Celebrate Earth Day: Go Green in Your Apartment

On Earth Day, people around the world celebrate all the different ways they are taking care of this planet. Some are grand plans to conserve our natural resources. Other initiatives aim to help entire cities use less electricity and water. But we know that taking care of the earth starts in our homes. There are so many small ways that you can help better our environment on April 22^nd this year – right from your apartment home or community.

Top Ways to Go Green

1. Grow your own food. Many apartment communities now offer a community garden area, where everyone can participate in planting and harvesting their own food. If this is not available, you can grow your own fruits, vegetables and herbs on your own patio or balcony, ensuring that your food has a zero carbon footprint. The Tower Garden is the easiest growing system for apartment balconies that we have come across.
2. Recycle your receipts and all paper items. The number one paper item that most people forget to recycle is receipts. Just think of how many receipts we all collect. If we were just to recycle just this one paper item, we would save thousands of trees.
3. Recycle all your plastic wrapping. When you bring your plastic bags to your local grocery store to recycle, don’t forget to bring other plastic wrapping, such as the packaging that your paper goods are wrapped in when you purchase them, and used sandwich bags.
4. Reduce your electricity usage. Turning your air conditioning up by only two degrees can save a large amount of carbon emissions, and, of course, save you money as well. Unplug appliances, TVs, cell phone chargers, coffee makers when they are not in use.
5. Put used plastic bottles to good use. There are so many creative ways you can use your old plastic water and milk bottles. Cut off the top and they make great planters and containers to hold tacks, screws, and other household knick-knacks.
6. Switch out your light bulbs. Switch all the bulbs in your apartment to Compact Fluorescent (CFL) bulbs, which consume about 75 percent less electricity than standard light bulbs and last 10 times longer.
7. Wash laundry in cold water instead of hot water. This significantly reduces the amount of energy that it takes to run your hot water heater – with the nice side benefit of a reduced power bill to boot.
8. Take advantage of your community’s recycling program. If your community collects plastic bottles, paper and other materials, make sure you contribute your used items to the cause. This significantly reduces waste that doesn’t break down in your local landfill.

What are you doing to go green at your apartment? We would love to hear your tips. And, when you are looking for a new, earth-friendly community to live in, ApartmentSearch.com can help. Visit ApartmentSearch, select your price range, neighborhood and desired amenities, and let the site create a customized list for you. You can even earn up to $200 in rewards when you let your new apartment community know that you found them on ApartmentSearch.