We have all heard the terms global warming, carbon footprint, carbon dioxide and recently we have had a lot of talk about recession and inflation. Today we are going to talk about living green.

Americans account for just 5% of the worlds population yet they use 25% of the world’s resources, that is a very significant number. So here are some easy things you can do, even just to make a little bit of a difference in your life and your wallet.

First of all have a home energy audit. Call your local utility company have them come out to take a look at your windows and insulation. They will tell you where you can beef things up, this will help you save money in the winter and the summer when you are heating or cooling your house.

Another thing, a lot of the appliances that you have plugged in and are not using, they are still sucking power. That plasma television that you just love, guess what that is a huge energy guzzler. One of the things you might want to do is plug it into a power strip, you can plug your computer into it as well. When you are not using these appliances just flick it off, to turn all your appliances off at once and save on energy.

How about light bulbs? This is one of the easiest things you can do in your home to go green. Simply switch out traditional lighting that you have in your home with compact florescent light bulbs which you can pick up at your local hardware store. They are full spectrum lighting which is good for your plants and great for your house too. If you live in a grey environment in the winter months they are probably good for your mood too. These light bulbs use less energy and last ten times longer than the traditional light bulbs.

In the bathroom you can replace your shower head with a low flow shower head and you can replace your toilet with your a low flush toilet too. In the laundry room, always do your laundry back to back. Think about all the energy it takes to heat up that dryer, it is going to be more efficient if you dry load after load as opposed to doing one every few days. Also make sure you fill your washing machine every time you run it.