Recommendations for Personal Sustainability

Recommendations on things you can do to improve your personal sustainability.

Do One Thing (DOT) - A DOT is a pledge to Do One Thing to help the environment - and cool the climate.

Some of these ideas may be easy to implement while others are harder. Select the ones that make sense for you now, and keep the others in mind for the future.

1. Reusable Bags - Take reusable bags to the store instead of using paper or plastic. Take them with you to every store, not just for groceries.

2. Recycle - Make sure you know the rules and are recycling as much as you can.

3. Thermostat - Turn your thermostat down in the winter one degree, and up in the summer one degree can drastically cut your energy consumption.

4. Green washing - Run your dishwasher when full and don’t use the dry cycle, use cold or warm water in your washing machine, and air dry your clothes.

5. Plant a tree - Fruit trees can provide a source of local food, shade trees can help reduce your cooling bill in the summer as well as convert carbon dioxide to oxygen.

6. Go vegetarian one meal a week - There are added costs to eating meat, and eating vegetarian is healthy.

7. Use environmentally-friendly cleaning products - Many cleaning chemicals are harmful to the environment, so make your home less toxic and safe by using natural cleaners.

8. Reduce - Consider buying in bulk rather than individual packages, reduce paper by printing both sides (or go paperless), take shorter showers.

9. Energy Efficient Car - Next time you purchase a car, make sure you take mileage into account.

10. Carpool, bike or walk - Know how much you drive your cars (record quarterly and yearly) and make an effort to reduce your travel.

11. Record your energy and water usage at home monthly and make an effort to reduce consumption.

12. Turn off when not using -Turn off lights when you leave the room, switch to LED lights, and unplug chargers when not in use.

13. New appliances - When replacing appliances, opt for energy efficient ones, such as EnergyStar or CEE certified.

14. New furnace - Switch to 95% efficient furnace or geothermal heating/cooling.

15. Get a quote to put solar on your house - If you are spending more than $150/month on electricity, if would be worth your while to see if solar can save you some money.

16. Get an energy audit from Boulder County's Energy Smart Program.