Go Green tips for October 28th

Gotta tip you want to share with Sarah and the Go Green Ride at Five? Email her: sarah@921wvtk.com!

Here Sarah's groovy green tips for Thursday, October 28th:

• Not sure about trick or treating this year, especially since Halloween falls on a school night? Middlebury’s Spooktacular on Saturday is a good substitution for the usual candy hunt. For more info, check out the Area Calendar page on www.921wvtk.com!
• Buying new Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations each year adds to the amount of goods that will be tossed out into landfills at some point. Instead encourage the kids to make homemade decorations that you can save for next year! Remember to date them!

As the days start getting shorter and temperatures start dropping, here are a few green-tech energy-saving tips to help you green your season.

1. Knowing how and where your home leaks heat and wastes energy is the first step towards fixing it. A home energy audit should be first on your list to do this fall if you haven’t had one in the past couple years. If you qualify, you might be able to have this done free through a contact at Efficiency Vermont. Their number: 888.921.5990.

2. Put a timer on your hot-water heater, especially if you're not home for hours at a time on a regular schedule. There's no need for your hot water heater to keep running 24/7. Turn it off a few hours a day (or a few hours every night) and save. Oh, and if you're going away for a few days, turn your hot-water heater off altogether. It doesn't need to be running while no one is home.

3. Install solar accent lights outside your house. Pretty soon, you'll be coming home from work in the dark. If you’re not already, I do! Why keep an outside lamp on all day for the few minutes you'll need it when you come home. You can pick up nice solar lamps for a few bucks each. Put them around your door or along your driveway, they'll charge up during the day and illuminate your way home after a long day.