Go Green This Thanksgiving!
Going away for Thanksgiving this year? As you prepare for the trip, here are a few tips to make sure that your house isn’t sending CO2 emissions through the roof—while you aren’t even there!
Before leaving, be sure to turn your computers and monitors completely off. Although the “sleep” option on most computers is certainly a great way to conserve energy, there’s nothing better than switching that power devourer (did you like my rhyme?) all the way off. Leaving a computer in “sleep” mode will still use a fairly high amount of power, as the computer still requires power to stay asleep. Of course, this is less energy than it takes to be fully functional, but every little bit counts when it comes to making sure you're living sustainably. Turning your computer completely off is a great thing to do every night, but get started taking baby steps by turning it off over Turkey Day.
The other great thing you can do to make sure that your bills and power consumption levels aren’t going through the roof is to switch your heat off or set it to a much lower temperature and close all of your windows firmly. If you won’t be at home for the better part of the week, why heat an empty house? If you have plants you’re leaving behind, set the temperature to something far cooler than you’d normally use—plants in the window will still get a fair amount of heat from the sun during the day. Shutting the windows tightly will help to make sure that energy isn’t being wasted heating a drafty house.
These simple, environmentally conscious steps are a great way to make sure that your Thanksgiving is fun and green.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Enjoy Planning.
Penelope
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