Greening Your Apartment

By Eva Lewandowski

Oftentimes, information on saving water, cutting energy use, and reducing waste at home is geared towards homeowners, not apartment dwellers. As I and my fellow apartment dwellers know, tips like adjusting the temperature on a hot water heater and installing energy efficient windows are all but useless to those of us who don’t have any control over those things. While some people might be able to discuss environmental responsibility with their landlord, many landlords simply aren’t interested in making investments in order to conserve energy or water, and sometimes property owners aren’t even accessible to their tenants, who only have interactions with a property management company.

So what can you do if you want to cut the environmental impact of your apartment? Here are some ideas:

  • Make sure all your lightbulbs are CFLs or LEDs, and only use as many bulbs as you need. Many bathroom and kitchen light fixtures contains spots for multiple lightbulbs, but you usually only need one to provide enough light.
  • Use weatherizing film on your windows in the winter. All you need to install it is a hair dryer, and it only costs a few dollars.
  • Put faucet aerators on your sink faucets and showerheads. These are an extremely inexpensive and simple way to cut back on water usage.
  • If your apartment doesn’t providing recycling (and many don’t), save up your recycling and drop it off at your closest county facility. If there are like-minded people in your building, you might be able to partner with your neighbors to collect and drop off recycling.
  • Keep any eye on the windows in hallways and common areas of the apartment building. Make sure that they are firmly closed during the winter and left open on cool summer evenings.
  • If you have a door that opens to the outside, make sure it has a tight seal. There are a variety of affordable weather stripping products that you can use on doors.
  • If your landlord allows, place a recycling bin by mailboxes or in the laundry room to encourage your neighbors to recycle. Take responsibility for emptying it on a regular basis.

On top of these ideas, you can of course also do the old standbys- shortening shower time, unplugging devices when they’re not in use, etc. To find out more about greening your home, check out some of our other blog entries and green living articles.

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