Green Living

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ydt Alert: Don’t Forget today is Election Day.  Do your part and go out and VOTE today!  If you’re lost and don’t know where to go vote, check out www.lavote.net.  Long live the Democratic Process.

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Since not everyone has achieved (yet!) the dream of their own eco-home, we thought we’d share some home practices and products we apartment dwellers can implement that will save resources of all kinds and that we can even take with us when we feel the North Wind tugging at our sleeves.

1.    Drip dry. Whether or not you have a washer and dryer in your building, you can opt to let the sun dry most of your laundry.  With a clothesline or drying rack on your patio you save big on gas or electricity (and quarters!) while enjoying a freshly sun-baked wardrobe and sheets.

2.    Get a few thousand pets. A worm compost bin is the size of a suitcase and may even fit under your kitchen sink. Check out our previous post on the subject here

3.    Lower your flow. Install faucet aerators at all your sinks and a low-flow showerhead. If you’re an LADWP customer, you can get all of yours FREE!

4.    Plant something—anything—in a container. Whether on your kitchen windowsill or a stoop outside, living things help clean the air, connect us to the natural world and sometimes bear the delicious fruits of our labor.

5.    Recycle.  You can always hoof your recyclables to a blue bin or recycling center near you.  You may even consider going the extra mile to talk to your building manager about setting up a recycling program.

6.    Cram your tank. We’re officially in a drought and flushing the loo is the greatest water-using indoor activity. Simply plunk a tank bank in yours to save close to a gallon on every flush with only a couple dollars’ investment.

7.    Unplug or plug in smart. I’m in the habit of leaving my electric teakettle, toaster oven and printer out of socket, all of which are so-called vampires, sucking valuable energy even when they’re off .  Another tool you can pack up and take with you is the Smart Strip, a handy gadget that senses which devices aren’t in use and shuts them off automatically. Pretty genius for your home office or entertainment system.

Yes, we can do our eco-part inside our own four walls, whether we own them or not.

Tags: environmental apartment, green apartments, green living tips