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Ten easy ways to reduce your environmental impact around the house.

realestate.msn.com — The list is written with home owners in mind, but even if you rent it still has plenty you can do to decrease your environmental impact. There are also some links to more advice.

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  • ThinkBox, on 10/12/2007, -24/+3two words: Courtesy Flush
  • airencracken, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9Heard this one, don't subscribe to it

    If it's yellow let it mellow
    If it's brown flush it down
    • diggduggjoe, on 10/12/2007, -9/+4Lower your impact to zero in a single step.

      Find an organic hemp rope and hang yourself. It is important not to use synthetic material and avoid bleached materials. Even in suicide, you can make the right choice!

      The Earth and the rest of us will thank you. /sarc
  • cptshamrock, on 10/12/2007, -6/+6One of the problem with the low flow toilets is that they dont work very well. ie it takes 2 flushes to get everything down thus defeating the purpose of the low flow
    • axiomflash, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7low flow toilets are designed like this:
      -if it is too much to get down in one flush, hold the handle for a few seconds and it immediately releases more water and flushes a big crapload.

      a lowflow toilet would be far more efficient none-the-less, unless every single time you go to the bathroom you manage to clog the toilet.
    • a7bat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I recently got a low flush toilet through a toilet exchange program my city's water department has been holding. I got the Caroma toilet. It flushes well, however, if you got the runs or some waste that is just too much, then it requires 2 flushes if holding the button for awhile doesn't rid the wastes.
    • DocNo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Do a google search for Toto toilets.

      Their GMax technology is quite effective. Low flush isn't a bad idea if it's correctly engineered...
    • diggduggjoe, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3Real men clog toilets. Real men always need multiple flushes.
  • Desolite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14"About 44% of all junk mail is thrown in the trash, unopened and unread, and ends up in a landfill."

    hence being "junk" mail.

    good awareness article.
    • Salviati, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1How about these homes...They reduce waste just by building them:
      http://digg.com/hardware/Shipping_Containers_Recycled_as_Homes
    • DangerStevens, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5How we handle junk mail is one of the easiest ways to save the world:
      A) it doesn't have a "business reply envelope" so throw it in the recycle
      B) it does have a "business reply envelope" so cram ALL the mail you can fit into that envelope and send it back to where it came from. It reduces your waste and takes money away from some marketing company.

      http://multipartysystem.com
    • Striker840, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0 "About 44% of all junk mail is thrown in the trash, unopened and unread, and ends up in a landfill."
      In my house most of our junk mail gets thrown into the shredder, bagged, and used as either a fire starter for when we take trash out to my bro in laws to burn, or it gets thrown into the recycle bin. Just depends on what it is and what mood we are in LOL
  • terminalpariah, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16Toronto Hydro has been advertising really heavily to get us to use green appliances, turn down the AC, etc. They're also giving out coupons for energy-star ceiling fans and compact fluorescent bulbs.
    Our family bought some ceiling and window fans and we've done pretty well this summer without any AC. Now if only businesses would smarten up and let their employees wear comfortable clothes they could turn their AC down a few degrees and save us from brownouts. :P
  • CRasH180, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2This is some very good information that everyone should "try" their best to follow. I feel that it would make the world a better place.
  • qw1j1b0, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13 Buy food that was grown close to your house. Go to farmer's markets.
    • DangerStevens, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6It's cheaper, better tasting, and environmentally wise. This is probably my favorite tip.
  • eug2k, on 10/12/2007, -16/+2microsoft no digg
  • d8cam, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8For those of you in apartment complexes, you could actually WALK your fat self to the dumpser with your trash bags rather than putting them on top of your car and driving to the dumpster 100 feet away. Some people are just idiotic...

    I notice, by the way, that foreigners that live in my apartment complex walk their trash to the dumpser, but good old fat Americans drive their trash...
  • 0crabby0, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2Not one mention about shutting off your electric water heater when not in use.

    No Digg
  • a7bat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Here's a link to some green cleaning tips:
    http://houseofstrauss.co.uk/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=240

    I use the tips recommended, but sometimes you will come across a complicated cleaning task that these tips won't work on, so you'll need to buy an environmentally safe product.

