Make Your Family More Environmentally Friendly

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With more than 40 percent of national energy consumption coming from homes and offices, there has never been a more important time for families to reduce, reuse and recycle in the home.

By thinking of your house as an eco-friendly organism, families can take steps to improve the overall health of their homes, which will also improve their overall personal health, says Charlie Szoradi, a certified green architect and founder of energy-saving consulting firm GREENandSAVE.

Follow these green-savvy tricks of the trade to help your family dig into an ecologically sound lifestyle.

Manage through Measurement

Seeing is believing, says Szoradi, who recommends families create an eco-home chart that requires kids and parents to keep score of the items they throw away. “Do your best to count the number of plastic bottles your family throws away—or hopefully recycles—as well as paper towel roles that you use,” he says.

Also, record the number of showers or baths your family takes daily and the number of times you flush the toilet. GREENandSAVE reports that on average in the United States, it takes two gallons of water to brush your teeth, two to seven gallons to flush a toilet, and 25 to 50 gallons to take a shower. The numbers can quickly add up. “Take a week to keep score, and you’ll see the impact and potential savings,” Szoradi says.

Get Your Hands Dirty

Dig deep into the benefits of green living by planting edible gardens with your family. Melissa Graham, founder of the Chicago-based non-profit sustainable foods organization Purple Asparagus, says creating an understanding of where food comes from is part of the foundation for creating an environmentally friendly lifestyle.

“There’s no better way to create that understanding than getting your kids’ hands in the dirt and having them realize that food doesn’t come out of a plastic container—it actually comes from a plant,” she says.

Grow Your Green Thumb

Family gardening is more than just growing edible plants. Szoradi says the notion of “eco-participation” can be applied to all gardening activities, including the planting of annuals, perennials and even creating a compost pile.

“Have them scoop peat moss with you or leave out a couple of rainwater buckets in your garden and show how much is collected,” he says. “Your family will become (greener) by activity, not by taking in data.”

Buy Direct

To further green your family’s bread basket, Graham suggests participating in Community Supported Agriculture and buying local, seasonal foods directly from a farmer. This helps to support the sustainable local economy. A family can purchase a share of a local farm and throughout the growing season, the consumer can pick up a bag or basket of fresh produce at a central location. The same process can be applied to a meat share, Graham says.

Hot Water On Demand

Consider investing in an on-demand water heater, Szoradi suggests. Tankless hot water heaters reduce energy use while making hot water available whenever you turn on the tap. This results in lower energy bills, “You may spend a little extra money up front, but if you are about to replace your water heater, it is a good option,” he says.

Light it Up

Try a few light-emitting diode light bulbs around the house, or at least switch to Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs), Szoradi says. On average, CFLs use 66 percent less energy and last 10 times longer than incandescent light bulbs.

New tax credits and incentives also making buying Energy-Star qualified appliances more beneficial than ever before. “High efficiency appliances save on electricity, natural gas and water,” he says. “You save money and the environment.”

Final Check

Always remember to keep your green practices in check by getting a Home Efficiency Check-Up. By spending a few hundred dollars, families can ultimately save thousands in energy bills. Learn more at the “Energy Audits” section of GREENandSAVE.com.

Looking for more family-friendly ways to go green? Check out these eco-friendly resources available at your local library.

Recommended Resources

Eco-Friendly Families
By Helen Coronato
Eco-Friendly Families is an easy guide to raising a family on green values, giving pointers on recycling, eating organic and celebrating Earth Day. The book offers start-up advice for families looking to go green while integrating sustainable-living practices into the home, school, workplace and even on vacation.

The Mom’s Guide to Growing Your Family Green: Saving the Earth Begins at Home
By Terra Wellington
Eco-savvy moms will find hundreds of easy green how-tos revolving around shopping, cooking and the home office, to name a few. The user-friendly guide features at-your-fingertip resources for moms on the move.

Generation Green: The Ultimate Teen Guide to Living an Eco-Friendly Life
By Linda Siversten and Tosh Siversten
Parents can communicate the importance of going green to their teenagers with the help of Generation Green, an environmentally conscious book that frames green issues in the context of modern culture. The book details the biggest environmental issues on the planet and offers dozens of tips on how to shop, dress, eat and travel green, all teen-friendly style.

Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes: A Cookbook for Preschoolers & Up
By Mollie Katzen and Ann Henderson
Cooking is fun and natural with Pretend Soup, a book chalk full of natural and organic recipes that encourages kids and parents to work the kitchen in tandem. Geared toward parents with kids aged from preschool to third grade, Pretend Soup includes 17 recipes that appear in full color and in words.

The Little Green Book of the Home: 250 Tips for an Eco Lifestyle
By Sarah Callard
The four-part Little Green Book series teaches parents how to make choices that affect both the home and planet. This edition features 250 tips on topics such as utility conservation, insulation, lighting, appliances, home entertainment, waste and home decorating.