Being conscious of our habits and how they affect the environment are important on an individual level and at the company level. As a Houston Moving Company that supports environmental awareness and earth friendly practices, we feel it is important to provide the Houston community with opportunities to support green initiatives and ways to easily incorporate these practices into the daily lives of our Houston movers.
A common misconception is that in order to be environmentally friendly, you have to spend extra money. This belief can serve as a deterrent to someone who would like to take steps to recycle and utilize more earth friendly items. Thankfully this is not necessarily the case. While it may seem expensive to buy eco-friendly appliances and household items, there are ways to inexpensively contribute around your home and remain focused on being friendly to the planet.
Keep in mind that small changes can add up over time. Something you may think of as a small effort can really make a large difference when done on a consistent basis. And if you have kids in the home, your small efforts magnify when they pick up your green habits too.
While investments in energy efficient appliances pays off over time, if you are unable to make this investment immediately there are many other ways you can be environmentally conscious and save money at the same time.
Read a few green tips to be ecofriendly in your new home.
- Recycle your moving boxes after your movers get you into your new home. 3 Men Movers in Houston, TX offers complimentary box recycling for customers and the greater Houston community.
- Raise the thermostat 5 to 10 degrees in the summer and lower it in the winter to conserve energy use in your home. Doing this before bed, and when you leave for more than four hours, helps save money on your electricity and the planet at the same time.
- Keep curtains and blinds shut for all windows facing the sun in the summer. In Houston TX, and many other parts of the US, it is extremely hot in the summer and you will expend extra energy cooling your home if the sun is blaring in the window. Help your AC do its job more efficiently by blocking out the heat and keeping all windows closed.
- Improve the energy efficiency of your home by installing inexpensive weather stripping around doors and windows and sealing any cracks where climate controlled air can escape.
- Significantly cut energy loss in your home by installing curtains with an insulated liner. These curtains help your air conditioner drain less energy by guarding the sun from warming your home.
- Keep anything that runs off of electricity away from the thermostat in your home. The heat those items generate will cause your air conditioning to work harder and longer. This wastes energy and money needlessly.
- Use energy efficient, compact fluorescent light bulbs, or LED lights. They are a little bit more expensive up front, but save you money in the long run and require less frequent replacements.
- Air-dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher’s drying cycle. If you have a dishwasher, you can let dishes air dry in the dishwasher without running it, which also avoids cluttering your counter space.
- Don’t leave your computer and monitor on when it’s not being used. It is easy to get called away from the computer and let it go into sleep mode, but this still drains electricity.
- Consider using dimmers for high-use areas. This allows you to have light, but not at full energy draining power.
- Don’t block registers, vents or heaters by furniture, carpeting or drapes. This also wastes electricity.
- Sign up for recycling curbside pick-up which is free in most areas. If there is a fee, contact your local city services to find out which complimentary recycling center is most convenient for you to drop off your recycling free of charge.
- Plant a small herb garden in your kitchen window or on your back patio. This conserves the energy it takes to commercially produce and pack these items. Many times, the children will become interested and it is a fun way to get them involved in your efforts.
- Establish energy efficient practices in the laundry room. Wash your laundry in cold or mild temperature water instead of hot to save one the energy used to heat the hot water. There are several energy efficient laundry detergents for cold water cycles sold in stores that are both eco-friendly and cost efficient.
- Make an effort to turn EVERY light off when you leave a room.
We hope these tips help you with your efforts to conserve energy, be conscious of your environmental habits and save money at the same time. We hope you will add any feedback you may have below. We are always looking for additional ways to be environmentally friendly. Thank you for your time and interest in this subject that is very dear to our hearts.