Have you ever thought of opting for eco-friendly ways to keep your house warm?

There are some eco-friendly ideas, which are so simple that they will make you wonder, why on earth you have not been using them already.  You get the same warm, toasty feeling and yet, it doesn’t cost you too much. Here are five very simple and effective eco-friendly tips that you could use this winter.

1. Seal those leaky windows- Make use of heavy curtains to keep the heat inside the house. You can also get weather stripping for the windows, so that the heat that is trapped inside the house does not escape. You might be surprised to find how cozy and warm your room can get without any kind of heating.

2. The Energy Star- If you have never paid attention to the energy star ratings, now is a good time to start. Energy star ratings are meant to help the customers understand, how energy efficient the appliances really are. Energy star ratings can be found on various appliances like boilers, heaters, furnaces and heat pumps (used for central heating). So the next time you plan to purchase an appliance, check the energy star rating.

3. Use a smaller heating system- Depending on the size of your home, go for a heating solution that is not too large. Even a single space heater can do wonders. So bear this in mind, while shopping for your heater.

4. Set the thermostat lower- When you are out in the cold and then come inside, you might want to turn up the thermostat of the heater. Resist the temptation, and remember that every degree on your thermostat, accounts for about 10 percent of your energy requirements for heating. Use a jumper or a sweater instead, and switch down your thermostat by a few degrees.

5. Soil, the natural insulator- You stand and walk on a natural insulator all the time, and might not even be aware of it. Soil is a great natural insulator and so, make use of this property to keep your homes warm during winter. Go in for geothermal heat pumps. In a geothermal heating system, liquid is circulated through pipes that run beneath the home through the soil. With time the liquid gets warmer, which is then pumped to a heat condenser. The heat condenser uses the liquid’s heat in running the central heating system of your home.

These are just five simple tips that can help you have an eco-friendly winter. Get creative and you will come up with many more eco-friendly options.

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.

Green living encompasses several green concepts and components. When you decide to go green, you need to do whatever it is that you can, to protect the environment. You need to recycle all your waste, eat organic foods, wear clothes that are eco-friendly and minimize your overall ecological footprint.

Fundamentals of Green Living

Going green also means reducing energy consumption, and choosing renewable energy resources as opposed to fossil fuels. To make use of wind and solar energy, you need to invest money in the equipment that can use these resources instead of electricity. If you live in sunny areas, you will have to install solar panels on your roof, which is not inexpensive. You will have to substitute your top loading washing machine, with a machine that does not waste as much water and power. Yes, these lifestyle changes do cost money, but for anyone who is serious about going green, the prime objective is to choose eco-friendly options.

A Closer Look at Unfriendly Cleaning Products

You might be surprised to know that the cleaning products that we use, are some of the highest sources of pollutants from our homes. Liquid cleansers contaminate the water, when they are used in the sink or toilets. Spraying air fresheners contaminates the air, as it releases chemicals into the air. The chemical cleansers that we wipe onto paper towels finally end up in landfills. They then contaminate the ground water and the soil. If you decide to go green, you need to make use of biodegradable cleansing products.

Once you stop using the chemical cleansers, the harm that you were causing to the environment will be drastically reduced. Biodegradable products don’t pollute the waterways, and help protect all the life that is supported by that water body. Stop purchasing products that can cause harm to the environment. You can lead a comfortable life and still do your part in protecting the planet. Guide by example, so that others get inspired to lead a green life too.

Baby Steps Towards Going Green

There are several other measures that you can take to go green. They may cost you little or no money, but they will help the environment a whole lot. Try to recycle everything that you dispose off as garbage, and try to repair products that you can. Buy food items that do not have too much packaging. In fact, there are several fruit markets that make use of recyclable wrap. So it would be a great idea to buy items from such places. Reduce air pollution by driving your automobile less. This will help you save money, and protect the environment too.

