From Guest Blogger Emma Sturgis: Five Small Changes That Go A Long Way Towards Reducing Your Carbon Footprint

You already know the big things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint. Commuting on public transit rather than drive a gas-guzzling SUV to work, recycling, and using energy efficient appliances make an obvious and huge difference in the amount of resources you use. It’s not just the big things that matter though; there are many small lifestyle changes you can make that will also have a significant impact on your carbon footprint.

Curtains and Carbon

Stand beside a closed window. On a cold day, it will feel chilly and on a hot summer day you can feel the heat of the sun thwarting the best efforts of your air conditioner. While a decent set of curtains might help this, the best solution is to have your windows treated. According to the U. S. Department of Energy, window treatments can help reduce the amount of energy you use for heating and cooling.

Powering-Sucking Vampires

You have vampires living in your home. These aren’t the bloodsucking variety of popular media. They are power-sucking vampires leeching away your money and your energy as you sleep. When most electronic devices are plugged in, whether they are charging or in sleep mode, they use power. According to PC World, most families spend over $100 per year on electricity for devices that are plugged in but not in use. Save money and the environment by plugging your electronic devices into a power bar and turning the bar off when you are not actively using or charging your devices.

Personal Care Products

Use sustainable personal care products that are made from natural plant-based ingredients, rather than containing parabens and phthalates that can harm both your body and the environment. Choose instead cosmetics, such as the Sephora NUDE, line that are sustainably sourced. You can save on these with discountrue coupons for Sephora, to preserve your budget alongside the environment.

Junk Mail

The average adult receives over 40 pounds of junk mail a year. Even better than recycling junk mail is just not having it show up in your mailbox at all. Each piece of junk mail that goes directly from your mailbox to the recycling bin represents dead trees, chemicals used to process paper, energy used for paper processing, and the carbon emitted in transporting the finished product. The Federal Trade Commission provides convenient links to help you opt out from junk mail and robocalls.

Although popular psychologists recommend “not sweating the small stuff” to reduce stress in your life, if you want to reduce your carbon footprint, the small stuff has a big impact on your world.