Eco-Friendly Parties | In Your Home | In Your Office | Outside Your Home

Eco-Friendly Parties

1. Parties are fun and balloons are great, but never release balloons outdoors. They frequently find their way to open water (even from hundreds of miles away) and can harm or kill marine mammals.
2. Offer/ask for gifts that don't involve buying anything.
3. If you are exchanging a gift, consider purchasing from companies focused on providing products which use renewable energy sources
4. Buy locally and reduce the amount of energy required to drive your products to your store.
5. Remember, the chemicals used in modern agriculture pollute the water supply, and require energy to produce. Buy organic to feed your guests.
6. Use your own cloth bag instead of plastic or paper bags to reduce waste and save energy while shopping.
7. Buy products with less packaging or buy in bulk.
8. Use the Sunday comics to wrap gifts or reuse gift paper from previous parties.
9. Bring dishes and flatware from home instead of using paper and plastic. It might be a little extra effort but it saves big on money, waste and energy on production.
10. Always pick up your trash when you are finished and don't hesitate to pick up trash that is not your own as well.

In Your Home

1. Wash your clothes in cold or warm water instead of hot water to save on water heating and only operate the dishwasher and washing machine with a full load and use the energy-saving cycle.
2. Install low flow aerators on faucets and showerheads. This will save water and energy.
3. When purchasing new appliances, buy ones with low energy, low water options.
4. Use natural light efficiently. Turn off lights when not in use and reduce unnecessary lighting (they produce a lot of heat which works against the air-conditioning.)
5. Put your home entertainment systems on a power bar and turn off the bar when you are not using them. (Components without clocks and timers, of course.)
6. Move your heater thermostat down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in the summer. (avg. 68 winter and 72 summer)
7. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs. They cost more than regular light bulbs (starting at $5), but can use 75% less electricity and last years longer. One compact fluorescent bulb can save you three times its cost in electricity.
8. Reuse and recycle. Before throwing out furniture or other items consider how you might repurpose them.
9. Convert to solar water heating, and perhaps also supplementary solar space heating.
10. Use water-based paints. Look for paints labeled "zero-VOC."

In Your Office

1. Be sure to at least shut off the computer screen, as 60% of the power used by a computer is used by the monitor! (The other 40% is used to keep your hard drive spinning and to power the electronics.)
2. Plug computer components into a power bar that can be shut off, to avoid wasting electricity with the ‘standby’ power feature.
3. Donate old office electronics to second hand stores and either refill used ink cartridges or donate for reuse.
4. Make sure your printer paper is 100% post consumer recycled paper.
5. Bring a waste-free lunch. Store your food in reusable containers rather than wrapping it in foil or plastic. Keep a knife, fork, spoon and cloth napkins at work.
6. Recycle all paper and encourage or start a recycling drive.
7. Use reusable utensils for office parties. Encourage your office leaders to invest in a set of dishes, cups and utensils that can be used each time, rather than using plastic utensils and paper plates.
8. Use both sides of each piece of paper -- for note taking or printing documents from your computer. Create notepads by stapling together once-used paper.
9. Turn off lights when not in use and switch office lamps to CFLs. Also, open your windows and use daylight instead of turning on your lamp whenever possible.
10. Consider energy efficient computer systems and monitors when you replace a system.

Outside Your Home

1. Plant a tree that is right for your climate and rainfall conditions.
2. Use your muscles instead of fossil fuels and get some exercise while reducing your carbon footprint. Use a push mower to mow your lawn. And rake your own leaves instead of using a leaf-blower.
3. For outside lighting, install a motion sensor that turns the lights on automatically when somebody walks by, then turns the lights off automatically.
4. Use outdoor water sparingly. Rake and sweep leaves -- don't hose them away
5. Create a rainwater capture system from your gutter downpours and use the water for your garden and lawn.
6. Composting provides important nutrients for your organic garden and reduces garbage mass
7. Put swimming pool pumps on a timer, or run them only a few hours a day. Also, use solar panels to heat your pool and use low chemical systems for sanitization.
8. Accelerate gradually when driving to avoid unnecessary braking and conserve gas.
9. Keep your car tires properly inflated.
10. Install a green roof over your home.