When it comes to maintaining a green lifestyle, it can be tough to keep up with the best practices, and even more difficult to do everything right. There are some small ways, though, that you can make your own home a little more environmentally conscious.

Here are four of those simple ways to make your household more eco-friendly.

FULL LOADS

We all are faced with the temptation now and again. We've got a few pieces of dirty laundry or dishes, but not quite enough to make a standard "load." Yet, we run the dishwasher or washing machine anyway and potentially waste a lot of unnecessary water in the process. Commit yourself to hold off on running a load until you've maxed out the appliance's capacity. If there are specific items that are needed with more immediacy, hand-wash individually rather than expelling energy on half-loads.

WINDOW SEALING

Whether your home is brand-new or was built a few decades ago, odds are at least one or more of your windows or doors has some form of a sealing or leaking issue. If you notice in more extreme-weather seasons, such as winter or summer, that certain areas in the home feel markedly different than others, you may have an air leak that needs addressing. Weather-stripping doors or windows that meet this criterion can help you save on utility bills and reduce your home's energy consumption.

APPLIANCE MAINTENANCE

You'd be surprised what a little bit of cleaning can do to help you consume less energy as a household. Simple fixes that can help your appliances require less electricity to run effectively might include cleaning lint and buildup from your refrigerator coil, changing your furnace/AC filter at the frequency called for on the packaging, and keeping the lint trap on your clothes dryer buildup-free. Make sure your home's major appliances are operating at peak performance so they're only using the originally intended amount of resources.

HOT-WATER MODERATION

A water heater can be a big drain on energy for your household, so limiting its usage to the areas of your life where it's most desired, such as morning showers, can be a big boost to your eco-friendliness. Wash your laundry in cold water whenever possible, and challenge yourself to shave a few minutes off your shower time in the mornings. Sometimes making your lifestyle greener is about moderation, versus outright cancellation.