Bathroom
The bathroom is an easy place to save money on water and heating bills. Four percent of the energy used in the United States is on domestic water heating (Pilatowicz, 69). More than one-third of this hot water is used in showers (Marinelli and Bierman-Lytle, 221). Not only is this water-heating expensive for the consumer, but it has serious repercussions for the environment.

Every extra minute in the shower puts a half pound of carbon dioxide into the air. The hot-water heater is one of the biggest spenders of energy in the house. (More in "Laundry Room/Cleaning Closet") Low-flow showerheads use 70% less water, saving money on water bills as well as energy for heating. Low-flow aerators for faucets add air to the water, thus use half the amount of water as traditional sinks while maintaining the same pressure. Different models are available, but for the bathroom sink, the lowest-flow model of 1.5 gallons a minute is sufficient. (The kitchen may need more water.) Aerators are fairly inexpensive and easy to install. In homes, the largest water-user is the toilet.

The toilet wastes treated drinking water and creates a great deal of sewage. This wastewater is either treated by cities, which dump the sludge byproduct into landfills, or treated in septic tanks in more rural areas, which can lead to contamination of groundwater (water often used for drinking). All new construction projects and renovations are required to install low-flow toilets, which reduce each flush from eight to 1.6 gallons.

Before purchasing a toilet, make sure that it is an ultra-low-flush model, because not all toilets labeled "water-saver" use the low amount of 1.6 gallons per flush. According to the Rocky Mountain Institute, replacing a conventional toilet with an ultra-low-flush model can lower a house’s water consumption by 21 to almost 60 gallons a day, depending on the house. This can equal yearly savings of almost 22,000 gallons, reducing water use by 58 to 78 percent (Marinelli and Bierman-Lytle, 219). Clearly, the water savings here are quickly noticeable, but if your bathroom is not due for a renovation in the near future, a toilet dam will limit the amount of water per flush. This can be a container filled with water or a brick in a plastic bag dropped into the toilet tank.

There are also plenty of innovative solutions to the water-guzzling toilet. Using rainwater or gray water (water that comes from showers or sinks) to fill the toilet bowl are options, as are waterless choices, such as the composting toilet. Constructed wetlands are being used to naturally treat wastewater with hardy plants and animals, and they can also add beauty to an area.

Sources:
Most hardware stores carry water aerators, water saving showerheads,
and low-flow toilets. Sun-Mar Composting Toilets: (905) 332-1314.
Seventh Generation the leading brand of non-toxic household products.

Bedroom
People spend at least one-third of their day in the bedroom. With so much time spent here, the bedroom is an important place to make healthy. Most bedrooms are filled with synthetic materials, which are petroleum based. These synthetic products may emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which are known to irritate eyes and respiratory systems, cause headaches and sometimes loss of coordination (Marinelli and Bierman-Lytle, 19).

Sheets and pillowcases in a polyester/cotton blend are treated with formaldehyde to make them wrinkle-free, as are cotton sheets labeled "no iron" or "easy care" (Marinelli and Bierman-Lytle, 202). Inhaling formaldehyde can lead to problems ranging from fatigue to cancer, and the formaldehyde is applied to last the life of the fabric, so washing will not get rid of it. Instead of these products, switch to linen sheets or untreated, 100 percent cotton sheets, either percale or flannel. Flannel is naturally wrinkle-free, so even if it is advertised as "no iron" it has not been treated with formaldehyde. Many pillows are made of synthetics, making it easy to breathe pollutants in directly every night.

Down and feather pillows are easy replacements and are sold at most department stores. More exotic pillows can be healthy as well, including those made from kapok, spun silk, or buckwheat hulls. Blankets and comforters are another source of worry. Blankets are often made of synthetic fibers and all-wool covers are usually mothproofed, sometimes with toxic insecticides. Look for blankets made of untreated natural fibers. A down comforter is a smart purchase, as are most comforters filled with natural material for they usually also have untreated cotton outer-layers.

Wool blankets that have not been mothproofed are ideal and available in many different blends, including alpaca, llama, mohair, and cashmere. While buying a new mattress is quite an investment, a mattress pad can block some pollutants emitted by petrochemical fibers and finishes in the mattress. A lot of pads labeled 100 percent cotton are filled with polyester batting. A better bet is to buy a one filled with cotton, wool, or felt.

