Green Homekeeping. Alice Alvrez

dioxide emissions to produce all that electricity.

      It really only takes a moment to properly shut down and turn off your computer each night, and it’s easy enough to make it a usual habit. Not only will you use less power, you will extend the life of your computer. It needs the chance to cool down. If you do need to leave it running because it’s doing something necessary, turn off the monitor.

      There is one instance when letting your computer run at night may be the wiser choice, and that is when you have to run a particularly long process (like a big backup, download, or virus scan). If you live in an area that has electricity charges based on the time of day, it will cost you less to do these things at night.

       Try the Library

      Don’t roll your eyes at this tip just yet. The library may not be as relevant in this cyber age of paper-less Kindle books, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a place in an eco-enthusiast’s life.

      Granted, switching your book choices to digital ebooks is a fantastic way of reducing paper consumption and waste, there is still room for the benefits of a library.

      For one thing, the books are free. Though it is possible to populate your ebook reader with free books, it’s not always that easy. If you enjoy reading the latest novels, you’ll almost always have to pay for them. On the other hand, they’re always free at the library. And generally, just having the feel of a physical book in your hands is enough of a reason to stick with “real” books.

      How many books are we talking about here? Billions. Even with recycled content, that’s a lot of trees. Getting books from the library means fewer new books need to be created.