Water doesn’t expire, but bottles do
It turns out the expiration date on a bottle of water isn’t for the water itself, but for the bottle. Water doesn’t spoil, but the bottle itself actually starts to break down and leach chemicals into the water. Typically, bottled water has a two-year lifespan, which means if you have a stash for emergency use only, you should replace it from time to time. But the big eco-takeaway is this: Isn’t this just one more reason to avoid drinking single-use plastic bottled water altogether?
FILTER FIBERS
Nearly 4.8 million tons of synthetic fibers have been dumped into our waterways since the 1950s; these are microscopic fibers from fabric made from nylon, polyester and other non-natural materials. To help reduce your contribution of microfiber pollution from your wash, add a filter on your washing machine. These filters can capture up to 89% of the fibers shed from laundry in the water. Also, front-loading machines created less waste than top loaders, and opting for cold water over hot also resulted in significantly less shedding of fibers.
LEARN YOUR LEDS
LED lightbulbs (short for light-emitting diodes) have taken over as the greenest choice when it comes to choosing lightbulbs for your home. They are long-lasting, mercury-free, energy-efficient and cast a soft white light. But when shopping for LED bulbs, it can be tough to determine which bulb is the right one for your house. To figure it out, look for the lumens rating on the package. This is a measurement to determine the output of light for an LED bulb. To figure out which LED bulb should replace an old-fashioned incandescent, multiply the wattage of the old bulb by 100. So a 40-watt incandescent bulb would mean a 4000lumen LED bulb is the perfect green swap.
UPGRADE AIR CONDITIONING
During the hot summer months, a central air conditioning system can be a simple way to keep your home cool. And by choosing an Energy Star-rated model, you know you’re using the most energy-efficient model possible to save electricity and money. But if you have an older central air conditioner, swapping it out for a new one can be very costly. Instead, one simple and affordable way to tune up your older model is to install a modern, high-efficiency compressor. The compressor inside the central air conditioning unit is designed to circulate the refrigerant into the hot air it pulls in. Older models work harder to cool down the air, while newer models will do it more efficiently.
NORDSTROM A RECYCLING LEADER
Nearly 120 billion units of hard-to-recycle packaging are created globally every year for the beauty industry. This includes tubes, containers, caps and jars filled with cleansers, lotions, scrubs and more. While everything is technically recyclable, it’s not all easily recyclable. One retailer changing this is Nordstrom. Its free program BeautyCycle takes all of it back in its stores to be recycled — regardless of the brand or where you originally bought it. They even accept and recycle tubes, caps, dispensers and twist-up containers. The retailer is aiming to recycle 100 tons of packaging by 2025. Learn more at Nordstrom.com.
KEEP MICE OUT OF PET FOOD
One of the easiest ways to naturally keep mice out of your home is to keep food sealed up and your kitchen tidy. When mice find open bags of bread, bowls of fresh fruit on the kitchen counter or cookie crumbs on the inside of cabinets, they’ll come back, knowing this is a source of food. But there are some not-so-obvious sources, too. Be sure to keep your dog or cat’s food sealed in an airtight container and not in an open bag.
CUT OUT ExTRA TVS
Want to chop $85 off your electricity bill in one easy step? Consider designating just one room in the house for watching television and not having multiple TVs set up all over the house. On average, a flat-screen TV uses about $7 a month in electricity (and that doesn’t count the cable box or other devices, like gaming consoles and DVD players). But it’s more than just economic savings: According to a study by the University of Michigan, 71% of teenagers have a TV in their bedroom, and kids ages 6-11 watch 28 hours of TV a week. The study showed excessive TV watching affected their sleep, weight, grades and behavior. Instead of cutting the cord, commit to meaningful TV watching.