German theologian Martin Luther once said, “…the green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold or silver.” And it’s true.
Sadly, a lot of people who would like to go green aren’t sure how to begin. The many options of changing your current day to day living habits into eco-friendly ones can actually lessen the amount of money that you spend and reduce how often you feel overwhelmed with your schedule, all while helping the environment.
Becoming eco-friendly isn’t just amazing for the environment, but it’s also pretty fabulous for you, too.
Benefits of Bundling
Instead of going to the store every few days, keep a shopping list and combine a trip to the store with another outing, like a trip to the dentist or the post office. Plan your route and run your errands in as straight line as possible to cut down on time, expense, and vehicle fuel. Reducing your carbon footprint sounds like a huge job – and it is – but you’ll be surprised at how quickly the little changes add up to make a huge impact.
This also goes for items you buy. Buy in bulk to cut down on package waste. Buying in bulk is often also cheaper. And when you buy in bulk, it requires you to go to the store less. Use coupons to cut down on the costs of items even further and stock up. Some people make coupons a full time job and save thousands of dollars each month!
What Products You Buy Is as Important as How You Buy Them
When buying foods, look at how it’s packaged. Where was it produced? Is it organic or filled with preservatives? When thinking about buying an item other that food ask the question of whether or not the item is going to last you for a while. If the answer isn’t clear, then it probably isn’t worth buying.
When you go to buy your cleaning products, make sure they are eco-friendly. Many cleaners have harsh chemicals that aren’t good for the environment in any way and really can’t be too healthy for us humans and our pets. As you’re checking out, skip the plastic shopping bags. Invest in reusable shopping bags, and reap the benefits of bags that do not give out.
Running a Green Household
There are simple things that you can do within your home to significantly cut the prices of a majority of your household bills to much less of the current cost. Not only do they cut the prices of your bills, but they help your home in its process of becoming more eco-friendly.
- Turn down the heat! Try and use natural sources of heat instead, or at least turn it down when you are not in your home
- Turn up the air! If you’re blasting cold air, you’re using just as much energy as when you were blasting the heat in the winter.
- Solar energy. If you really can’t live without your heat or air conditioning going full force, try using solar energy. There are many heaters and fans that run on solar power, and more and more ways of using solar energy for running everyday appliances are being discovered everyday.
- Low flow water faucets will help control the amount of water that you conserve. Along with these, try and shorten your showers.
- Energy star seal of approval. Buy appliances that are stamped with the Energy Star seal of approval!
We should begin showing our children how to live an eco-friendly lifestyle at a young age. We need to make sure that they are provided with one of these environments in their younger years. Making sure that your baby’s formula and bottles are made without containing anything that may be harmful to them is always a necessity along with providing them with an organic crib mattress and bedding. Being eco-friendly helps improve the environment along with your life. But teaching your children to be eco-friendly will help improve the lives of future generations.
Freelance writer Benjamin Baker is also a research hound. His research skills really came in handy last spring when his family made the choice to go green. They already recycled but they wanted to do more from their home in the Mile High City of Denver, Colorado. The website http://www.ecohomeinspired.com/ helped and they received other tips from their family’s home insurance agent. When they’re not going green at home Benjamin’s family participates in green adventures like camping and fishing, or just sitting around the campfire enjoying songs he plays on his guitar.
I’d like to add my own 2 cents worth of sustainable living tips here…make or buy a reusable cloth bag to use for grocery shopping instead of using plastic bags that end up in the landfill. Solar dry your clothes rather than firing up a 4000 watt clothes dryer. We even use a fold-out clothes rack to dry our clothes by the wood cook stove in the winter. That way we can heat the house, cook our lunch, and dry clothes all without using electricity. In the summer we use a solar oven to cook…not everyday, but at least a couple times a week. You can build a solar oven out of cardboard boxes or buy one at http://www.sunoven.com. It’s the size of a suitcase and even has a carrying handle on it.
Establish “car-less days.” We have a big calendar that we mark “x’s” to signify a car-less day. Every year we try to outdo the former year…last year we achieved our goal of 186 days or over 1/2 year completely car-less. It’s not that we drive fewer miles, we just “bundle” our trips so the car is warmed up rather that going for many short trips. We bicycle on the off days using a flat bed Burley trailer to haul groceries or deliver work from our print shop. These are things that we can do in our own setting. I’m sure each individual has their own ways of saving energy or reducing their carbon footprint, it’s important that we find them and practice them.
Thanks for posting this. It’s a great primer for those interested in getting started with reducing their energy usage. Not only does right by the planet, but also save $$$! Here are a few more energy saving tips I’d like to share:
1) consider replacing the old refrigerator. Older, energy sucking frig’s are usually one of the biggest watt wasters in a house, and a replacement can easily pay for itself over time. If you’re not replacing, then at least pull your frig. out and vacuum the cooling coils in back at least annually.
2) invest in the new generation of LED lightbulbs. Yes they’re expensive, but they last many, many times longer than CFL’s. Home Depot sells a great all around bulb the “Ecosmart” bright white dimmable A19 for about 10 bucks. It’s 3000 degrees K so the color is warm and pleasing. It can be used in any standard fixture and even does a decent job filling in for conventional recessed ceiling floods. The 9 watt version says it’s 40 watt equivalent but I believe it to be much closer to a conventional 60-75.
3) treat yourself to a TV upgrade. Swapping out the clunky old CRT for a new LED flat screen can be win win – looks better, and costs less to watch!
Thank you for writing in with those fantastic suggestions, and have to agree with the new refrigerator – it really does make a difference.