How To Stay Green While School is Out For the Summer
Everyone sing it with me Alice Cooper style...
"School's...out...for...summa...
School's...out...for...eva..."
Summer time brings with it lots of great things like vacation, fun in the sun, and great green cookouts.
However, it can also bring with it some VERY frustrating schedule changes with school being out.
So how can you settle back into your routine and continue living green through the summer? Here's how...
For those of us like myself, the slightest wrench thrown in the fine tuned engine of our daily routine can REALLY halt productivity.
I know, I know...I'm so OCD.
In addition to possibly getting out of the routine of recycling, composting, etc, we also face the summertime problem of being home more often.
So how can we continue to save energy during the summer?
- Use free or cheap ways to cool your home
- Install a programmable thermostat to set the A/C at a higher temp while you're out of the house
- Keep your curtains, blinds, and drapes closed during daylight hours to prevent your A/C from working harder than it needs to
- Operate home appliances (oven, washer, dryer, dishwasher, etc) at off-peak, non-daylight hours.
- What you may not know is that your electric company may actually charge you a higher kWh rate during daylight hours in the summer!
- Take advantage of the heat and line-dry your laundry
- Teach your kids about WHY you're doing these things...they'll listen
Following those quick tips will help keep your home cool, conserve energy, and save money on wasted utility bills...which no one likes.
What are some of your favorite tips to make sure you keep on living green during the summer months?
consolidating errands and reusing water...GREAT tips meredith!! I'll have to start reusing the water from the baby pool my dogs play in for my plant watering. Thanks!
We've definitely had to close our blinds and drapes this week!
However, I'm thinking that the schedule changes make it easier for us to consolidate errands, saving gas.
We're also trying to empty the baby pool to water our plants and putting the kids on light-turning-out and recycling duty.