Thoughts on green living

Eco-friendly lifestyle tips and tricks are the main topic of many publications and Internet pages created in the last years. Albeit being a local real estate expert gives me plenty of opportunities to talk about the many ways of eco-friendly living with my clients, my topic today will be a bit more specific. Most people have already come across the crucial eco-tips, so we are not going to try to summarize them here again. Our today’s topic will be the three everyday items that we generally don’t even consider to be a problem: food, water and electricity.

Groceries

Since most people (I believe!) regularly recycle paper, glass and tins, most of your common litter is probably composted of food. The bulk of the groceries that we throw away is in most cases in perfect condition and in some cases even in the original wrapper or box. We can find out that out of all the groceries that Canadian families pick out and pay for in stores, 20 to 30% eventually ends up in the dustbin. Adding stores and restaurants’ garbage, that’s 7 to 14 billion tonnes of food per year. That is worth $3 to 5 billion Canadian dollars per year.

Now you are probably surprised by these numbers, aren’t you? With so many organizations trying to help people affected by lack of food, while at the same time so much of it is being wasted right under our noses. While it wouldn’t be too smart to pack unused groceries and send it to countries hit by famine, there are other ways to avoid food being thrown out in vain. 1. Try using leftovers. For example if you had some rice remaining from last night’s supper, you could have prepared stuffed peppers today. 2. A good way of avoiding food going past the expiry date is sorting your food cabinet by this criteria: older food, that is going to expire soon, is placed in the front, while the longer lasting products can stay in the back of the shelves. 3. It may happen that you know beforehand that there is some food you are not going to be able to consume before its expiration date. Instead of throwing it out, try to find a local charity or soup kitchen and bring your food there when it’s still serviceable. Let some people eat it – hunger isn’t only to Africa. 4. If you have some leftovers anyway, try mulching it instead of just throwing it away. Always try to think in the way that food just shouldn’t be dumped. If you don’t have a garden yourself, try to find someone who does and can do the mulching.

Water

You probably already know many tips on how to prevent using more water than necessary in your household. But there is one remarkable aspect of home water saving – toilets, as places we use to get rid of our excrements. We got used to using toilets so much that we no longer think of them – as long as they work the way the are supposed to. However, have you tried to calculate how much water your family uses every month for flushing the lavatory? Wow, that’s a lot of water, isn’t it? And has it ever occurred to you that this quantity is not necessary, that flushing your lavatory can be done using less water? There are two different methods to achieve that. 1. There are new kinds of toilets available, that are using just the minimum volume of water necessary. You might think that there is not much to choose from when buying a new lavatory, but just stop by at your local shop and see for yourself, you might be surprised! 2. Another way of decreasing the amount of water for flushing is to put several plastic bottles filled with water into the tank of your toilet. You might have to experiment a bit before you find out the right volume of water needed for the toilet to keep functioning fine.

Electric energy

You have probably already heard a lot of tips and tricks on how to save electric energy. But now let’s talk about tumble dryers, as I see these myself as one of the biggest energy-eaters in our households. Today, people are not used to waiting before they get something they want or need at the moment, and they sometimes need too much energy getting it, just because it will be done faster. It’s a fact that no one has time today to do the laundry by hands and dishwashers actually save water. But tumble dryer? Would it be such a great problem if we just waited 1 – 2 days for our clothes to get dry? If you really mean to “live green”, use your tumble dryer only in crisis situations or get rid of it (sell it) completely. Not only the environment will be grateful for your decision, but also you will pay less for electricity.

What can you do to be more environmentally friendly?

All over the world being environmentally friendly is starting to become the norm. Homes are traditionally known as energy cows. This drain on energy reserves can also be a drain on homeowner’s wallets. Being greener to the environment will help not only the planet but your finances.

Insulation

Insulation is included as a part of almost every new home built today. If your home is older than this may be different. Building which were build before the 1940’s usually are not properly insulated. If you have an older building then you would need to check if it is insulated. Cavity wall insulation is the most common insulation process. Most home insulations can easily be set up in the cavity between two outside walls.

Insulation will stop the conduction of heat into or out of your home and save the power you have traditionally used to heat or cool your home. Sometimes heat insulation in countries such as Japan, America, and the UK is funded by local power companies, so homeowners are urged to contact their power provider before installing insulation.

Turning Out the Lights

Another simple way to save the environment and homeowners’ money is buy turning out the lights. when leaving a room turn off the lights to reduce your power bills. But how many homeowners follow this advice?

Many studies have shown that a very small amount of people turn out the lights when they are not using the room. This is very sad because something as simple as turning out a lights will not only save the environment but will also save money. Even today a a lot of families don’t use some of their rooms in their house. If they could turn out the lights in these rooms they could cut their power bills by 25 percent.

Of course, you cannot live in the dark and you must have your lights on sometime. Companies have recognized this need to balance the use of electricity and the need to preserve the environment and are now producing environmentally friendly light bulbs. These types of bulbs use a lower percentage of electricty every time they are switched on. Not only do they produce less waster they also last longer.

Don’t forget to Flush

Water bills rank right up there with power bills when it comes to both homeowners’ expenses and protecting the environment. Bathrooms are well known for water shortage. Along with things homeowners and their families can do to save water, like not running water while brushing teeth, there are devices on the market to help save water in the bathroom.

Several companies are making low flow shower heads that reduce the amount to water that comes from the shower every time it is turned on. These shower heads are inexpensive and easy for the homeowner to install.

Toilets also waste water and devices can be purchased and installed that lower the flow and fill level in all toilets. Your toilet will continue to work on an optimum level when using these devices.

Turning your thoughts to becoming more environmentally friendly can start by looking at how you can utilize the sun and the wind to generate electricty. Maybe take a look at building your own solar power or wind generators.

As well as looking after your planet you must ensure you look after yourself! Why not try Human Growth Hormone genf20 hgh. HGH is produced during your entire life span from inside your body, it is produced from your pituitary gland, which is the main nerve centre.