5 Ways to Green Your Garage

Moe from the Simpsons calls garages "car-holes," and that's a pretty fair assessment of what they are. Most garages look like an oil-stained dungeon. Often unkempt, garages are a repository of bad smells, unwanted Christmas gifts and probably some lumber. Here are 5 ways of greening your garage.

1.Ditch the Garage-Based Fridge

Some have a fridge in the kitchen and a fridge in the garage, Why? So more soda pop can be stored? Fridges can be quite the energy dump. Getting rid of that second fridge can save you anywhere from $40-$225 dollars a year. Unlike the kitchen fridge, the garage fridge uses a lot of electricity trying to compensate for temperature change. Unless your family is mega-huge, a garage refrigerator is probably a luxury that can be lived without.

2.Insulate your Garage Doors

If your garage is attached to your house, it might be a good idea to insulate the door. Depending on your budget, you can purchase a custom-made insulated garage door or you can do it yourself. You'll save money and energy. If your garage is unattached and winters are cold, it wouldn't hurt to insulate the door to ease the strain on your car battery.

3.Seal the Doorway to The Garage

An insulated garage door is all well and good, but insulation won't heat your garage. It will just keep it from getting as cold as it does outside. The garage will still be a bit drafty. You can weatherstrip the door that leads to the garage in order to cut down on drafts But.

4.Remove the Hazardous Waste in the Garage

According to the Greenest Dollar you must be careful when sealing off your garage. Fumes from hazardous chemicals that often lurk in garages can leach through the ceiling. Once those chemicals get in your house and you've sealed off your thermal envelope and much of your ventilation in the process, the fumes from those chemicals have nowhere to go but into your lungs. That's bad. The best solution is to remove the hazardous waste in your garage. If you have a yard, I would suggest getting a shed to put your hazardous chemicals in.

5.Clean Out Your Garage Remove all the junk in the garage and donate it. This will leave you with a cleaner garage and a possible tax credit. By putting those old unused items back in circulation, it cuts down on the need for new items to be produced and reduces the amount of materials that need to be mined or harvested.