Compared to a large space, saving energy is even easier on a day-to-day basis when you live in a smaller space or apartment. If you’re looking for a weekend project, we highly suggest making these green updates!

Pack Your Freezer Tightly

The tighter you pack your freezer, the colder it will stay! This allows the unit to run less-frequently, saving you money. If you’re going to be taking things out of your freezer, try to be strategic so that you’re not constantly opening the door letting warm air in.

Wash Your Clothes in Cold Water

By washing your clothes in cold water, you’re limiting energy usage since the water heater is not needed. Plus, cold water helps avoid colors from running!

Air Dry Your Clothes

Not only will your clothes last longer when you forego the dryer, but will also reduce the energy used when running the dryer (which is a lot!). If you need to use the dryer to give your clothes that comfy feeling, air dry them first and give them a quick fluff in the dryer after! Since the dryer will only be on for a few minutes, you’re still saving energy.

Go Sans Plastic

Reducing your use of plastic is one of the best ways to be more eco-friendly and thankfully, there are so many other options for storing food, bringing groceries home, and everything in between.

Head over to Amazon and stock up on reusable shopping bags and sandwich bags and utilize glass organization for your vegetables!

Adjust Your Thermostat

There’s a couple ways to save energy and money thanks to your thermostat. If you can, program your thermostat to run at a warmer temperature when no one is home during the day. Another way to save energy is to turn do the heat or air conditioning by 10 degrees, which can save you 5% to 15% on your yearly bill if it runs at these decreased temperatures for at least eight hours a day.

Pull Down the Shades/Purchase Black Out Curtains

Pulling down your shades (or closing your blinds!) and purchasing black out curtains that you can close during the day will help the cool (or warm) air in your apartment from escaping and decrease the heat from the suns UV rays from entering into your space. This helps avoid your HVAC system from turning on, thus saving energy!

Switch Out Your Lightbulbs

Switching to CFL or LED bulbs only use a fraction of the wattage of old light bulbs and can save you a lot of money.