How to Go Green with Your Pets
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Going green has even transected to being green with your pets. As guardians of your animals, you are also the guardians of the environment they live in. They, too, can make changes to help the environment with a few simple steps. For instance, if you go to the doggie park with your dog, walk there instead of driving. When using pooper scooper bags use, biodegradable bags for the feces. Cat owners can go for eco friendly cat litters. Many biodegradable options are litters made from wood chips or recycled wood chips. Be sure to avoid brands with mined minerals.
When it comes to grooming, air dry or towel dry your pet instead of using a blow dryer. Many environment friendly shampoos and conditioners are available for pet grooming as well. If your pet has an accident on the floor reach for the vinegar. The vinegar must be properly diluted with water, but it works great and will kill odor and bacteria. Vinegar is less expensive and is an environmentally friendly option.
When “treating” your pet consider making your own treats. There are many treat cookbooks or search on the internet for recipes shared by others. The possibilities are endless. If you do opt for store bought treats try to buy them in cardboard packaging and be sure to recycle. Using a stainless steel or ceramic food bowls will last longer and are more biodegradable.
Be sure to buy toys that are made with organic cotton or natural dyes. Some toys actually have pesticides in them and can actually cause pet allergies. Instead of using plastic water bottles when you travel with your pet use your own water from home in an eco friendly bottle. Most bottled water is tap water and your own water is what your pet is used to.
If you have pet s such as fish or hermit crabs put their lights on a timer. This will save electricity. You can also find biodegradable foods and tank materials are reasonably priced.
Your pet can “go green” too by you making a few small changes in their environment.
Top 5 Ways to Make Your Home Green
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Most people want to “Go Green”. There are things that you can do in your home to get you started. These are very simple ideas to follow, but keep in mind, each task is meant to lower your electric bill. Not only are you saving money, your saving the environment.
1. Plant a large tree in a place where the shade from it will cover the part of your home where the sun beats down in the afternoon. The shade lowers the indoor temperature keeping your air conditioner from working overtime. You can plant more than one tree, just make sure there is plenty of room for the roots to grow allowing the trees to flourish.
2. The air conditioning system in your home uses more energy than any other large appliance in your home. Find a reputable professional to come clean your unit. The cost is approximately $100, so it is budget friendly. Be sure to change the filter in your air conditioner once a month for more efficient use of energy. By maintaining the air conditioner annually, it will last for many years.
3. Think about how many times you have walked out of a room and left the lights on. This can be costly. Turn the lights off when exiting a room. You can save approximately $100 a year by changing to compact fluorescent bulbs. The amount saved is estimated on replacing five or six bulbs. Just imagine what the savings would be if you replace all your light bulbs.
4. The next time you are in the market for a new kitchen or laundry appliance, take a good look at the appliances that have the energy star label on them. This label means that it helps the environment and saves energy. Energy saving products are no more expensive than the others.
5. Keep your thermostat set at 78 degrees in the summer and 65 degrees in the winter. Depending on your climate, you may have to adjust the temperature, but remember, for each degree you program the unit, up or down, it affects your savings.
Small Ways to go Green
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In a society geared towards going “green”, this task can seem very overwhelming for the average person. The best way to “go green” is to take baby steps. Don’t try to do it all at once. There are very small changes you can make in your life that can make a big difference. There are many, very easy ways you can save energy. Below are some examples you can follow:
- A laptop uses a quarter of the power used by a desk top computer. If you shut down a home computer at night versus leaving it on and in sleep mode saves you $90 a year.
- A common stove uses the most electricity when it comes to cooking options. You can use a microwave, crock pot or toaster oven to use less electricity when cooking.
- If you wash your family’s laundry in cold water versus hot you can save up to 80% of the energy used to wash the clothes in hot water.
- If you insulate your hot water heater you can keep as many as 1,000 pounds of C02 a year from entering the atmosphere contributing to global warming. Also, turn your water heater down to 120.
-Installing a programmable thermostat that allows you to turn down the heat and air conditioning when no one is home or while the family is asleep can save the average family up to $150 a year.
- One word for going green in household cleaning – vinegar! Vinegar can clean out deposits in your coffee maker. A cup of vinegar will clean your washing machine, just run through a cycle without clothes.
- An easy way to save water is to change your shower head. Older shower heads can use 3 gallons of water a minute.
- Contaminants are brought into the house by the soles of shoes. Consider becoming a shoe free household. You can leave the shoes at the door and prevent a lot of environmental pollutants from entering your home.
You can take small steps that add up to big results to become a “greener” household.