It might be a new year but 2023 brings the same need to take steps to live a greener, more eco-friendly lifestyle, both at home and on the go. So if part of your new year’s resolutions has anything to do with helping the environment and cutting down on your impact on it, here are a few simple tips to help you get started.
Make Your Fireplace Eco-Friendly
Nothing beats a cozy fireplace in the winter months. However, if your fireplace is inefficient, you could be losing money and energy each month. Keeping the damper on your fireplace open when a fire is not in use is like leaving a window open in the winter. Save energy by closing it when not using your fireplace. Just ensure you reopen the damper when you go to light your fireplace again. An even more efficient way to avoid losing warm air through your fireplace is to add glass doors to the front, which should be kept open when a fire is burning and closed when it is not.
Stop Using Single-Use Items
One major way you can decrease your carbon footprint and the amount of waste you and your family create is by switching to reusable items. In the U.S. alone, it is estimated that 500 million single-use straws are used each year. Keep a reusable straw with you so you don’t reach for single-use straws when you are on the go. Some reusable straws are small enough to be kept in your purse or on a keychain and can help keep billions of plastic straws from entering our landfills and oceans. As a special thank you for our Agway customers, they can grab a free reusable straw here.
Stay hydrated throughout your day with a reusable water bottle rather than using single-use plastic water bottles. And invest in a reusable utensil kit so you can cut down on using single-use plastic utensils when dining on the go.
Make Your Kitchen Green
Put the paintbrush down! We don’t mean literally make your kitchen green. But the kitchen is a huge source of energy usage and is oftentimes overlooked when trying to make your home more eco-friendly. Things like matching the pot or pan size to the burner you use on the stove can help you avoid using excess energy to heat it up. In addition, items that can be cooked in the microwave, toaster oven, or air fryer help save energy as these small appliances use a fraction of energy when compared to your full-size oven. Lastly, when boiling water, only use as much as is needed to avoid heating more water which takes more energy.
