Be Green and Save Money
Culture, Featured, Home, Saving Money, Tips
Give Your Fridge Some Breathing Room.
One of the easiest things you can do to increase efficiency is make sure there are a few inches between the wall and the refrigerator. This will keep air circulating around the condensing coils.
Keep the coils clean. Dust, dirt and pet hair can clog the coils and prevent them from working efficiently. To clean them, simply remove or flip up the grill. Use your vacuum cleaner’s brush attachment to gently remove any debris. Check your owner’s manual for details. If you have lots of pets you may want to do this step more often.
Check the Temperature.
If your fridge is too cold, you could be wasting energy. The recommended temperature is between 37 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The freezer should be set to about 5 degrees. Also, check your thermostat. Keeping it a few degrees warmer in the summer and few degrees cooler in the winter can save you big bucks and lots of energy.
Insulate Everywhere.
Don’t let the cool air escape in the summer or the heat get out in the winter. Seal up cracks and add insulation to your attic, basement or crawl space. If your hot water heater is over ten years old you may want to consider buying an insulated blanket for it. (http://www.greenandsave.com/utility_savings/gas/hot_water_heater_blanket.html)
Stop Junk Mail and Earn Money.
Since GreenDimes (http://www.greendimes.com/) started in 2006, they’ve stopped over four billion pounds of junk mail. Users pay a small fee and in return the nice people at GreenDimes stop junk mail from showing up in their mailbox and plant trees while they’re at it. But now GreenDimes is paying you to stop your junk mail. Head to their website, sign up for GreenDimes Basic and clean up your mailbox. In return, GreenDimes will send you $1. But, if you want to save paper, GreenDimes will plant a tree for you instead of sending you a $1 check. Being green has never been so easy.
