11 Easy Ways You Can Go Green in 2011

Was one of your New Year’s Resolutions to do more to help the environment and “go green”? Do you now find yourself struggling to come up with easy, inexpensive ways to do this that will not drastically affect your daily lifestyle? If yes, then look no further. Here at EcoMaids NJ, we have come up with 11easy ways that you can go green in 2011. Even if you didn’t make it your New Year’s Resolution to go green, but you are just always looking for ways to help the environment, these tips are for you!

1. Stop buying bottled water and instead drink filtered tap water from a reusable water bottle. Americans use countless bottles of water a year and many are thrown out instead of recycled. By purchasing a reusable bottle and Brita filter, you will help reduce the number of disposable bottles that are used each year and you will be saving yourself money in the process.

2. Use Scott Naturals new Tube-Free toilet paper to save on paper waste of tubes that are normally thrown out instead of recycled.

3. At the grocery store, forget the plastic and use reusable bags. Or if you don't want to do that, bring back your already used plastic bags and put them in the plastic bag recycling bins now located in the front of many grocery stores.

4. Change light bulbs to energy saving light bulbs and be sure to turn off the lights when you leave a room.

5. Turn the water off when you brush your teeth.

6. Use cold water to do your laundry. Approximately 90% of the energy used by the washing machine is used to heat the water and the majority of loads done don’t even need hot water.

7. Use 2 sides of the paper. This will drastically cut down on the amount of paper used and it will save you money on paper also. Once you're done with a piece of paper, use the other side for grocery lists or other household things rather than wasting a whole extra sheet to do this.

8. Turn off your computers and unplug cords when they’re not being used. Using a power strip can make this easier because you can just turn the whole strip off at night and it will not waste electricity.

9. Use a programmable thermostat. Being able to program the heat in your house to automatically go down for extended periods of time such as at night while you’re sleeping and during the day when you’re at work will conserve energy and as a result save you money on your heating bill.

10. Walk or bike whenever possible to save money on gas and to put fewer pollutants in the air.

11. Sign up for online banking and get rid of paper statements. Statements can be e-mailed to you and if you’re paying off loans, sometimes the lender will offer a lower interest rate if you pay them online.