How Can I Be Sustainable at Home?

Being quarantined at home can be disheartening. Besides social isolation, is easy to feel that you may not be doing enough for the environment. Now that most of the world is spending time at home, its more important than ever to practice sustainability in our houses. This can not only cut down energy costs, but also helps to lessen our impact on the environment. Here are three easily implemented strategies to reduce your energy consumption:

1. Shut down and/or unplug your computer when it is not in use. When left on, computers can use large amounts of power, but turning them off prevents this ("Top 5").

2. Unplug other devices that use electricity. Most devices, when left plugged in, will draw small amounts of power. If you don't need to use the device, you can easily save this power by unplugging it. Some examples of devices that can be unplugged to save power are televisions, microwaves, and printers.

   • To easily unplug and replug your devices, you can connect them to a power strip with a power switch so that you don't need to reach for the plug every time ("Top 5").

3. Finally, simply turning off lights in empty rooms is an easy way to avoid unnecessary energy consumption ("Top 5").

These steps were chosen from Harvard University's five steps because they are the easiest to implement without leaving your home. For the full list and other information, visit Harvard's sustainability website here.

“Top 5 Steps to Reduce Your Energy Consumption.” Sustainability at Harvard, 7 Sept. 2017, green.harvard.edu/tools-resources/poster/top-5-steps-reduce-your-energy-consumption.