Going green and conserving our natural resources doesn't mean spending a lot of money.
Here are seven relatively painless and frugal ways to go green:
1) Switch to paperless statements and online billing. I pay nearly all of my bills online. You'll save hundreds of trees, not to mention the environmental costs of sending that snail mail.
2) Refuse a bag with purchase or use a reusable tote. I hate it when I go to store and buy one small thing and they try to give me a plastic bag. It's far easier to just grab the item, the receipt and go. You can also use a reusable tote and prevent all those plastic bags from ending up in landfills.
3) Walk or bike. Human power can save a great deal of pollutants from the atmosphere. And you never have to worry about the price of gas!
4) Make your own household cleaners. Household cleaners are cheaper to make and more environmentally friendly than those you buy in a store. Many of the best homemade cleaners are kid and pet friendly and do a good job, too.
5) Line dry your clothes. By hanging your clothes out to dry instead of using your dryer, you can save a ton of energy. And if you do a lot of laundry, that can add up to a big savings on your monthly utility bill.
6) Change your thermostat. Just adjusting your thermostat by a few degrees can yield huge energy savings.
7) Recycle. I'm not just talking about paper, plastic and aluminum. I'm talking about passing on things you don't need to folks who could use it (think Freecycle). I'm talking about taking an old pair of jeans and turning it into a quilt. You can save money by repurposing old things, and you can even make money by recycling things like aluminum cans.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
7 Painless (and Frugal) Ways to Go Green
5 comments:
Good tips Christina. Can I add one that I have really been working on. I hate wasting food, so now have been trying to organize my freezer to be user friendly. Labeling clearly what it is and the date and also organizing freezer so others (husband, children) can find things easily. Feels green using things I would have maybe thrown out, like the last hamburger or piece of chicken, now I bag it up and freeze it. Amazing how that piece of chicken tastes warmed up for lunch instead of a sandwich.
These are great suggestions! If you I don't need a bag, I try to always remember to tell the cashier BEFORE they start ringing up the sale. Sadly, I've had several instances of the cashier literally rolling up the bag and throwing it in the trash once I've given it back to them. Ugh, it's so sad. I've actually asked for it back, because at least I'll re-use, then bring the bag to my grocery store's recycling bin. It's very frustrating!
I already do some of these. I feel kind of cool and hip. Lol.
One more benefit to using a reusable bag is that Target will take 5 cents off your bill for each one used. It's not much but it adds up if you shop there often!
@ Kari - I wonder if that is a local thing in your area? I use reusable bags at Target, and I don't think they've ever given me a discount for that. I'll have to watch for it!
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