Green Summer Projects

Summer is wonderfully upon us but the warm weather might have the slight side effect of inducing a fairly persistent bout of laziness. But have no fear! Here are some projects you can do around the house to cure the sluggishness of summer and make your home a little more ecofriendly.

• Build your own clothes line: The dryer is one of the most energy intensive appliances in your house, usually second only to your fridge. Building yourself an old-fashioned clothes line can save you some money on your energy bill.
• Insulate your hot water pipes:  A tremendous amount of heat can be lost to the air from your water pipes. The solution is to insulate pipes wherever they can be reached by encasing them in rubber or polyethylene foam tubes. Tests have shown that insulation can dramatically reduce the heat lost to the air which saves both energy and money.
• Plant some trees: By planting trees on the south, east, and west sides of your house you can picnic under them in a couple of years and in five years, they may even provide enough shade so that you won’t have to run your air conditioner as frequently.

For even more projects visit ThisOldHouse.com

Image from Elcivics.com