To live sustainably

Lowering the curtains аnd blinds on hot summer days can keep your home cool and cozy despite the heat outside. Those who live in the house can put thermal insulation on their roof and provide themselves with more heat in winter and better insulation from heat in summer.

Take shorter showers to reduce water use. This will lower your water and heating bills too.

Walk or bike to work. This saves on gas and parking costs while improving your cardiovascular health and reducing your risk of obesity.

Use a water filter to purify tap water instead of buying bottled water. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it generates large amounts of container waste

Go online to find new or gently used secondhand products. Whether you've just moved or are looking to redecorate, consider a service like craigslist or FreeSharing to track down furniture, appliances, and other items cheaply or for free.

Borrow from libraries instead of buying personal books and movies. This saves money, not to mention the ink and paper that goes into printing new book.

Wear clothes that don't need to be dry-cleaned. This saves money and cuts down on toxic chemical use.

Donate or recycle them responsibly when the time comes. E-waste contains mercury and other toxics and is a growing environmental problem.

You can make very effective, non-toxic cleaning products whenever you need them. All you need are a few simple ingredients like baking soda, vinegar, lemon and soap.

If you eat meat, add one meatless meal a week. Meat costs a lot at the store-and it's even more expensive when you consider the related environmental and health costs.

Set your thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter and a few degrees higher in the summer to save on heating and cooling costs.

Drying your laundry outside is free, protects clothes and does not pollute the environment. And the sun's rays are a good disinfectant!

For watering the garden instead of using valuable drinking water. Do not forget to check the weather forecast before spraying the garden - maybe it will rain soon.

Do not leave your Christmas lights on during the day. Instead, you can use a timer, or you can simply turn them on at night. Use the new LEDs and other Christmas lights with low power consumption, they are now much more affordable and can be found anywhere.

The living tree for Christmas has a unique aroma, but the magnificent trees eventually go into the trash after 2-3 weeks. If you stick to a natural Christmas tree, buy one in a pot and plant it after the holidays. Do not use artificial plastic christmas trees. Use your imagination and make a christmas tree from alternative natural materials.

You can pack your gift with a newspaper or colorful sheets of old magazines, recycled shopping bags or brown wrapping paper. Decorate the package with a drawing or а wish, and why not with your own stamps of potatoes and other vegetables.

The candles provide warm light in the dark winter days. Instead of buying paraffin candles, look for candles made from beeswax, soy or vegetable wax. As a bonus, the bee wax has a sweet all-natural fragrance that will smell in your home while you are celebrating!

If you lower the temperature by only one degree, you can avoid up to 300 kg of carbon dioxide emissions per year!

The experts estimate that 10% of a home’s heat loss is attributed to poorly sealed windows, and 11% from leaky doors. Insulate your doors and windows!

Consider investing in a smart, programmable thermostat. You can set these systems to automatically lower your home’s temperature by 10 to 15 degrees for around eight hours, ideally while you sleep or are away during the day.

Say "no" to polyethylene bags. Their decomposition lasts from 15 to 1000 years!

Boil just as much water as you need for a cup of coffee or tea.

The fans use about 1/10 of the energy required by the air conditioner. The sun shades, the blinds and the cool of the night do not need electricity.

Do not set the refrigerator in the coldest mode and do not store hot and cold food in the refrigerator.

Do not dry your hair every time except when it's winter and you have to go out right away! Not only will you save energy, but over time the hair dryer will dry your hair and you will need to invest in conditioners and hair masks to restore it!

Fuel consumption increases with a rack, box, or any object on, on the side or behind the car.

By reusing your cup for several years and by limiting the quantity of soap and hot water for washing it, the reusable cup should be the way to go.

Do not fall into the trap of consumerism! Make a shopping list and buy only what is nessesary and in small quantities.

Find out which of your colleagues live nearby and alternate to drive to your work. This will reduce environmental pollution, save money, and you will have a company along the way.

Install compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) when your older incandescent bulbs burn out.

Reduce your paper footprint as well as the energy used to transport paper invoices.