ecobee SmartThermostat with Voice Control

The Ecobee Smart Wi-Fi Thermostat is a great way to help take control over the heating and cooling of your home while saving an average of 20 to 25 percent on energy bills. This ENERGY STAR certified device works with several smart devices such as the Apple Home Kit, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant. In addition, with the Whole Home Voice technology, this product allows you to speak to one of the above-mentioned smart devices to control the thermostat in your home. For example, by simply saying to your smart home assistant, “I´m Away,” your Ecobee Smart Thermostat will automatically lower the temperature in your home to save on energy.  The ecobee SmartThermostat with Voice Control is currently selling for $199 and comes with built-in Amazon Alexa voice service as well as a room sensor, which pairs with your smart thermostat to help regulate the temperature in hot spots or cold spots in the corners of your home. 

SodaStream Fizzi Sparkling Water Machine

Drinking your own filtered water from your tap is one of the best things you can do for your home: it will save money on purchasing drinks that contain water, reduce packaging waste, and keep you healthier. But what about bubbly water? It’s refreshing and can be mixed with so many tasty flavors like orange juice and grape juice. Kids who are not too psyched to drink regular water might happily drink bubbly water, which is much healthier than sugary and diet sodas. With Soda Stream, you can make it at home with your own water, using no electricity, no extra bottles to throw out or recycle, and at a greatly reduced cost per bottle. The Soda Stream Fizzi Sparkling Water Maker Bundle on Amazon (in a pretty icy blue color) sells for $109.99 with free shipping. You get the soda stream maker, two carbonating cylinders, three bottles, and zero-calorie natural orange and lime flavor essences as a bonus! Let’s compare the variable costs to a 24-pack of San Pellegrino mineral water (0.5 liters each), which sells for $13.98 on Amazon. Each Soda Stream 60L-carbonating cylinder makes about 60 liters of bubbly water, and each cylinder costs $30, which equals about 50 cents per liter. This compares to $1.16 per liter of San Pellegrino (or a much higher price for the flavored ones)! And, according to Soda Stream’s website, “one SodaStream bottle can help the average family reduce more than 3,700 bottles and cans from our planet.” On top of that, the CO2 cylinders can be recycled. 

Niagara Low flow Showerhead 

Nobody wants a weak shower that trickles a few small streams of water on your head, but showers typically are the third largest water user in the home, after toilets and clothes washers. Before the 1994 federal regulations requiring that showerheads have a maximum flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute (gpm), most showerheads spewed out about 5 gallons per minute. So if you took a 10-minute shower, that would use 50 gallons of hot water—quite a bit of water and energy usage, and probably emptying your hot water tank! So, if you have an older home and have not replaced your showerhead since 1994, you can likely save quite a bit of water and energy by replacing it with a newer one that has WaterSense label—meaning it uses only 2.0 gpm. Better yet, try the Niagara Earth Massage showerhead, which has a flow rate of only 1.25 gpm, and still gets good reviews on Amazon and strong ratings from Consumer Reports.  If you are replacing an old showerhead, you will be saving many thousands of gallons of water by switching over. (Quick math: if your household takes a total of 15 minutes of shower-taking every workday, and you save 3.75 gpm, then you save 3.75 x 15 x 252 = 14,175 gallon per year. At a half-cent per gallon, that’s over $70 per year, not including the energy savings—easily paying for multiple showerhead replacements, and maybe even some faucet aerators!)

Glass Jars with Chalkboard Labels

How to reduce packaging waste? One of the first things to do to transform your kitchen into a more sustainable one is to start purchasing products in bulk—but you need to be able to store the products in their own containers. Start with these hermetically sealed glass jars from the Container Store, starting at $7.99 for a 25-ounce container. They have chalkboard labels, so you can easily write down the contents and erase it if you switch to another product. Get started with rice, flour, sugar, oats, lentils, and nuts—things you’d typically find in the bulk purchasing aisles. When lined up along a counter or in a pantry, they are much prettier than a row of packaged goods, and add a touch of color to your kitchen! 

Preserve Plastic Tableware

Ok, sometimes you just really need plastic tableware for picnics, kids’ parties, or casual gatherings with a lot of people. Skip the single-use disposable plates and cups and invest in reusable plastic dishware made by Preserve. Preserve’s products are made from 100% recycled plastic (from #5 plastic—the yogurt containers), they can be put in the dishwasher, and they are lightweight, stackable, and sturdy. They don’t crack or warp and come in a variety of colors and sizes. A set of 8 large plates costs $7.25; cutlery (knives, forks, and spoons) goes for $5.65, and 10 cups sell for $5.85. So, for less than $20, you can get a table setting for 8 that will last for years, and you won’t be filling up your dumpster after a party.

Bottom Line

Gifts for a more sustainable home can help you save money, reduce waste, and be healthier—what’s not to love?