    One that I've encountered have been getting rid of hard water stains from black tile. I removed them by using a safe product called Spot-X, available at Home Depot or Amazon. After that, I was able to clean my tile through the recommended tips from the link provided.

    I also use Hydrogen peroxide for stains, Vegetable oil based laundry detergent, baking soda for a laundry booster, and vinegar for fabric softener. For real stubborn stains on clothes or other places, you can use a mixture of sodium carbonate and sodium percarbonate, which is what Oxiclean/ Oxyboostis or other oxygen based products. Of course, let your whites or stained clothes soak for awhile before washing.

    The benefits are that your free petroleum based products, toxic fumes, and you save money.
  • sapo916, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6I will start growing my own Toilet Paper Trees.
  • SteveCUBE, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Great tips, I hope everyone tries and follows these.
  • Salviati, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If you live near LA, here is another way you could help reduce waste, build you house with these:
    http://digg.com/hardware/Shipping_Containers_Recycled_as_Homes
    It may even save you 1/2 of the construction costs! Reusing these steel cargo containers is better for you, the community, and the environment. Then you can follow the rules of this digg.
  • diggduggjoe, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Not a bad article, but compact fluorescents contain mercury. It is hard for a home user to recycle regular tubes, but most of those recyclers do not take the compact form.
    • diggduggjoe, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Digg me down, but you do not direct me to a good recycler? Thanks for nothing.
  • adnk283, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Expanding on the 'watch the temperature' tip, in the summer it's best to use the coolest parts of your home, caulk and weatherstrip your house, and generally avoid heat buildup. A full list of tips can be found at http://guidetogreenliving.blogspot.com/2006/06/tips-to-more-efficient-home-cooling.html
  • nazsco, on 10/12/2007, -7/+4About the "save a tree: use less paper"

    *****. paper companies need trees. if you use tons of paper, they buy more land and plant more tree to cut down later. And I'm not even going in the oxygen "production" level being higher in the growth then in the later years.

    animal pastures (have no clue if that's the English word I'm looking for) and plantations like soy or corn, those are the cause of less trees in the world.

  • paulr888, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2swamp coolers are an alternative to airconditioners. They cool the incoming air by sucking it through a moist filter. This causes part of the water in the filter to evaporate, thus lowering the air temperature. These coolers rely on a built in fan to move the air, so they do use some energy, but no nearly as much as an airconditioner. I have seen a lot of these coolers on a recent visit to Albuquerque, NM where it gets pretty hot in the summer.
  • BlackGaff, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5@nazco

    They plant more trees to chop them down using machines that fill the sky will pollution and obliterate any wildlife that has taken root within the trees.

    If we used more recycled paper products, the trees would stay planted longer, more groves could be planted, and nature could return to a semi-balanced state.

    Your comment is akin to saying "paper is biodegradable, thus we should put in a landfill to help breakdown other trash. Recycling paper actually HURTS the environment."

    :: sigh :: A Cherokee man is walking down the highway, crying because of you.
  • ehsmanager, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Article clearly has "green marketing" in mind.
    It always amazes me how huge marketing companies suck you into a “good faith” idea with a few blatantly obvious suggestions any kindergartner should know about conservation & the environment.

    “Hey try these simple, intangibly, quick fixes around your home to make you feel better about your “Eco-Space” while 50 coal fired electric plants open up in your back yard.”

    Here’s a “new” idea sell all your cars to by better, I mean more “Eco-Friendly” ones (Yikes) instead of consuming less, driving less and wasting less.

    Imagine if all the money from just the “Green Advertisers” or self promoting “obvious truth” movie went into putting “Solar Panels & GeoThermal” heating in all US public buildings… that could make a REAL dent and set a standard for the nation to follow.

    Seriously, large scale ad campaigns undermine good science and tangible efforts you could be making everyday.

    THANK YOU FOR ALL THE COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE!
    While the article lacked content I feel that any article that heightens public awareness and interest is a worthwhile, your ideas, posts & efforts made this the first Digg worthwhile for me to comment on.

    It is never too little or to late… just do something to contribute! Please.

    Here is a list I posted in April with a few more good ideas…
    www.peoplewhoprotect.org
    www.glrppr.org/newsletter/LINKSpring2006.pdf

    “Can you Digg it”
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