Making your home green is as much about lifestyle as it is construction. Green living doesn’t have to be fanatical, just conscientious. It’s sometimes as simple as applying many of the practices our grandparents and great grandparents lived by. They generally lived more environmentally responsible lifestyles and saved money doing it.

Start making a green home by saving energy. Set your thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter and a few degrees higher in the summer to save on heating and cooling expenses. When older incandescent light bulbs burn out, install compact fluorescent ones. Unplug appliances when they are not in use. When possible, wash clothes in cold water and consider using a clothesline or drying rack.

Save water by taking shorter showers and not letting the faucet run when brushing your teeth. Install low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators on each faucet. Also consider planting drought tolerant native plants in your yard that need minimal watering.

Compost your scraps. It’s practical, cost efficient and mimics nature’s way of recycling all living things (organic materials). According to the U.S. EPA, every American throws away an average of 1.3 pounds of food scraps each day. In addition to this, yard trimmings and food waste combined make up 24 percent of our nation’s municipal solid waste stream. Learn more about Composting.

Reduce your carbon footprint by taking small action steps and have a major impact on global climate change. Try driving less and walking more. Recycle just half of your household waste and save up to 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide each year. Properly inflate your tires and you’ll get better gas mileage. For each gallon of gas saved, 20 pounds of carbon dioxide is never produced. Purchase products using the least packaging and avoid plastic bags by using your own reusable shopping bags. Lastly, plant a tree. Just a single tree can absorb an entire ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.