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Green Tips Learned from Living in a RV

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August 29, 2012

When you think of RVs you probably don’t think of green living. In fact, you probably think of the gas guzzling huge clunkers driving down the road slowly eating away at our precious fossil fuels. But there are actually several green living tips that can be learned from a recreational vehicle. Here are a few I’ve learned from our travel trailer that I plan to implement back home.

Water Conservation

RV toilets epitomize everything water conservation. When you look down at your RV toilet you will probably be wondering how on earth that tiny bit of water sitting in the bowl can do the job. It can! And it does function fully. A RV toilet uses very little water, whereas, a conventional home toilet uses over 3 gallons of water per flush. High efficiency toilets use around a gallon per flush. This is still considerably more than an RV toilet.

Obviously you cannot adjust how much water goes into your toilet at home, but you can adjust how often you flush. Follow the age-old girl scout camp rule in regards to the toilet. “If it is yellow leave it mellow, if it is brown flush it down.” This can apply in your own home as well. Only flush when necessary. This can conserve water and save on your water bill.

Energy Conservation

If you’ve ever dry camped without an electric hook up, you understand the importance of electric conservation. You’ll be running off a generator with limited capacity so every energy-saving option is a must. This means turning lights off when not in use and limiting how you use those precious watts.

Take these tips to your home as well. Unplug appliances when not in use, turn off lights when you leave the room, and when it is nice outside open the windows or doors. You can conserve energy and cut down on your electric bill at the same time.

Less is More

Space is limited in an RV. This means you want as little waste as possible. You’ll most likely cut all the non-necessary items from your living space and just keep with the basics. Same goes for garbage. No one wants a smelly pile of trash in their confined space.

This principle can be brought home as well. How many things do you buy that you never use? Every one of those items is complete waste. It takes energy and water to manufacture each item. And the packaging, or disposal of the item eventually, adds to a landfill. Instead of purchasing on a whim, consider if you really need an item. Live as though your home is a confined space and you’ll be surprised at all the items you will avoid.

These are just a few things that RV living can teach us about conventional home living and living green.

What is your favorite way to conserve energy or water?

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