Simple steps to Green your home

With the New Year comes New Year's resolutions. As a personal consultant working with individuals seeking to live a sustainable lifestyle, I've received several requests on advice on how to green your home. Leading sustainability in our homes is the U.S. Green Building Council. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is the nation’s foremost coalition of leaders from every sector of the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work.

Following are some useful suggestions we offer in our personal consulting practice on how to green your home.

Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs
Program your thermostat
Plug air leaks
Choose energy star appliances
Switch to Renewable energy
Recycle and purchase recyclable products
Reduce water consumption
Buy local
Flooring options for remodeling? Consider using cork or bamboo
Commute on foot, bicycle, carpool, or public transportation
Install ceiling fans
Buy organic
Use greener cleaners

If you are interested in evaluating your home’s energy efficiency,

GreenHomesAmerica offers a handy calculator. The Home Energy Yardstick was created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help you compare your energy use with other homes like yours.