Eco Friendly Home Furniture Design Ideas

With a stagnant economy and a difficult job market out there, money is tight for many families this winter. For those of us in this situation, we are constantly looking to eliminate unnecessary expenses and cut costs when it comes to those core items and services that we need to buy. We reduce the number of meals we eat at restaurants, we take public transit more and buy gas less, and we decide to postpone a planned trip or vacation.

But savings can just as easily begin at home, as we’ve noted in two recent articles that deal with heat use and water consumption. Now, let’s take a look at another utilities cost that can add up quickly and that we’d always like to reduce: electricity.

Reducing electricity consumption can also help shrink your carbon footprint and make your home a more eco-friendly place. On this note, here are a few tips for reducing your home’s electricity use this year:

Automate Your House

All of us, at some time or another, have left lights on while we weren’t at home. Sometimes this was done intentionally, so as to make the house appeared occupied while we were off on a trip. Other times it was purely accidental. Either way, we can reduce our electricity use by being able to control our lights from afar, whether simply to turn them off or to make the home appear occupied in the most efficient manner. The best way to do this is by installing a home automation system that can be remotely controlled online. Companies like Vivint security can easily do this in a cost-effective manner.

Use Energy-Efficient Bulbs

Energy-efficient light bulbs may be more expensive when it comes to the initial purchase, but their ability to minimize electricity consumption means that your bill will decrease over the long-term. Ultimately, from both an environmental and cost perspective, energy-efficient bulbs are well worth the effort.

Reduce Heat Consumption

For many of us, our heating costs are tied to our electricity bill. This means that reducing the heat consumption in our home can lower our electricity use and our bill as a result. You can do this by adding insulation to your home, installing a smart thermostat, or simply by turning down the temperature a few degrees in the winter.

Unplug Appliances

Government research shows that 40% of the electricity use by appliances and electronics in the home is consumed while these devices are turned off. Some of the top consumers include fixtures such as computers, printers, televisions, sound systems, and cable boxes. Unplugging these devices while not in use can translate into noticeable savings.

These are just a few of the ways to reduce your home electricity consumption. Doing so is not only great for your bottom line, but it also reduces your carbon footprint and fossil fuel dependency. If you’re looking to make your home more eco-friendly, creating an efficient energy policy is certainly a great place to start.

Water is a limited resource that must be conserved as much as possible. There are many different ways that you can lower the water usage in your home. Consider all of these tips before implementing any of them. It may be worth your time and money to implement all of these tips as they may end up saving you hundreds of dollars.

* Check for Drips and Leaks

Leaks in pipes and drips in the faucet can add up to an incredible amount of water waste. Every faucet or pipe that even drips lightly every few seconds can lose up to 20 gallons of water per day. Even larger leaks can cause hundreds of gallons of water of waste. Fix these leaks yourself or call a plumber to make sure your leaks and drips are stopped.

* Never Use Toilet as Wastebasket

Many people throw used tissues, food items or even cigarette butts into the toilet. They then flush these items down the toilet, wasting five to seven gallons of water with each flush. This is not only wasteful but it can actually cause the toilet to clog, wasting even more water. Avoid this silly practice to save a lot of water every day.

* Limit Shower Length

A long, relaxing shower may feel great but gallons of water are going down the drain with each minute you shower. Try to shower for only 10 to 15 minutes at the most. Enforce this rule in your home with your family and house mates. This may be difficult for some people but try to keep them focused on saving water. At the very least, you can do it yourself if they won’t. Also, look into water-saving faucets and shower heads.

* Install Efficient Faucets

Efficient faucets are designed to be as efficient as possible, letting out only the water you truly need. Buying and installing these faucets is a simple way to regulate your water use. Install them on every sink in your home to make sure people that aren’t committed to saving water do so every time they use a sink.

* Rain Water Collection

One underrated way to save water is to start a rain water collection. These collections take the natural water from rain storms and collect it into a large bin. Boil this water for a few moments to eliminate any potential viruses or bacteria and use it for cooking, bathing, drinking and any other reason you may use water.

As many (most) of you, my favorite time of the year is Christmas. A time where family and friends come together to share good food, conversation, sometimes gifts, and bragging rights about decorations exceeding expectations. Though this time is precious with loved ones that doesn’t mean we can’t be aware and minimize the costs of celebrating to the environment and our own pocket. Below are some very simple ways to reduce your energy use, bills and overall carbon footprint.

1. Use Fiber Optic Decorations

The best way to reduce your carbon footprint over the holiday season is to decorate with fiber optic lights, even more so than energy-efficient light bulbs. Fiber optics only require one light source that is illuminated down the cables, drastically reducing energy needed compared to multiple bulbs each requiring current.

2. Timing Christmas Lights

A simple notion – Only turn on the lights when needed. There is no point in turning on your Christmas lights during the day but so many people do this. Some out of sheer ignorance but most due to the fact that they just forgot to turn them off from the night before. Using an inexpensive timer will allow you to ensure the lights are off during the day when the bulbs will be using unnecessary energy competing with natural light and automatically turn on the lights only during the peak evening hours when needed.

