Go Green 2012: How to Get Started

January 20th, 2012 by Caitlin Morgan| Posted in Apartment Guide, Apartment Living, Green Apartment Living, Healthy Apartments | No Comments »

It’s January, and we’re going to milk this Resolution Month for all it’s worth.  If you’ve been meaning to become that eco-friendly person you both admire and make snarky jokes about, this is a great time to get started.  We’ve posted a number of times on simple green strategies for your apartment, so this time, we’ll suggest some good places to go for yet more information.  And before we get ourselves into trouble, a disclaimer:  make sure any changes are allowed on your lease or approved by your landlord.

Planet Green is a large site, but in particular suggests three ways to green your apartment without being evicted, namely sealing around windows and light fixtures, using energy-efficient bulbs and low-VOC paints, and buying blackout curtains for winter.  Very simple but highly effective.

National Geographic’s Green Guide has a section specifically for homes and gardens. They break down the home into sections—laundry room, home office, garage—so you can organize changes one space at a time.  The site offers buying guides, also broken down by category, and has informative quizzes regarding energy use and home practices.

Apartment Therapy dedicates its Re-Nest division to articles on green living at home.  They do things like compare space heaters, and take design and décor into consideration in their suggestions.

Want regular reminders?  Low Impact Living provides a bi-weekly newsletter, such as this one about greening your apartment.  This is a good resource for a quick and dirty list without too much in-depth material.

Feeling really utilitarian and gung-ho?  The EPA has a Renter’s Checklist, a straightforward list of 49 things you can do to protect the environment.  Can you get them all?

How have you “gone green”?  Let us know here or on Facebook!