GO GREEN THIS ST. PATTY’S DAY!
St. Patty’s Day is soon approaching so we wanted to share some easy tips and tricks for going green! Of course, most of you think of the obvious on St. Patty’s Day… Green attire, parades, festivals, shamrocks, rivers dyed green, corn beef and cabbage ….maybe even green beer! What you may not think of, is how to practice “being” green this St. Patty’s Day! What are some easy little changes you can make this year to be more energy efficient and live a healthier, more sustainable life?
One of the easiest, most energy efficient tasks you can do to help save energy and lower your energy bill, is change your light bulbs in your home. Invest in energy-efficient LED and CFL bulbs! They use up to 75 to 80 % less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs!! They also last longer and won’t burn out so quickly. Why not, right?!
Have you ever thought as simple as opening your blinds during the day? Yes, this applies to the cold winter months so it may not be quite as effective for St. Patty’s Day. Although, here in Charlotte and in the Midwest, they are calling for snow the weekend before St. Patty’s Day so I figured it was worth adding it to the list. About 10% of energy can be saved on heating when you open the blinds and let the sun shine through! And who doesn’t love natural light during the day?
Celebration Time! If you are having a party or friends over to celebrate, provide coolers with ice for people to put their drinks. Opening and closing the fridge frequently can raise your energy bill. Another easy tip is to have snacks that don’t need to be refrigerated. Plus, who wants food that should be cold after it’s been sitting out all day at a party?! Gross!
Shower VS Bath: Take a shower instead of a bath. I know you probably thought it would be fun to dye your bath green with a bath bomb from Lush and post it on Snap chat or IG, but if you want to truly be green this St. Patty’s Day, then we suggest you take a shower instead. Taking a bath can waste up to 30 gallons of water, whereas a five-minute shower uses closer to 10-25 gallons. If you really want to get crazy with it, you can install a low-flow shower head which can lower your impact to only two gallons per minute. I told you this was easy!
Cold is better! That statement is not always true in my opinion but in the case I am about to explain to you, it most certainly is. 80-90% of energy goes into heating water to wash your clothes. Use cold water instead! It will also help save you hot water if you decide to take a shower right after you throw in a load. It’s a win win.
Hang Dry…. I’m sure most of you went out and bought a cute new outfit to wear for St. Patty’s Day! And most of you (women) will likely wash it before you wear it since who knows how many people have tried it on. So, as mentioned above, use cold water when going through the wash cycle. Once it’s finished, hang it dry instead of putting it in the dryer. Up to 2-3 kg of carbon emissions are released every hour your dryer is in use. And I’m sure some of you have those dryers that don’t work right so you have to put it through two cycles just to get it dry. So annoying, I know… Also, that is a lot of carbon emissions being released in your home. As a result of air drying, are using less energy which in turn provides you an even lower energy bill.
Small things add up and make a big difference! Even if you can’t commit to all the actions above, doing a few of them will make you one step closer to living green!
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Have fun but most importantly….be safe and be green!