Making lifestyle changes is always a little difficult. But if you decide to choose the green path, you will do whatever it takes to go green.

A Green Movement Is Occurring

The whole world is waking up to the importance of green living. People are now trying to recycle waste, and in several countries, it has become an integral part of their lifestyles. There are other countries which have limited resources and so, they recycle resources instead of buying new products often.

Of late, people have realized how harmful chemical-based aerosols are. Thus, people are now using eco-friendly cleansing agents and natural pesticides, as opposed to chemical ones. These are a healthier option, as over a period of time, chemicals can cause a lot of harm to the environment. Organic gardening is also becoming highly popular, and this prevents release of harmful chemicals into the soil.

Taking “Green” Steps

An eco-friendly option when it comes to traveling is riding bicycles. You can also walk, which is good for the environment and does your health a lot of good. If you need to travel longer distances, try to carpool. This helps reduce the traffic, as well as pollution levels.

When it comes to energy usage at home or in your offices, try to use energy-efficient eco-friendly options. What is so encouraging about eco-friendly energy resources is the fact that they are inexpensive and easy to use. People are also realizing how much water they waste every single day. Due to global warming, people have started reducing water consumption in the past few decades.

Biodegradable products that can be recycled help in keeping the landfills from overflowing. If biodegradable products that cannot be recycled are thrown away as garbage, they pile up in our landfills and cannot break down. Thus, such products harm our environment. Nowadays, several people get their broken appliances fixed, instead of buying new ones. This way, they can save money and help save the environment too.

Green living is becoming very popular these days. Thanks to people who care about the environment and their eco-friendly ways, there is new hope for our planet.

The Effects of the Environment on Babies

Babies have very sensitive skin and are prone to rashes. Their immune system is also weaker than that of adults and so, extra care has to be taken while selecting baby products.  Catherine Cervasio, the founder of Aromababy, says that anything that is applied on the skin can get absorbed into the bloodstream. Thus, such products can be responsible for rashes.

Products that are derived from petro-chemicals, (e.g. mineral oil), are said to decrease the skin’s natural ability to breathe. Cervasio believes that in case of babies, a more natural approach to personal hygiene needs to be followed. You should not bathe a child too frequently, and it’s best to use non-commercial products for babies.

Precious Products

The clothes and bedding for babies should be made of natural fabrics. This will ensure that the baby is not exposed to harmful chemicals and dyes unnecessarily. Dyes and chemicals can cause allergies in young babies, so it’s best to avoid them. Toys that are made of wood and cloth are great for toddlers. Plastic toys last longer, but they are made from petrochemicals. Some of these toys may contain polyvinyl chloride, which releases harmful fumes. Why subject your baby to such harmful chemicals, when you can prevent this by using toys that are made of natural materials.

You CAN “Green” Your Baby Food

Food is yet another area where you can go green, while raising your baby. The safest and best food for a baby is breast milk. It is more nutritious for the infant, and you also eliminate all the packaging that baby food would come in. Andrew Radford, a member of the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, believes that if every US infant was bottle-fed, about 86,000 tonnes of tin plate would be needed for 550 million discarded formula tins. Not to forget the fact that formula needs to be heated up, resulting in increased energy consumption.

Green Cleaning & Your Baby

When you have toddlers and infants at home, you are automatically conscious about germs. So most parents tend to sterilize, bleach and sanitize everything that the baby may touch. Why not use natural cleansers? Vinegar and soda bicarbonate do a great job, and they also reduce the unnecessary exposure to chemicals. There are several other eco-friendly green products that your baby can benefit from, and you can find a listing of such products on the Green Pages green directory.

Eco-friendly parents can pass down their green lifestyle to their young ones. So choose to raise a ‘green baby’ from day one. Chances are, your baby will grow up to be an eco-friendly, environmentally conscious adult. After all, all the eco-friendly measures that we adopt today are aimed at leaving a healthier, greener and better environment for our kids.