Sources: The Company Store: (800) 356-9367 Seventh Generation: http://www.seventhgen.com/ (802) 658-3773

Kitchen Appliances in the kitchen use a lot of energy. The main energy guzzlers in a house are generally the refrigerator and freezer (and the water heater found in "Laundry Room/Cleaning Closet"). These large appliances, as well as smaller ones, have generally improved in efficiency over time, but are still available in a wide range of energy efficiencies.

While shopping, compare energy efficiency ratings (EER) of appliances and look for the Energy Star label on appliances. Energy Star is a certification program run by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy that helps consumers identify the most efficient appliances (Marinelli and Bierman-Lytle, 214).


There are easy ways to conserve energy in the kitchen with your existing appliances. The microwave, for instance, uses about the same amount of energy as the conventional oven, but cooks food in half the time. Use lids on pots and pans to save heat and cook food faster. If you’re leaving town for an extended vacation, unplug your refrigerator and freezer (Shook, 19). For the kitchen sink, installing an aerator faucet (see Bathroom) can save water and energy to heat water.

Changes can be made in your behavior in the kitchen, not just with the hardware. For instance, keep a gallon of drinking water in the refrigerator rather than running the tap for cold water. When buying produce, buy locally grown.  This saves energy and pollution that would have been produced by shipping food from farther away. It also allows the produce to reach you riper, with more nutrients and less preservatives than if it had to be shipped across the country.

Buy organically grown fruits and vegetables. The lack of chemicals used is not only healthier for you, but traditional methods of growing produce pollute nearby land and water with fertilizers and pesticides. Instead of buying food in single servings, reduce packaging waste by buying products in bulk and then traveling with reusable containers (buy a gallon of juice and take a mug to lunch everyday instead of juice boxes). This saves money as well (Shook, 4).

Sources:
Energy Star website with info on efficient appliances.
Sun Organic Farm: (888) 269-9888 (find a farm close to you)

Laundry Room/Cleaning Closet Front loading washing machines can save up to 1/3 of water used compared to top loading models (Gershon and Gilman, 37). Front loading machines use water and detergent more efficiently and take up less space in the house (Shook, 102). Place the washing machine as close to the water heater as possible to avoid heat lost from long lengths of piping. Dryers come powered by both gas and electricity, with gas models requiring only half the energy as electric models.

The burning and mining of natural gas needed to run the machine is also cleaner than electricity. The domestic hot water heater causes an environmental problem due to the amount of energy it uses—18% of all energy in homes is used for heating water (Marinelli and Bierman-Lytle, 216). Solar water heaters are very low-energy options that can be used in most areas, not only in very sunny or hot locations.

There are a variety of models, the simplest consisting of a solar collector and a water storage tank. Thermomax, a high-tech solar water heater, claims to supply 70% of a house’s domestic water heating needs in the worst climates and 100% in good solar areas (Chiras, 281). On-demand water heaters are another option. These are gas powered, but do not heat the water until it is needed, saving the energy required to keep 30-80 gallons of water hot all the time. The water with this system is heated in seconds and it doesn’t run out (Chiras, 282). If you are planning to stick with a conventional water heater, look into installing a heat exchanger in your wood stove to catch excess heat. A surprising number of household cleaners are toxic to use and dispose of.

There are easy, useful substitutes to toxic cleaners. Soap scum and mildew can be scrubbed with vinegar or baking soda. One quarter cup of borax with two cups of hot water makes an easy disinfectant and mold killer (Berthold-Bond, 36). A great overall cleaner can be made by combining one teaspoon of borax, half a teaspoon of washing soda, two tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice, half a teaspoon of vegetable-oil-based liquid soap, and two cups of very hot water (Berthold-Bond, 25). Glass can often be cleaned with warm water and a squeegee, while vinegar can be added for dirtier windows. Most commercial air-fresheners contain aerosols and ammonia and work by coating nasal passages and deadening nerves to diminish your sense of smell (Shook, 121). Instead of buying these, use plants to naturally clean the air or mixtures of spices to scent rooms.

For instance, simmer slices of orange, lemon, or grapefruit in an open pot for an hour and spray the resulting liquid around the house. Boiled cloves, cinnamon sticks, and other herbs work well too. Just placing one quarter cup of vinegar in a room eliminates most smells, even cigarette smoke (Berthold-Bond, 39).

