Last month, we recapped the latest Woodstock Furniture & Mattress Outlet developments in our 2019 Year-End Review. If you recall, we talked a bit about our massive new Distribution Center, how it makes our operation more efficient, and how it helps us better serve you – our customers! Well, along with these other things, there’s one other huge benefit. Our new warehouse and distribution center is the key to several new green initiatives here at WFMO! Stay tuned for a post in the near future about our new recycling and sustainability programs. But in the meantime, here’s six of our favorite common sense green living tips! Read on to learn how to go green, save money and be more responsible in 2020!
How to Go Green, Be More Responsible and Save Money!
As y’all know, January is the best time to turn over a new leaf and make some lifestyle changes. At Woodstock Furniture & Mattress Outlet, we believe in both personal and organizational responsibility. That includes being responsible with our natural resources and being good stewards of the beautiful world we live in.
One of the biggest misconceptions with green living is that people often associate it with extreme lifestyle change and inconvenience. However, there are so many ways to go green that are simple and low-effort. Below, we’ll talk about how to go green with six easy tips. As a bonus, many of these tips will also save you money on your utility bills! This is because we’re accustomed to a virtually unlimited supply of things like electricity and water. Far too often, we fail to remember that resources are being used to even pipe these things into our homes!
1) Eliminate Paper Waste with Online Bill Pay and E-Statements
Nobody likes getting bills in the mail. Online banking and record keeping has come a long way over the years, so why even bother with paper statements? In fact, most banks and financial institutions want customers to bank online because it saves them money! That’s why they will practically beg you to switch to online statements and bill pay. Some institutions will even provide incentives. Oh, and you’ll also eliminate unnecessary paper waste and ditch clutter too!
2) Embrace the Seasons and Dress Accordingly at Home
Secondly, fight the urge to boost the furnace in the winter or blast the air conditioning in the summer time. If it’s cold outside, set your thermostat a bit lower than usual and throw on a hoodie and warm pajama pants. The inverse goes for the warmer months of summer. If you find yourself inside your home dressing in tank tops and shorts in January, or pants and long-sleeves in August, you are likely using tons of extra electricity and also driving your power bill sky high. Additionally, the drastic difference in the indoor/outdoor temperatures are a surefire way to weaken your immune system and possibly catch a cold, flu or some other nasty bug.
3) More Showers, Fewer Baths
Did you know that showers generally use less water than baths? If your bathroom is equipped with a modern, low-flow shower head, you may be saving 30% to 50% more water each time you bathe! Don’t forget, less wastewater means less environmental impact and lower utility bills.
4) When You’re Not Brushing, Turn Off the Water!
Perhaps the easiest way to go green is to practice some simple awareness. We all hopefully brush our teeth at least once daily. Did you know that your faucet spews out between 2 and 4 gallons per minute? That means if you’re one of the 35% of Americans who leave the tap running while they brush, you could be wasting thousands of gallons of water annually! Turn off the tap while you brush or shave. It takes resources and energy to treat this water both before it enters your home, and after it swirls down your drain.
5) When You’re Not in the Room, Turn Out the Light!
Long before people were asking about how to go green, parents across America were shouting phrases like “When you’re not in the room, turn out the light!” Like the tip above, sometimes green living simply means being aware of your energy usage. Remember, electricity doesn’t begin at the wall outlet or light switch. With few exceptions, coal, natural gas, or other natural resources are consumed to provide that power. Something as simple as turning off lights in rooms you’re not occupying can save tons of power, resources and money!
6) Make the Switch to Energy-Efficient LEDs
Lastly, our final green living tip involves a quick-and-easy home improvement project. LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs only use a fraction of the energy required to light up regular incandescent bulbs. Not only are they more efficient, they have longer lifespans as well. LEDs use less energy, shine brighter, and last longer. By switching all of your home’s light bulbs to LEDs, you could save literally hundreds of dollars by the time they need to be replaced again!
Green Living with Woodstock Furniture & Mattress Outlet
We hope you enjoyed our take on how to go green with just a few easy lifestyle changes. We also hope we encouraged you in some small way to be even more responsible in 2020. Keep your eyes peeled on the blog in the next few weeks to learn about how we’re recycling more of our waste than ever before!
As always, we’d love to see you soon at any of our Atlanta area furniture stores. Visit us in Woodstock/Acworth, Dallas/Hiram or Rome for North Georgia’s best furniture at the best possible prices!
