There are several ways to make your home green from recycling to using cleaning materials. These changes in your home will help the planet a lot. The best way to be Earth-friendly is to cut down on what you consume and recycle when possible. The United States generates 208 million tons of solid waste per year, which is more than 4 pounds per person per day. Recycling one glass bottle saves enough electricity to light a 100-watt bulb for four hours.
Here are some other ways to green your home.

1. First off you will want to consider your appliances, like getting rid of an old refrigerator could save you as much as $150 a year. If any appliance in your home is more than 10 years old, the Environmental Protection Agency recommends replacing them. Energy Star qualified appliances use 10-50% less energy and water than the standard models. The EPA says if one in 10 homes used these appliances, it would be the same as planting 1.7 million new acres of trees.

When stocking your fridge with food, consider pesticides, transportation and packaging. Buying local cuts down on the fossil fuels burned to get the food to you.

2. Nearly half of a home’s energy is consumed with heating and cooling. Here are some tips to save energy:
• Turning down the thermostat in cold weather and up during warmer weather will assist you in saving money. Each degree below 68 during colder weather will save you 3-5% more heating energy. Also, 78°F in warmer weather will save you energy and money.
• During heavy usage, you should clean your furnace.
• Today’s furnaces are around 25% more efficient than they used to be, so consider purchasing a new one.
• During warm weather, shade the east and west windows and put heat generating activities such as washing dishes off until the evening hours.
• Ceiling fans instead of air conditioning is a great way to save on energy.

3. There is a website called “Water –Use it Wisely” which lists 100 ways to save water. A couple of those ideas are: Putting an aerator on faucets to cut your water usage annually by as much as 50% and installing a low flow toilet. You can adjust your float valve so that the toilet tank takes less water. Also, if you turn off the water as you brush your teeth, it will save 4.5 gallons each time.

4. “The Safe Shopper’s Bible” is a book that recommends that you read labels for eco–friendly ingredients. Some of these suggestions are using coconut or other plant oils instead of petroleum in detergents, also baking soda is a great abrasive for cleaning. Other books that are of interest for these suggestions are “Better Basics for the Home” and “Clean and Green”.

5. You can use 66% less energy if you use Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs instead of standard incandescent bulbs and they last up to 10 times longer.

6. Using less paper is another way to go green. You can buy “tree-free” 100% post consumer recycled paper, which means it is recycled instead of put in landfills.

7. If you are considering hardwood floors, consider Bamboo. Bamboo is environmentally friendly material due to the fast rate that it re-grows. It takes only 4-6 years for Bamboo to mature, while trees take 50-100 years.

8. Each year in the US, there are 100 billion polyethylene plastic bags thrown away, from grocery store bags to sandwich bags. Plastics are made from petroleum, which is the processing and burning, which is one of the main factors in global warming. Sending plastics to a landfill increases greenhouse gases. Everyone’s goal should be to reduce, re-use and recycle plastics.

9. According to the EPA, there are toxic metals and volatile organic compounds that cause smog, indoor air quality problems and ozone pollution in conventional paints. These ingredients are released into the air before, during and after painting, including after it is completely dry.

10. Compost should be used to balance the nutrients need for the soil’s well-being without the bad for you chemicals that synthetic fertilizers have. Healthy soil will assists in less weeds and is great for the production of healthy plants, which helps with having less pests.
• Native plants should be chosen as they are adapted to your local environment and will use less water and need less attention.
• Perennials will live more than a year which means new plants don’t have to be purchased every year.
• American households use 80 million pounds of pesticides per year. These toxic chemicals go into the environment and pose threats to animals and children. There is a variety of organic and physical pest control methods you should consider.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could receive funds from the government to improve or repair your home? Believe it or not there are real home improvement grant programs from different federal, states housing agencies. The Federal HUD and States Housing authorities are the biggest. You will have to check with your state housing authority to see. Programs to assist with making your home safe and energy efficient are offered by most State housing agencies. In some cases they even pay for the cost in case of emergency needs.

Whether you contact your local HUD office, local housing community non-profits or state home authority, they will be able to supply you with the information that you need. They will be able to tell you if there are grant programs available in your state and/or community, as well as if the project you are wanting to begin falls within the guidelines of the existing home grants programs.

You will also most probably need to provide you with some guidelines on how to manage your home improvement projects.

Grants for home improvement can cover projects like…

• The exterior of your home, as far as improving and putting back to today’s construction standards. This can include doors, windows, roof and siding, improving water supplies, sewage, ramps and bars for handicapped, etc.
• Interior improvement for usability for handicapped people, fixing your roof or siding if there is major problems or there is an issue with security or health. If your water system or electric system is not functional.
• If you are looking to turn a property into a low income housing. These are generally HUD programs. They usually cover most items plus financial aid sometimes like mortgage assurance and subsidized mortgage rates. These are generally projects that are started by an individual for profit or non profits.

To ensure that the project of adding a room onto your home runs smoothly, you will want to be sure that there are a few things in place. Here are some tips that will assist you in not having to do things twice and do double the work.

You need to have plans drawn up, all successful projects are carefully planned out with a realistic budget in place. If you attempt to take a fast and cheap approach, it will only cause problems down the road, so take your time and don’t go too cheap. If you hire a contractor, you will want to be sure that they are on the same page with you.

How will the additions affect the value of your home? Consider the homes around you and how they are appraising. As a rule of thumb when adding onto your house, do not overbuild.

Remodel jobs should be consistent with the original structure of the home and should complement it. I’m sure you have seen those homes that are old and have new additions to them. The new construction looks nothing like the old. Be sure to pay attention to the windows, trim styles and types of materials you are using.

Are there any necessary legal or building permissions that you have to get in order to add on? These would include any service providers involved, building restrictions and any neighborhood stipulations. If you do not take care of this before you start, it will likely cost a lot more money or the demolition of all your work.

Whether you are adding on to stay and enjoy it or you are adding on to sell, remember to not skimp. Home buyers are wanting to see quality work, so you may want to spend a little extra on a good design that is durable, with quality materials and good craftsmanship. It will pay off in the end.
This will assist you in getting your project off on the right foot and ensure that the job is successful.