Give Your Home A “Green Makeover” (NAPSA)—The first step in cutting your carbon footprint— and yourutility bills—might be to look at your home. A “carbon footprint” describes the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere on an annual basis. The Environmental Protection Agency says the average two-person household in the U.S. has a footprint of about 41,500 pounds. Thefollowing ideas could help lower that number: Water Take shorter showers. Five minutes is ideal. You might also keep a bucket in the bathroom to collect the water used while you wait for the water temperature to rise. Use it to water plants, mopfloors, etc. Cleaning And Upkeep Reduce your risk of exposure to toxic chemicals by choosing allnatural cleaning products that are nontoxic, biodegradable, chlorinefree, phosphate-free and vegetable oil based. For example, if you live in one of America’s 26 million homes with a septic tank or have one at your camp or weekend retreat, you can now treat your septic system once a month with All Natural Meadow Springs Septic Tank Maintenance with Eco-Yeast™. It’s safe, requires no protective clothing or breathing mask and is all natural. Simply pourit into the toilet and flush. You can find the product at www.meadowspringscorp.com or in home-improvement or hardware stores. The Web site also has complete rules on how to win oneof 25 “Green Home Makeovers” from Green Irene™, eco-consultants who help homeowners cut energy costs and lead a healthier, safer and more sustainablelifestyle. Lighting Unplug lamps around your house that rarely get used and replace the bulbs on essential Natural cleaning and home maintenance products work without toxic chemicals. lighting with compact fluorescent bulbs, which are four times more efficient than incandescent bulbs. It’s also smart to install motion sensor lighting inside (especially in bathrooms and family rooms) and outside your home so you don’t have to worry about leaving lights on. Waste Reduction Use rechargeable batteries to save money and keep old batteries out of landfills. NiMH rechargeable batteries can be used thousands of times before they need to be recycled. Leave reusable shopping bags in your car so they are with you when you go to the store. Lawn Care Rake instead of using a leaf blower. In a year’s time, the blowers can pump out as much smogforming pollution as 80 cars traveling 12,500 miles. By following these few simple tips, you might find that sometimesit really is easy being green.
