This week we’re diving into green apartment life – a big deal since the 2008 Current Population Survey notes that about 32% of U.S. residents rent instead of own their home. That’s a lot of households to green up.
Even if you can’t find a totally green apartment community, there are some tools that can help apartment dwellers live green…
An urban compost bin: Anyone, even apartment dwellers can compost. There are plenty of smaller compost bins available. You can set on on your deck or even on your kitchen counter. Once you’ve got some nutrient-rich soil, you can do the following with it:
- Grow a killer container garden on the patio.
- Give it to a pal who owns a house and has a garden.
- Donate it to a local community garden or school.
Rent and borrow: If you need tools for a project, a bike for a specific marathon (i.e. you’re not a regular rider), or a special crock pot, see if you can rent or borrow the item before purchasing one. Why this is green:
- With less stuff you can live smaller and reduce your overall footprint. Storage space need for items you rarely use is lame and not very green.
- Buying stuff you only use once is a waste of resources and supplies.
- Saves you cash that you could use for higher ticket sustainable items. Would you rather own all your own tools that you only use twice a year, or a killer organic mattress?
Be a green human: Technically actions make a far bigger difference than where you live. I.e Portland, Oregon is known as a green hub but just living there does not make you green. You need to practice green living skills like eco-cleaning, saving water, recycling and so on. You could live in an eco-nightmare of a city, but with proper green living skills, your own little home base can still be eco-friendly.
Recycle: Creating a dedicated home recycling area is possible even in an apartment. There are loads of smaller recycling bins available that can make recycling in an apartment easier.
What green living tools are you using in your rental?
Tags: apartment recycling, eco apartment, eco cleaning, eco house, eco living, green apartment, green apartment life, green apartment living, green home, green life, Green Your Home, how to go green, organic coffee, pollution at home, recyling in an apartment, rent tools, rentals for green living, save apartment water
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I own and live in a 4-plex in Anchorage, Alaska that I am greening into an eco-plex (ecolandlord.wordpress.com). Currently my family of 3 is living in one of the 374 sf efficiencies! I have an indoor worm bin for kitchen compost. I installed ultra low flow faucets (1gpm kitchen, .5gpm lavatory) and shower head (1.5gpm). I paint with ‘used’ paint from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. I keep the heat down, the windows closed in winter, and take 5-minute showers using a shower timer (a little hour-glass that sticks to the shower wall and lets me know time is up. I never thought it would work for me – I love long hot baths and showers, but I’ve been consistently taking shorter showers now). The windows are old and leaky, and I don’t yet have the replacement money, so I covered most with the plastic kits meant for this purpose for the winter. I replaced all my lights with CFLs, and put a 2watt LED bulb in the fridge light spot. I used a kilowatt meter to check my electricity use, and found out the original fridge is pretty efficient (in the last place I rented before I bought, I actually replaced the fridge on my own dime to save my electricity costs) All these things could be done by most renters. Of course, I am also greening the building as a whole as well for all the renters.
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