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Health & Fitness

5 Ways New Home Owners can make their home more Earth Friendly and save money.

Earth Friendly Real Estate news

The first thing most homeowners do after purchaseing a home is NOT think how can I make this home more Earth Friendly .. but doing a few simple things can nto only make your home more earth frendly but also save you money to start thse painting project,useing earth frendly paint  of coarse

1. Use non-toxic cleaners Read the labels on the cleaning products that you buy. Check for the toxicity level of a product or brand on a scale from 0 to 10 (from low hazard to high hazard) in Environment Working Group (EWG)’s Skin Deep database and chose those products which have a near zero score on the scale. Be ready for a surprise or two when you discover how your favourite brands perform! The database also gives a list of ingredients for the brands and whether these are toxic or induce allergies.

2. Rent, borrow, freecycle Reduce, reuse, recycle is an oft repeated phrase, for good reason. You don’t always have to ‘own’ an equipment or product that you may use only once or twice. See if you can rent it or borrow it from other people. Use an online network to recycle stuff you wish to give away, sell or exchange, such as Freecycle, Craigslist or GumTree. Search on Google for one in your town or country.

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Some neighborhoods have started a "tool" swap - a great idea when you think how oftern do you really use the presure washer at the back of the garge 

3. Reduce the use of paper It’s now easy to go digital with so many things – bills, books, calendars and diaries. Here are some ways to go easy on paper, and save trees. Use cloth handkerchiefs and towels instead of paper tissues

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 Stop Junk mail by making a request to your local post office, and avoid ticking boxes that include you in databases. Avoid taking free flyers, brochures and pamphlets that you may not need. Avoid printing where possible, and if you must, print double sided. Also reduce font sizes to reduce paper usage. Do transactions online. Subscribe to online versions of newspapers and magazines. Borrow books from the library. If you must buy, share books with your friends and family. Try a digital display of books as in the Amazon Kindle. Use recycled paper where possible. Every ton of recycled paper saves about 17 trees according to the US EPA (1196) It also saves 682.5 gallons of oil, 7000 gallons of water, 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space ( Source: Onondaga Resource Recovery Agency 1998)

4.  Turn off the lights when not needed, even as you go from room to room in the course of your day (or evening)

According to ENERGY STAR, as much as 20 percent of a home’s energy use comes from light bulbs. Using a compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) requires about 75 percent less energy than incandescent, but lights that are turned off save the most energy of all.

5. Make the green grass of home a hardy perennial

Perennial ryegrass and drought-tolerant fescue are grass types that need less watering and chemical care. Use a healthy layer of mulch to reduce weed growth, retain moisture in the soil and keep roots cool, which again lessens the strain on the community’s water supplies. And don’t mind the beneficial bugs, birds, frogs and toads that might make your backyard their home as a result.

 

If you need advise on all things Real Estate  give me a call I am here to help 

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