With a rise in global warming, it has become increasingly important to adopt eco-friendly measures. Only then can the emission of green-house gases be reduced. More people are now looking to go green, and adopt eco-friendly ways to lead their lives.  Going green helps protect the environment, and also helps us save money.

Adopting and sticking to a green lifestyle is very simple. Here are seven steps that can help you save our planet. Start today, and help make our planet a better place:

1. The easiest way to reduce your overall electricity bill, is to turn up your AC thermostat by a few degrees during summer. During winter, you can turn down the heater thermostat by a few degrees. By changing the thermostat setting, you can save a lot of electricity. This will have a positive impact on your bills.

2. If you need to travel short distances, walk or use a bicycle. Make use of a car only for longer distances. This way, your car’s gas consumption can be reduced. You save money on gas, and you also do your bit in reducing air pollution.

3. Dry your clothes out in the sun, as far as possible. Not only do your garments feel and smell better, but you also save a lot of electricity. Why use a dryer when you don’t need to? This is yet another easy way to save electricity and money.

4. While driving, try to maintain a speed of about fifty-five miles per hour. This is the most efficient speed for your vehicle’s engine. It will burn the minimum quantity of gas and attain the best mileage, at this speed setting. Also, try and minimize the acceleration. Drive smoothly and don’t be too abrupt while applying the brakes.

5. Don’t waste water. You should check all the taps to ensure that they have not sprung a leak over time. Try to reduce the amount of time you spend in the shower. It’s a good idea to replace your toilet cisterns with new ones, which use less than two gallons of water per flush. Regular cisterns make use of about 3.5 gallons of water. Efficient cisterns mean less water usage, which in turn translates to lower bills.

6. Make use of Compact fluorescent lights (CFL), to address your lighting needs. CFLs use only 10% of the electricity that a normal bulb uses and they last almost 10 times longer. If you want a more energy efficient option, you can use LED bulbs.

7. You don’t need to use hot water to wash your clothes. Most of the detergents that are available today do an equally good job, when they are used in cold water. So set your washer to wash clothes in cold water.