Today, Earth Day, is a great day to make a commitment to do as many things as you can to help our environment! And nearly all of these suggestions will save you money as well. Start by doing one or more of the things below:
–Cut down on the amount of waste that you create. Don’t buy items with lots of plastic packaging. Buy in bulk…there’s less packaging to discard. Reuse whatever you can.
–Do without things that are unnecessary. Only buy things you truly need! And try to buy used or recycled items…including clothing!
–Stop buying and drinking bottled water. Drink filtered water from a reusable bottle. Plastic bottles are evil!
–Reduce the amount of water you use. There are so many simple ways of doing so like not letting the water run while brushing your teeth, taking shorter showers, using water sprinklers instead of a hose or washing the car less often.
–Think carefully before using paper. Do you really need to print that email? Do you need that credit card bill sent to you or can you view it online? Do you need to write your shopping list on paper or can you put it on your phone? Also, to stop junk mail, write to: Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, 11 West 42nd St., PO Box 3861, New York, NY 10163-3861.
–Stop using plastic bags. There is no reason for them if you carry a reusable cloth bag. Plastic bags are severely harming the environment, especially our oceans. Take a cloth bag along every time you go shopping…or keep a few in your car.
–Use reusable containers for food storage instead of wrapping food in foil or plastic wrap.
–Give your car a break. There’s no need for you to take your car everywhere. You can use public transportation or walk or ride a bike when traveling a short distance.
–Recycle. You can recycle glass, paper, cans, cardboard, cloth and most everything else. Even toner cartridges can be recycled. Do it! And buy products that have already been recycled.
–Switch off appliances when they are not in use, AND unplug them. Even when your electrical appliances are on standby, they consume some energy.
–Turn your water heater down to 130 degrees. Your hot water heather accounts for about 20% of all the energy used in your home. 130 degrees will provide sufficient heat and is hot enough to kill bacteria.
–Use fluorescent light bulbs. They last longer and consume 1/4 the amount of energy as conventional bulbs.
–And don’t forget to wear vintage! Vintage is green.
All photos ©Elisa Casas
VintageIsGreen™ 