Beauty of Earth

Conserving Energy - At Home

1. When using an oven, minimize door opening while it is in use; it reduces oven temperature by 25 to 30 every time you open the door.
2. Wash clothes with warm or cold water instead of hot.
3. Purchase appliances and office equipment with the Energy Star Label
4. Turn off lights, computers and other appliances when not in use.
5. Plant trees to shade your home.
6. Replace old windows with energy efficient ones.
7. Install weather stripping around all doors and windows.
8. Keep your thermostat at 68 in winter and 78 in summer.
9. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs to save money and energy.
10. Use a microwave when- ever you can instead of a conventional oven or stove.
11. Clean the lint filter in your dryer after every load so that it uses less energy.
12. Clean or replace air filters on your air conditioning unit at least once a month.
13. If you have central air conditioning, do not close vents in unused rooms.
14. Lower the thermostat on your water heater to 120.
15. Wrap your water heater in an insulated blanket.
16. Turn off unneeded lights even when leaving a room for a short time.
17. Set your refrigerator temperature at 36 to 38 and your freezer at 0 to 5 .
18. Unplug seldom used appliances.
19. Reverse your indoor ceiling fans for summer and winter operations as recommended.
20. Only use electric appliances when you need them.
21. Keep your thermostat higher in summer and lower in winter when you are away.
22. Insulate your home as best as you can.
23. Shut off electrical equipment in the morning before leaving for work and in the evening before going to bed.
24. Shade outside air conditioning units by trees or other means.
25. Use cold water instead of warm or hot water when possible.
26. Connect your outdoor lights to a timer.
27. Buy green electricity - electricity produced by low - or even zero-pollution facilities
28. Unplug electrical items such as video game systems and plasma TV's when not in use.

Reduce Toxity - At Home

1. Learn about alternatives to household cleaning items that do not use hazardous chemicals.
2. Review labels of household cleaners you use. Consider alternatives like baking soda, scouring pads, water or a little more elbow grease.
3. Use traps instead of rat and mouse poisons and insect killers
4. Use cedar chips or aromatic herbs instead of mothballs.
5. Buy the right amount of paint for the job.
6. Eliminate mercury from your home by purchasing items without mercury, and dispose of items containing mercury at an appropriate drop-off facility when necessary.
7. If you have an older home, have paint in your home tested for lead. If you have lead-based paint, cover it with wall paper or other material instead of sanding it or burning it off.
8. Have your home tested for radon.
9. When no good alternatives exist to a toxic item, find the least amount required for an effective, sanitary result.

In Your Yard

1. Avoid using leaf blowers and other dust-producing equipment.
2. Leave grass clippings on the yard-they decompose and return nutrients to the soil.
3. Use recycled wood chips as mulch to keep weeds down, retain moisture and prevent erosion.
4. Water grass early in the morning.
5. Take actions that use non hazardous components (e.g., to ward off pests, plant marigolds in a garden instead of using pesticide).
6. Put leaves in a compost heap instead of burning them or throwing them away.
7. Use an electric lawn- mower instead of a gas-powered one.
8. Create a wildlife habitat in your yard.
9. Rent or borrow items like ladders, chain saws, party decorations and others that are seldom used.
10. Minimize pesticide use.
11. Use only the required amount of fertilizer

At The Office

1. Copy and print on both sides of paper.
2. Reuse items like envelopes, folders and paper clips.
3. Set up a bulletin board for memos instead of sending a copy to each employee.
4. Use e-mail instead of paper
5. Use mailer sheets for interoffice mail instead of an envelope.Use mailer sheets for interoffice mail instead of an envelope.
6. Use recycled paper.
7. Use discarded paper for scrap paper.
8. Encourage your school and/or company to print documents with soy-based inks, which are less toxic.
9. Use a ceramic coffee mug instead of a disposable cup.

Protect Our Air

1. Ask your employer to consider flexible work schedules or telecommuting.
2. Recycle printer cartridges.
3. Report smoking vehicles to your local air agency.
4. Don't use your wood stove or fireplace when air quality is poor.
5. Avoid slow-burning, smoldering fires. They produce the largest amount of pollution.
6. Burn seasoned wood - it burns cleaner than green wood.
7. Use solar power for home and water heating.
8. Purchase radial tires and keep them properly inflated for your vehicle.
9. Ignite charcoal barbecues with an electric probe or other alternative to lighter fluid.
10. Walk or ride your bike instead of driving, whenever possible.
11. Join a carpool to get to work.

Use Less Water - Here's What You Do

1. Check and fix any water leaks.
2. Install water-saving devices on your faucets and toilets.
3. Don't wash dishes with the water running continuously.
4. Wash and dry only full loads of laundry and dishes.
5. Follow your community's water use restrictions or guidelines.
6. Install a low-flow shower head.
7. Replace old toilets with new ones that use a lot less water.
8. Turn off washing machine's water supply to prevent leaks.

Ways to Protect Our Water Sources

1. Revegetate or mulch disturbed soil as soon as possible.
2. Never dump anything down a storm drain.
3. Have your septic tank pumped and system inspected regularly.
4. Check your car for oil or other leaks, and recycle motor oil.
5. Take your car to a car wash instead of washing it in the driveway.
6. Learn about your watershed.

How About Less Trash - Reduce Your Waste

1. Buy items in bulk from loose bins when possible to reduce the packaging wasted.
2. Avoid products with several layers of packaging when only one is sufficient. About 33 of what we throw away is packaging.
3. Buy products that you can reuse.
4. Maintain and repair durable products instead of buying new ones.
5. Check reports for products that are easily repaired and have low breakdown rates.
6. Reuse items like bags and containers when possible.
7. Use cloth napkins instead of paper ones.
8. Use reusable containers to store food instead of aluminum foil and cling wrap.
9. Shop with a canvas bag instead of using paper and plastic bags.
10. Buy rechargeable batteries for devices used frequently.
11. Reuse packaging cartons and shipping materials. Old newspapers make great packaging material.
12. Compost your vegetable scraps.
13. Buy used furniture - there is a surplus of it, and it is much cheaper than new furniture.

These are only 95 tips to getting starting. I'm positive there are more ideas and tips out there on ways to staying green and improving your lifestyle.