Toilets should be used only to carry away sanitary wastes. Don’t use the toilet as a trash can or ashtray because toilets use about 3.5 gallons of water per flush.
Use your dishwasher and clothes washer only when they are full. For great water saving, most dishwashing-soap manufacturers recommend not pre-rinsing dishes. With clothes washers, avoid the permanent press cycle, which uses 5 more gallons for the extra rinse. Also, consider replacing old clothes washers with New Energy Star rated, which use 35%-50% less water and 50% less energy per load.
Take shorter showers. You can save up to 150 gallons per month by shortening your showers by a minute or two.
Consider installing Low-Flow showerheads, which use 2 gallons fewer per minute than the standard showerheads do. Those Low-Flow showerheads, which costs less than $5, can save a family of four approximately 20,000 gallons of water per year.
Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth or shaving. There is no need to keep the water running when brushing your teeth or shaving.
Check for water leaks. Check your toilets, indoor and outdoor faucets, pipes, hoses, sprinklers, and pool for leaks.
Turn off the light when you are not in the room. Consider changing over to Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs, which use about 75% less energy, produce about 75% less heat, and last about 8-12 times longer than the standard incandescent bulbs.
Turn off your TV, computer, DVD player, VCRs and any other appliances that use electrical energy when you finish using them. Many appliances continue to draw a small amount of power even when they are switched off!
Eliminate air leaks. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, you can reduce your electricity bills by 10% or more just by plugging all the openings in your ceilings, walls, and doors.
Use small, portable heaters to warm up those seldom-used areas or parts of large, cold rooms.
Set your thermostat at the lowest temperature that you are still comfortable with. It is recommended that you set it at 68-70 degrees in daytime and 55 degrees at night. Remember: you can save up to 1% on your heating bill for every degree you turn down your thermostat.
Aluminum: Â aluminum cans (Pepsi cans, coke, beer cans, etc.), aluminum foil and foil trays.
Paper: newspaper, magazine, office paper, junk mail, telephone directories, catalogs, paper bags, boxes, and cardboard.
Plastic: plastic containers (water bottles, soda bottles, milk jugs, shampoo container, detergent container, etc.), plastic grocery and produce sacks, and many other products (toys, plastic hangers, shelves, etc.)
Metal cans
Computer printers
OTHER ITEMS TO RECYCLE:
Get paid for recycling your old cell phone. Go to www.greenphone.com, simply select your phone and its condition to find out how much your phone worth, then send it in to Greenphone and wait for your cash.
You can also be paid for your old gadgets. Instead of throwing away electronic devices you don’t want any more- such as laptops, camcorders, Mp3 players, digital cameras, GPS devices, video games, etc. - you can send it to Gazelle and get cash for being environmentally responsible. They will pay for your shipping and even send you a box! To see how you can change trash to cash, visit www.gazelle.com for more information.
You think old, worn-out shoes are no good and cannot be recycled? Think again! Those old shoes can actually be processed, turned into raw materials and finally become part of a basketball court, track, field or playground. Visit website www.nikereuseashoe.com today to see how you can help putting your shoes back in use.