old, drafty windows like we do, use bubble … [Read more...]
Simple Steps – Turn Down Your Thermostat
We're having our first big snowfall today, and it is hitting me - not the snow - but the fact that it's officially winter. I'm not a total winter hater, I love sipping mugs of hot drinks, cozying up with a blanket and a good book in front of a fire (oh, how I wish we had a working fireplace!), warm sweaters, wool socks and snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes. Okay, maybe not that last one, I've just heard The Sound of Music soundtrack a few too many times over the past few … [Read more...]
