Small, easy ways to live greener

Green home improvement doesn’t have to mean elaborate new systems or expensive construction projects. Some small steps for a greener life:

Laundry line: Clothes dryers account for 5% to 10% of a home’s energy use. I have one, but I use it only if it’s raining and I’m desperate. My laundry line is strung unobtrusively between the walls of my backyard deck, and the sun dries clothes in mere hours. For me, the low-tech laundry line is about the easiest and simplest thing I can do to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, the clothesline has been my gateway step to sustainable living. Hanging laundry takes a little more effort, but the benefits far outweigh the extra minutes of labor. Cost: About $50.

Diet: My difficult and expensive home improvement retrofits have convinced me that more environmental savings could be more easily obtained simply by eating less meat and dairy. The cattle business creates more greenhouse gases than the transportation industry, according to a 2006 United Nations report. So, although I love hamburgers and don’t think I’ll ever be able to give them up entirely, I now eat them less often, and I’m mostly substituting almond and soy milk for dairy.

Composting: About 26% of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream is yard and food waste, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Composting that waste is how I produce only a small grocery bag’s worth of trash every other week. It may seem odd to take pride in how little trash I generate, but it’s one of my greatest achievements. About a quarter of my trash savings comes from composting food scraps. It’s one of those things that seemed like a hassle until I found my groove. I keep a Tupperware container in one side of my kitchen sink and a compost bin a few short steps from my kitchen door. As with every other sustainable system I’ve installed, the key is setting up the system so it’s easy to use. Cost: $20 for a bin through a city of Los Angeles composting workshop.

Recycling: The other three-quarters of my trash savings comes from recycling, for which I have an almost-religious fervor. About 80% of what Americans throw away is recyclable, yet only 28% actually is recycled. Cost: Nothing but the time it takes to throw something in the blue bin.

— Susan Carpenter