There are many small ways to bring Earth Day into the home:

1. Plant a tree or even a bush, on your property. It helps to reduce greenhouse gases, clean the air and keeps biodiversity strong. Some perennials like rosemary grow well in our climate, and provide you with delicious herbs too.

2. Make a birdhouse or feeder to help out local birds. Get binoculars and a bird guide and have a good look at them. You don’t have to go to an exotic location to see multiple bird species and enjoy their different plumage and habits.

3. Consider how you use energy at home and make a plan to conserve. This doesn’t mean an austerity plan. Most homeowners can save energy by sealing, unplugging and tuning up. That is, adding insulation or weather stripping, unplugging appliances when not in use, and having maintenance performed on your heating and cooling equipment so it burns fuel efficiently. For a full energy picture of your home, consider a home energy audit. You’ll get a full report on how your house uses and loses energy, and prioritized recommendations to remedy that.

4. Make an event out of surfing the web for the environment. Consciously educate yourself and your family by reading online resources or having a family discussion about conservation.

5. Recycle around the house. Spring cleaning is green too. Don’t forget that your furnace filter has worked hard all winter. It’s a good time to change it, so it can continue to get particulates out of the air (especially during allergy season). And it’s recyclable too.

This year Earth Day falls on Monday, April 22. Most celebrations are taking place April 20^th.  We have an Earth Day $199 home energy audit special (that’s 50% off). Mention the ENewsletter when you call to sign up. For more information on home energy saving or energy audits, call us at 800 398-4663 or visit washingtonenergy.com.