Sources: Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC): Provides a rating system that tests solar collectors. Provides information about various solar hot water systems. (407) 783-0300 Jade Mountain: Environmental products, including solar water heaters. Real Goods:Environmental products, including solar water heaters. Thermomax Technologies: Solar energy collectors (hot water heaters). (410) 997-0778 Seventh Generation: Non-toxic household cleaners: (802) 658-3773

Outdoors
Running a lawnmower for one hour creates the same amount of pollution as driving a car for 350 miles. Thirty to sixty percent of urban fresh water is used for watering lawns. Although farmers use pesticides more widely, homeowners use 10 times more per acre (Chiras, 6). The rainwater that becomes runoff carries fertilizer, pesticides, and herbicides from lawns and farms. This runoff pollutes rivers, lakes, and streams and often destroys aquatic ecosystems. These chemicals also seep underground into the water table, polluting drinking water.



Twenty percent of the groundwater used for drinking in 1995 was polluted (Pilatowicz, 18). Easy changes can be made in the maintenance of your lawn, such as watering your garden at the coolest times of the day to avoid evaporation or using manure or compost to fertilize instead of toxic chemicals. Position sprinklers to avoid watering unnecessary locations. Watering plants thoroughly but infrequently will promote growth of a deeper root system, thus requiring less irrigation in the summer. Wood, often used for fencing and decks, is a renewable resource but is being depleted quickly by the rate at which we are logging.

Plastic lumber, made from recycled plastic and wood fibers or sawdust, is a great alternative to wood. This material is used to build decks, fences and playground equipment. It is extremely durable and does not need to be stained or preserved (Chiras, 357). You must look closely to see that it is not true wood. By using porous pavement instead of asphalt for driveways and walkways, rain will be absorbed into the earth and recharge groundwater rather than becoming runoff and contributing to erosion of your yard. Porous pavement can be as simple as gravel or more advanced, such as one of the asphalt-like pavements on the market that allows water to flow through the ground instead of off. Landscaping with native wildflowers and grasses reduces and often eliminates the need for fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and watering. Native plants have adapted to the local conditions thus are hardier and more resistant to pest problems than many traditional lawn plants. Natural landscaping also attracts birds, butterflies and other animals to the yard (Chiras, 7).

Different types of natural lawns can be planted, such as prairies, woodlands, wetlands, and water gardens. Short prairies are a good and easy choice for around a home. Planting some areas of both tall and short prairies creates different landscape effects and habitat types. When the prairie is first created, weed growth will probably be the number one problem. Thus, the area should be mowed regularly, down to four or five inches tall to cut back weeds and allow seedling growth of native species. Transplanting is often easier than starting from seeds, for perennial flowers and grasses often bloom the first year when transplanted.



The planting of native grasses is a good idea because their dense root systems prevent weed growth, making the prairie low-maintenance. Grasses also provide cover and seeds for birds. Plant flowers among shorter, clump-forming grasses such as Little Bluestem, Prairie Dropseed, and Side Oats Grama to avoid the flowers being hidden in taller grasses (Chiras, 6). Although a wilder lawn is better for the environment, not all neighbors will approve.

To help your lawn fit better into a traditional neighborhood, surround the area by a clear boundary or border. If a lawn looks like it is intended to be a sanctuary for animals and native species, you will receive far less criticism than if it looks like it has just become overgrown. A border can be fencing, hedges, low native plants, or a stone or woodchip path. Also, add objects and places to the lawn to help you to enjoy your creation. Fashion a winding stone path through the yard with benches for sitting areas. Hang birdfeeders or add birdbaths, sundials, or sculptures.

These additions not only show that the yard is planned to look as it does, but it welcomes people to enjoy the area. Start small with your lawn conversion. Experiment with different native species to see what survives and what you like best. Determine the more aggressive species that may pose a problem to other natives. This approach will also be easier on your neighbors if they have time to adjust to the changes. Educating your neighbors before and during your natural landscape project is probably the most important part of the renovation.

Tell people what your plans are and that by changing your lawn, you are helping to prevent runoff and fertilizer pollution and making the yard more hospitable to animals. This increases understanding and acceptance. The Wild Ones Handbook even suggests posting a sign telling neighbors and officials that your yard is intended to be the way it is and that it deserves recognition and admiration, not contempt (Chiras, 6).

Sources:
Wild Ones Handbook for Natural Landscaping"
Natural Landscaping tips on getting started
Geoblock Porous Pavement: (800) 548-3424 or (920) 738-1118
Porous Pavement Directories