How To Do Just About Everything
By CCrock
Rate: (14 Ratings)
You don't have to go all out and buy a hybrid to be "green". Here are simple changes you can make TODAY to be a more environmentally friendly person and have less of an impact on the environment. Sometimes the smallest changes can make the biggest difference.
Turn off the water. When you are brushing your teeth or shaving, turn off the water. There is no need to let it keep running. When you do have the water on, keep it on a low pressure. You only need a trickle to wet your toothbrush and then rinse it off.
Turn off the lights. Make it a habit of hitting the light switch every time you walk out of a room. You'll know you've mastered this when suddenly someone calls out "HEY! Why'd you turn the lights off on me?".
Don't throw everything in the trash. A lot of our garbage is actually recyclable. Have a recycle bin handy to make it easy. Then recycle all cardboard and package boxes, flyers and newspapers, paper junk mail, plastic containers, aluminum containers, and glass. Some public recycle containers do not want you to put glass in them though.
Drive the speed limit. This will make your car more fuel efficient so even if you can't afford a new hybrid, you can still make less of an impact on the environment.
Drive less. Carpool, walk, use public transit or ride a bike to get to and from your destinations.
Reuse. Reuse plastic bags and zip lock bags if you can.
Full loads only. Let your laundry pile up until you have enough to full loads of laundry. Do all your laundry in one day, this will waste less water and energy. Also, if you keep the laundry going, the dryer works more efficiently because it will already be warm when you start the next load and use less energy. Also wait until your dishwasher is full before running it.
Buy local. Buy locally grown produce. This will help your local community as well as cut down on the impact on the environment since the food is not being transported long distances.
www.ecosource.ca/greenhome
Remove yourself from paper mailing lists to help save trees. Sign up to have your bills and bank statements sent to you electronically.
* Attach a bat house to a pole at least 15 feet high on your property or on the side of your house. The bat will eat insects for you so you don't have to spray harmful chemicals to rid yourself of pests.
Use natural house cleaning products to reduse the use of harmful chemicals. Buy products that are made or packaged with recycled materials and or are biodegradeable.
www.seattleweekly.com
Compost. THe list of items that can be added to a compost is very long. You can use a compost bin or just have a compost pile somewhere in your yard where all your organic items from food scraps, hair, cardboard, coffee grounds and filters, dryer lint, and newpaper among other things, can rot and become great mulch and is the ultimate garden fertilizer.
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Comments
Triskit said
on 1/20/2008 Great Article!!! Small, simple changes are what make a difference. People don't realize how easy it can be. If everyone did just one of the things on this list it would still make a huge difference.
Blackbear said
on 1/19/2008 Wonderful wonderful article! Hopefully many people will see this article. It would certainly make a difference for all if everyone chose to live a more environmentally safer way.
JMKIT said
on 1/22/2008 Great tips for making a difference. But don't forget about taking the plastic grocery bags back to the store to recycle, ask for paper bags or use your own tote bags for groceries!