by Amy Rayner

Created on: September 07, 2009   Last Updated: September 09, 2009

Living Green. Quick Steps

With time always snapping at our heels, it is good to know that there are a range of quick and easy things you can do to live more green.

1. Turn off your lights. Turning off your lights will cut your electricity bill and your carbon footprint in seconds. When leaving a room, switch off lights and if you have kids, get them into the habit by not starting meals unless all the lights in other rooms are first switched off.

2. Turn off standby power. It wastes money and produces unnecessary demand on our energy supply while creating greenhouse gases. Get a Master/Slave power board for your computer, your entertainment centre, in your kitchen and in your bedroom where you keep your mobile and other chargers.

The master power button will allow you to switch off all slave devices with a simple switch. If you get into the habit of taking your remotes to the Master/Slave power board, you will find this one easier and you will always know where the remote is.

3. Turn down your thermostat on your hot water. While this sounds difficult, it is quite easy. Take a torch and a trip to your unit and there is an adjustable temperature setting. Adjust the thermostat down two or three degrees and you will save money on your electricity bill, save greenhouse gases and you can still have a hot shower.

4. Take shorter showers. Keep your showers on average to 4 minutes per shower and you will cut your hot water costs, electricity bill and save a bucket load of water for the environment. Of course you will sometimes need a longer shower on days when you have to wash your long hair or when your boss has driven you mad at work, but make this an exception rather than the rule and reap the benefits.

5. Switch to green power. A quick call to your electricity provider and you can switch easily to a green power product that will ensure that your electricity comes from renewable sources rather than greenhouse gas-producing coal power. It may cost about $4 a week more but the savings you will get in your electricity bill from the tips above will more than cover this cost.

6. Change your light bulbs to more efficient ones. Whether it is LED or compact fluorescents, take a count of all the light bulbs in your house and whether they are bayonet or screw in, replace them all in one go the next time you are at the supermarket. The bulbs last much longer and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that your entire house has been retrofitted greener.

7. Recycle. It's easy

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