Want to save some green while going green for the environment? Thankfully, going green has become much more economically viable in recent years. With developments in technology and science even things such as solar panels have become not only more efficient, but the cost has gone down as well. Not to mention that acceptance of climate change is at all-time high, it’s no longer strange to be concerned about your carbon footprint and what you can do to change it. In this post I will outline some easy, medium and harder difficulty changes based on either time involved or upfront costs. These changes will help lower your impact on the environment and save you cash long term.

Easy:

• Buying Organic Fibers: When you need to replace your sheets, curtains, jackets or blankets look to buy organic cotton or fleece models. Organic cotton and fleece production has much lower impact on the environment than their non-organic counterparts.
• Changing Light Bulbs: Changing your light bulbs from incandescent bulbs to CFL’s (compact fluorescent lamp) or LED’s can lead to quite the energy savings. CFL’s and LED’s use approximately one quarter of the energy that an incandescent bulb does, and they last much longer. The upfront cost of these bulbs is higher, but check with your local energy company, often times they will send you a package of 10 or so to get you started.
• Axe Paper Towels: Paper towels while incredibly convenient are horrible for the environment. In the United States two percent of total landfill waste are paper towels. Consider making the switch to reusable wipes that you must wash periodically. You can always take t-shirts or other clothing items you don’t use any more to cut up into rags that can be used for much of the same tasks as paper towels.

Medium:

• Changing Shower Head: Water can be an incredibly scare resource for many people throughout the world. By changing your shower head to a low flow model, you can save up to $145 each year on electricity costs! That’s an insane amount to save for a minor change.
• Programmable thermostat: Programmable thermostats optimize your heating and cooling to only when you are home, you prevent the HVAC system from using unnecessary energy which in turn saves you money!
• Fix Leaky Faucets: A leaky faucet can waste about 140 gallons of water a week! That’s 7,280 gallons a year, a huge amount of water waste. Most leaky faucets are easy to diagnose and fix, with some common tools and a little YouTube research you can most likely fix them!

Harder:

• Add Insulation: Adding insulation to your home boosts your homes ability to retain heat and cold air. It’s a little bit more expensive than the other fixes listed here but it is one of the highest return home improvement projects out there!
• Replace Older Appliances: By replacing old appliances one by one you can ensure that your energy costs are being reduced by the new technology in new appliances. Modern water heaters are much more efficient and considering it’s the second largest energy expense in your home it might want to be on the top of your list to replace!
• Replace Windows: Old and leaky windows can cause drafts throughout your home and let cool or heated air out of your home. Modern more efficient models can make a big difference and could be a big boon to the value when it comes time to sell!