When you think of recycling do you sigh and think that you just don't have the time or energy to do it? Do you see visions of hundreds of thousands of empty plastic bottles in some far-away factory getting ready to be melted down? Do you think that recycling is something that has to be hard; otherwise if it's not hard, then it doesn't count? I'm embarrassed to say that at one time, these were the thoughts that ran through my head and they justified my reasons for not recycling. I'm here to tell you that I was mistaken; recycling isn't something difficult, or something you have to go out of your way to participate in and when it's easy, well, it's just easy; and it still counts toward recycling.
Here are some of the easy ways I have found to recycle:
I have a terrible habit of leaving lights on when I leave a room. I seem to be someone who, when doing any kind of work, whether it's writing or stripping wallpaper, I need a lot of light around to do it. The first two ways I found to conserve energy and count myself in as a "recycler" was to turn off lights as I left a room. Sounds easy, right? Well, that's because it is easy. The only thing I had to do was remind myself that I was no longer going to waste energy by leaving lights on in a room that no one was occupying.
Mind you, I've had 43 years of doing things the way I'd been doing them and the change didn't happen overnight, but it did happen. There hasn't been a doorway I've walked through in the past 6 months or so that I haven't given a quick inventory before passing through the threshold and thinking, "Did I leave any lights on?" The great thing is, the times that I have left a light on, I'm given the final opportunity to stop and turn around and turn off the lights before leaving the room for good. Is this a difficult change? Like I said, it didn't happen as soon as I thought about my part in the effort to recycle, but it is something I have allowed myself to consider on a daily basis.
The other way I have found to easily adhere to this recycling thing is that I changed my lightbulbs. Yup, that simple act of replacing a burned-out bulb with one of the new, energy saving kind has really been a big help. The newer bulbs use up to 75% less energy when lighting a room and they will last up to ten times longer, too. How can you beat that? And there wasn't any effort on my part; all I did was replace the bulb with the new and improved bulb and have made quite the impact on my electric bill.
The good news is this; there are easy ways to stay on track with recycling, and you don't have to look very far to find them.
We all have appliances that break down or stop working with any kind of effeciency and the question becomes, where do we turn from here? Well, I have some suggestions and these suggestions will keep in line with the idea of energy conservation and recycling.
There are home products and products for the office that have been rated and earned the ENERGY STAR rating, which means that they are within the effeciency guidelines of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) as being cost effective and/or producing less waste. These agencies have deemed certain products as energy efficient and where ever you purchase appliances or heating and cooling systems, electronics and office equipment, by choosing a product that has the Energy Star mark, you are purchasing a product that is going to work with the efforts to recycle, reuse and reduce.
Many newer homes start off with energy efficient appliances and systems that are a savings right from the start, but not every one is that lucky to have brand new equipment. It's always good to keep in mind that when you are replacing an item, the best bet is to get the updated version which will almost automatically fall into the ratings of Energy Star and you'll know that you will be doing your best in the effort to use less energy and produce less waste.
All of the retailers from the largest appliance chains have products that are Energy Star approved. Whether you are shopping at Lowe's Home Improvements, Sears, Best Buy, Costco or the Home DePot, you will find a great selection of energy star rated options.
Because of the need for more and more options that will back the recycling effort in the United States, using Energy Star approved appliances not only makes sense but will end up, in the long run, saving the consumer on monthly expenses. How can helping the environment and saving money be a bad thing?
Please remember when you are making any home improvements or replacing any broken or out-dated appliances to only purchase those items that have the Energy Star rating and keep the process of recycling going. It's always better to keep up with something, like recycling, when you don't even know you're doing it! Energy Star products will keep you in that frame of mind.
Also, if you are looking to upgrade your windows in your home there are Energy Star rated windows that, when installed properly, will be a great asset to your home in the struggle to control the high cost of heating. Look for double pane windows and be sure that all of the surrounding area of the window is not allowing the cold air in, because if it is, then you can bet the warm air is leaking out and there's, "No need to heat the whole neighborhood," as my father used to say, everytime one of my sisters or I would leave the back door opened, when we were growing up.
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