Best Tips for a Greener You!
Use “Over the Counter” ready to use eco-friendly cleaners – such as, Bon Ami, Bar keeper’s friend, Murphy’s Oil soap or Mrs. Stewards Liquid Bluing
Utilize your bike – Riding a bike vs. driving is more than just better for your health; the transportation industry is the second largest contributor to greenhouse gas production.
Grab a mug, cup or bottle and take it out with you – Rather than buying a coffee with a cup, bring a mug. It saves a “one time use” cup from being thrown out.
Use reusable bags – FYI California alone distributes over 180 million plastic grocery bags annually.
Look towards buying less packaging – Most foods come in a box, in plastic, then in a wrapper, and so on. Look for foods without all the packaging that normally gets tossed away
Buy in bulk – Buying in bulk obviously means more food and less packaging. This also tends to save you quite a bit on your grocery bill.
Donate all your old clothes – think about how much space all of you old clothes would take up in landfills, not to mention how long it would take for most of it to decompose. By donating your old clothes, you not only are you reducing your waste and impact on the earth, but you are also helping out someone in need.
Read labels – Look for clothes made out of organic materials. Organic fibers break down and decompose easier than other fibers that most clothes are typically made out of. Look for clothes that are local, buying locally reduces how much energy it takes to transport the clothes from where they are produced.
Dress up or down for the season – If its winter and your house is cold dress warmer so you can keep the thermostat down. By not raising the thermostat you are using a lot less heat.
Reduce laundry – Only do laundry when you have to and be sure that you wait until you have a full load of clothes. Rather than wasting a whole load of water and electricity on a few pieces of clothes, try and save by waiting until you have more washing to do. Also re-wear (some of) your clothes, wearing a t-shirt out and back doesn’t mean it’s dirty. Try to wear your clothes a few times before you throw them in the laundry if they aren’t really in need of a wash.
Wash your clothes with cold water – It takes a lot of energy to heat water for the washing machine. Try and conserve a little by using the cold water setting on your washer.
Grow a garden – How much more local can you get than your own yard? You can’t imagine the pleasure you get from putting work into your own food, gardens are a perfect for living sustainably.
Fix all your leaks – A faucet leaking a slow steady drip – 100 drops per minute – wastes 350 gallons per month. A faucet leaking a small stream wastes 2,000 to 2,700 gallons of water per month.
Tips at home and work:
Print less – use your laptop instead of printing off unnecessary paper. if you have to print ,print papers double-sided. Also do revisions on your computer if you can rather than printing it out on paper.
Turn off your computer – Just because you aren’t using your computer doesn’t mean it isn’t using energy. Don’t stop at the computer either. There are probably a few more appliances around that are quietly sucking up energy, for instance cell phone chargers require quite a bit of energy. If you aren’t using it just unplug it or turn it off.
Use energy efficient light bulbs – CFL’s (compact fluorescent light bulbs) use 75% less energy than standard incandescent light bulbs. They save you around $30 dollars in electricity over their life time and pay for themselves in just 6 months of using them. Imagine your savings if you replaced all of your bulbs with CFLs. Make it happen check out: EnergyStar
Already have CFL’s? Try using natural day light more. Open your blinds and windows. Daylight is a great way to reduce your energy bill, and it’s also a great way to get the vitamin D that you’re supposed to be taking in each day.
Tips for your bathroom:
FYI: The bathroom is one place you can dramatically reduce your impact on the earth.
Turn off the water when you are brushing your teeth – It is recommended that you brush your teeth for at least two minutes. By doing this, each day you could save up to 14 gallons of water which adds up.
Turn off the water when soaping up your hands – Rather than running the water while you get your hands ready turn it on when you need to rinse them off.
Avoid Paper Towels – If possible try and use a hand towel or electronic hand dryers rather than paper towels that are produced by cutting down trees. If paper towels are the only option try using less.
Take shorter showers – An average shower wastes 5-10 gallons of water every minute, Rather than spending half of your morning in the shower see how short you can make them. Try making it a game. If you took a 7 minute shower Monday, look for ways to cut it down to 6 on Tuesday. A good goal for length of a shower is around 4 minutes. I know that seems fast, but I bet you could do it. For an added incentive, think how much extra time you could be sleeping rather than wasting water in the shower.
Already take a short shower? – It takes very little water to put shampoo in your hair or scrub yourself with soap. Try turning off the water in between lathering up, also Low flow shower heads still produce water power like a normal shower head, but can save up to 9,500 gallons of water a year!
Look Out AND Avoid Damaging Products – Some companies do not have policies on using recycled materials or packaging.