3. Use LED Christmas Lights

Costing on average only $10 a strand and consuming 90% less electricity compared to regular Christmas lights and regular incandescent bulbs, LED Christmas lights are a no brainer for the holiday season.

4. Use Candles to Light the Room

In my opinion rustic candles are more beautiful than a strand of Christmas lights any day of the week. Candles are a great way to light up a room during the holiday season and have the added bonus of emitting heat to help keep the furnace use down. Negligible some might say, but I say every little bit helps and in my small 580 square foot loft it makes an undeniable difference in temperature. If you really want to push the envelope you can be sure to recycle the wax from the candles!

5. Turn the Tree On, Turn the Lights Off

If your beautifully decorated tree that spent that whole afternoon on is lit up is there really any need to have the lights on? No. Not only will you be saving the energy use from unnecessary lights on but you will be enhancing the Christmas atmosphere.

6. Turn Down the Thermostat

With all those candles burning you can surely turn down the thermostat, especially once all your family and friend arrive and share their natural body heat!

7. Eco-Friendly Energy-free Gifts

Did you know that 40% of all battery purchases are made during the holiday season? Take this into consideration when you are doing your Christmas shopping this year. Buy energy-free gifts that don’t require power or gifts that make use of renewable sources such as solar. At the very least, if you can’t avoid a gift that requires batteries be absolutely sure to include rechargeable batteries.

Washing and drying your clothes uses a lot of energy. If you don’t have access to a clothing line, try and use some of these tips to lower the amount of energy you use while getting your household laundering done. The planet will thank you!

Firstly, its always a good idea to wash your clothes in cold water using cold-water detergents. For most of your clothing, this is perfectly fine.

Try and hold out on doing a load until you have enough to wash and dry full loads.

Dry your towels and any other heavy cottons in a separate load from light weight items. This will ensure you aren’t wasting energy by drying items that don’t need as long along with items that do.Additionally, use the cool-down cycle to allow the clothes to finish drying with the residual heat in the dryer.

Always make sure that your dryer’s lint filter/collector is clean, as this will improve the overall efficiency of your machine.

Try and remember to examine the dryer vent to see that it’s cleared of material. This will save energy.

And of course, if at all possible, air-dry clothes when you can. Air-drying is actually way better for most clothes, and will save energy and extend the life of your garments.

The Vornado Digital Vortex Heater was rated Best Overall by Good Housekeeping, and is listed as an energy efficient space heater. Vornado heaters are different from space heaters in that they use vortex action technology to fully circulate the warm air throughout the room in minutes! The DVTH has digital controls and uses automatic climate control which adjusts the heat output and fan speed higher or lower at all times to maintain the set temperature. This eliminates annoying hot and cold cycles where the heater shuts off allowing the room to cool and then turns back on to heat the room up again.

This De’Longhi Pinguino Portable Air Conditioner has 12,000 BTU’s for powerful performance. It incorporates an eco-friendly refrigerant gas, R410A, which actually has zero ozone depletion potential and is also denser, allowing for more compact components and units. R410A is a more-efficient refrigerant that allows for better energy-saving technology. And because it’s portable, you can spot cool different rooms as needed, which is a lot more energy-efficient than your central system.

Run your wrists and other pulse points under icy cold water. Repeatedly cooling off the wrists will also cool off the body. Some research suggests that this will reduce your core body temperature by as much as 3 °F (1.5 ºC).

Drink lots, and we mean lots, of ice cold drinks. Water is best. Avoid sugary drinks – yes, even iced tea – unless it is unsweetened.

Put a wet towel on the back of your neck and also the top of your head. This works!

Have a cold shower or bath. Even a tiny bit of water splashed on can help.

Soak a t-shirt, wring it out, put it on and sit in front of a fan.

I don’t really know what is going on here. Let me try to explain: the MultiPot is a new type of lighting unit, created to offer high quality convenience for your home or office. It is a hybrid, multifunctional lamp that combines an LED ambient light, a multisocket, and a vase-shaped container for storing extra cables. The MultiPot organizes electric cables in a safe and practical way because the lid doubles as a five-way multisocket designed for standard plugs. You can place it next to your television to connect all additional equipment while using the LED to reduce eye-strain or you can place it next to your computer to provide both light and organization in a cable-free environment. The MultiPot Table Lamp and Charger can also be used for simple tasks such as charging your cell phone, digital camera, or ipod, or you can use it as a place to stash your keys. Phew….

Bring some cottage style and cozy warmth into your home with this Wood Burning Pedestal Stove. The Wood Burning Pedestal Stove features a solid, dynamic appearance with performance to match. This stove is designed to give you outstanding heating efficiency while creating low emissions. The Wood Burning Pedestal Stove comes standard with black lourves, black trivet and ash pan with lid. The stove is available in small, medium, and large and you can also pick from four different finishes.

LED’s have really taken the lighting world by storm. This LED Ice Block is a fun and ultra modern accent piece that creates amazing color patterns. The ice block changes color and can be programmed independently or in a series. Add a fun touch to your room with this hip LED Ice Block.