In Honor of Earth Day: 15 Simple ways to go green

I completely spazzed on my Earth Day post, so this is a little late. Here are 15 simple ways to go green. The best thing about this list is that it’s not just a random list someone put together. This is a list of things that my family actually does (or did). Completely possible to do all these things (although I admit that I’ve fallen off the wagon lately when it comes to line drying my clothes…may have to get back to that). And, the best thing is that most of these ideas will also save you money

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1. No paper in the kitchen. We do not use disposable plates, utensils, or cups. We also do not use paper towels or napkins (except every once in a while to drain grease from hamburger. Literally about 1 roll of paper towels a year, if that). Instead, we use real dishes, cloth napkins, and cloth kitchen towels. Saves money and helps the environment.

2. Reduce. Reduce the amount of stuff you have. Most of the material things we have aren’t really necessary. For the things that you don’t want to give up, buy them used. You’ll save money and help the environment, since you’re still reducing the amount of new stuff and packaging. For the items you purchase, be cognizant of the packaging—get your fruits and veggies right out of the bin and not the ones that have been shrink wrapped in a Styrofoam container. Choose a recyclable/reusable container over one that isn’t, and buy in bulk where possible to save on packaging.

3. Reuse. For the things that you just have to buy, consider reusing, and repurposing. Pass it on to a friend, or sell in a yardsale. Purchase used items as much as possible. For packaging, don’t just throw it in the trash (or even the recycling), look for ways to reuse and repurpose it! I always save my bowls, toilet paper rolls, spice bottles, etc. and take them to the H.A.N.D.S. program at our local Health Department (every state has some form of this program, although it might be called something different). They use them for projects. You might also be able to reuse them yourself for storage, or pass them along to schools, Sunday school, etc. for projects.

4. Recycle. After you have reduced your purchasing, and reused everything you can, recycle what you can’t reuse or repurpose. Call your local recycling place to see what they will accept. Most will accept paper, newspaper, corrugated cardboard, glass, plastic.

5. Cut down on driving trips. I have been making a conscious effort to combine errands, play dates, etc. so that we use less gas. Again, this will also save some money. Yes, it takes some effort, but in most cases it’s possible with a little extra planning.

6. Save electricity. Turn off lights when they aren’t in use. Better still, don’t turn them on when they aren’t needed. Unplug appliances when they aren’t in use. Turn your thermostat up a few degrees in the summer and down a few degrees in the winter. Simple steps.

7. Garden. This has many positive effects—better tasting food, more economical, and less energy wasted on packaging and travelling. Even if you have a very small plot available to you, you’d be amazed at what you can still grow. If you really can’t/don’t want to have a garden, buy local produce whenever possible.

8. Compost. I’m actually working on a tutorial post about this, but it is such a better option for your produce rather than just sticking it in the trash. It’s also really neat to watch the process, and I think a nice learning experience for kids too.

9. Reusable shopping bags. They aren’t just better for the environment, they are so much easier to carry. They are more comfortable and you can fit a lot more stuff in them.

10. Dishwasher. Turn off the “dry” function on your dishwasher and let them air dry. Also, don’t run the dishwasher unless it’s completely full.

11. Dryer. Line dry clothes when you can. If you don’t want them to be stiff from hanging on the line, you can dry them on the line and then throw them in the dryer for about 10 minutes.

12. Mail. Pay your bills online and go to paperless billing where possible. When you get unwanted catalogs or junk mail, don’t just ignore it, call the company to let them know you don’t want to receive future mailings.

13. Eat out less. Most restaurants have an incredible amount of waste, especially fast food restaurants that have ridiculous amounts of packaging and wrappers.

14. Cloth Diapers. We haven’t used them with Logan because he had eczema that was irritated by the cloth diapers, but we used them a lot with Caeden. They really aren’t as bad as you’d think.

15. Breastfeed. There are TONS of good reasons to do this, but one is that you are saving sooo much waste and energy from the creation and packaging of formula.

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