Enjoy your home while being green. Here are some tips to help you be environmentally friendly around your home:

1. Cut down on consumables and recycle whenever you can. The U.S. generates 208 million tons of waste each year — that’s four pounds per person daily.

2. Are your appliances green? Using an Energy Star refrigerator can save you up to $150 per year (according to the Environmental Protection Agency). Your refrigerator is one of the largest sources of energy consumption. If it is 10+ years old, think about replacing it.

3. Monitor the temperature in your home. Turn down the thermostat in colder weather and turn it up during warmer times. Each degree below 68 degrees F during winter will save you 3-5% more heating energy. If you keep your thermostat at 78 F degrees F in the summer, this will also result in savings.

4. Save water! Use low-flow toilets. Turn off the water when brushing your teeth. Use a broom in lieu of the garden hose when cleaning the driveway. Install a low-flow shower head and take shorter showers. Use a faucet aerator on each faucet. (This inexpensive device conserves heat and water, while keeping water pressure high.)

5. Clean green. Use environmentally friendly cleaning products. Or use simple ingredients such as plain soap, water, baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice and borax. The book, Clean and Green, has recipes for using such products.

6. Lights everyone! Use Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CLFs) and you expend 66% less energy than a standard incandescent bulb. And, CLFs last 10 times longer! Replacing a 100-watt incandescent bulb with a 32-watt CFL can save $30 in energy costs over the life of the bulb.

7. Use less paper. Purchase “tree free” 100% post-consumer recycled paper for your greetings and toilet paper.

8. Paper nor plastic. Carry your own cloth bags to the store to avoid using plastic or paper store bags.

9. Turn off the “energy vampires!’ Us a power strip surge protector and flip off the switch to control the draining power of your appliances.

10. Skip the water bottle habit. Stop purchasing bottled water and purify your tap water. Use an aluminum water bottle at work or at the gym.

Read more about living a green life from the Green Umbrella Regional Sustainability Alliance.

Interested in participating in some local Earth Day activities?

Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky

• The Blue Ash Rec Center has an Earth Day celebration from 4-7pm on April 19, 2017.
• The Cincinnati Zoo is hosting Party for the Planet: An Earth Day Celebration from 4-8:30pm on April 20, 2017.
• Krohn Conservatory has free tree seedling to visitors on April 21, 2017. (There is an admission fee to the conservatory.)
• Summit Park in Blue Ash has an Earth Day Celebration from 12pm-7pm on April 22, 2017.
• In Loveland, Ohio, enjoy a scavenger hunt and learn about sustaining the environment on April 22, 2017 at the Jackson Street Market. Learn more about this event.
• Run for Mother Earth! On April 22, 2017 you can participate in a 5k run at England-Idlewild Park in Burlington, Kentucky.
• At Fernald Nature Preserve in Hamilton, Ohio, you can participate in an Earth Day Haiku Hike on April 22, 2017. Free event.
• On April 24, 2017, an Arbor Day Celebration will be held at the Amberley Village Hall.

Dayton, Ohio

• Adopt-A-Park happens on April 22, 2107 at the Five River MetroParks.
• Glen Helen Park in Yellow Springs has an Earth Day morning Bird Hike on April 22, 2017. The Park is also hosting a 5k-10k on April 23, 2017.
• The 2nd Street Market is giving tree seedlings away on April 22, 2017.