What Can You Do @ Home

Taking It Slow

• Shut it off. Turning off lights and appliances when you leave a room saves energy and money. Turn off the water while soaping up dishes or attach an aerator to your faucet.
• Choose to reuse. Think of the items you use and throw away every day. Then find reusable alternatives. Here’s a start: paper napkins – cloth napkins, batteries – rechargeable batteries, paper towels – old T-shirts.
• Where it’s at. Find out where to recycle. If recyclable items aren’t picked up at your curb, use one of the official Omaha recycling locations.
• Don’t dump it. Responsibly dispose of your household cleaning items at Under the Sink.
• Keepin’ it cool. Reduce the amount of electricity used in the laundry room by washing only full loads of laundry in cold water.
• Burn smart. Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. Use a programmable thermostat. Use an EPA-approved wood burning stove or fireplace insert.
• Burn less. Set your thermostat to 68 degrees in the winter and 78 degrees in the summer.
• Only rain down the drain. Contact Keep Omaha Beautiful to receive free storm drain labels that can be used in your neighborhood to discourage illegal dumping down storm drains.
• Water smart. Water in the early morning to reduce evaporation. Take your car to a car wash instead of washing it at home.
• Use less. Turn the faucet off when you brush your teeth.
• Put a lid on it. Many products used in your home, such as paint and cleaners, are made with smog-forming chemicals that escape into the air when you use them. Keep a lid on the containers when not in use, or switch to environmentally friendly products instead.
• Drive smart. Accelerate gradually. Combine your errands into one trip. Don’t top off at the gas pump.

We’re Talking Commitment

• Naturally green. Make your own environmentally-friendly cleaning products. Not only will you know what ingredients are being sprayed on your counter top, but the bottles can be reused again and again.
• Splish splash. Make use of rain water by using rain barrels or rain gardens in your landscaping. These videos from the EPA show you how.
• Gettin’ buff. Get your house in shape by properly insulating walls, water heaters and pipes.
• Not the dump. Dispose of electronic equipment that can do double damage to the environment while sitting in a landfill by finding the right place to get rid of household items like computers or electronics.
• Down ‘n’ dirty. Kitchen scraps can be given a second life through composting, reducing the amount of trash a household generates and enriching backyard soil.
• Burn less. Replace your old furnace with a high-efficiency furnace or heat pump.
• Tear it up. The average home uses 30% of its water outdoors on turf grass. Install a rain garden to use free rain to keep your yard colorful and affordable.
• Water smart. Use a moisture sensor with your sprinkler system so you don’t overwater.
• Use less. Replace turf grass with buffalo grass. Install products labeled “WaterSense by EPA.”
• It’s a push (mower). The small engines in gasoline-powered lawnmowers, leaf blowers and trimmers release as much as 25% unburned gasoline. Use an electric or push mower or try to fill and use these engines after 6:00pm, when the air temperature is cooler.

    Drive less. Carpool, walk or ride your bike. Take public transit. Shop by phone or internet.