Be More Eco Friendly: A Few Simple Ways
Everyone wants to do their part to respect the environment and be more eco friendly, but without a large income, that can be seem too hard, if not impossible. But doing your part doesn’t have to be hard. Many small steps can add up to a big difference, you just have to know which small things you can do that are most effective.
Use Less Water
Saving water is all about small steps, here are a few that will help save big.
– Shut off the water while you brush your teeth
– Take showers that are a minute or two shorter
– Fill the bathtub a little lower
– Only flush the toilet when you need to
– Only run full loads of laundry and dishes
– Buy from sustainable producers. These are farmers, ranchers, and other producers that use techniques that pollute less and use less water. You can do some research online or ask at your local organic market to find these products.
Use Less Energy
If you don’t have the money to buy a hybrid car or convert your house to solar power, you can make a big difference with small changes.
– Buy energy efficient appliances. They may be more expensive, but they will make up for the increased cost in giving you lower energy bills.
– Unplug chargers when you’re not using them. Cell phone and other chargers use up electricity even if there’s nothing attached to them.
– Put devices with remotes, like T.V.s, VCRs, and stereos, on a power strip and turn it off when you’re not using them. These devices use a lot of power to run the remote receiver even when the device is off.
– Walk or ride your bike for short trips.
– Buy local products. It takes energy to transport food and other products across the country. Buying local not only supports your local economy, it helps use less energy.
When it comes to saving energy and water, it’s a great idea to get your children involved. You can even make it a game. Have them track how much water and electricity everyone is using. You can compete to see who uses the least water. You can often count on your kids to help keep you on track when given the task. This will help them to discover many energy saving techniques for themselves. Since it was their idea, they will be more likely to practice it.
Most of us know the three R’s of saving resources: reduce, reuse, and recycle, but when we work on conserving, we often leave reuse out of the picture. While you can often find tips on how to reuse common products from other people, what you need most is creativity. With a little thought there are many items around your home that can be reused – toilet paper holders can be used to sow seeds for the vegetable patch. And old yogurt containers can be cut into strips to make plant labels. Old food jars can be refilled with homemade foods or can make great impromptu vases.
Use environmentally friendly products. When you go to the grocery store, you probably see more and more “natural” or “eco friendly” products every time. There are generally two main problems with these products: firstly, just because they are more natural than regular products, doesn’t mean they are entirely natural, and secondly, they are often more expensive.
If you want inexpensive, natural, safe products, why not just make them yourself. Vinegar is a great way to clean and disinfect glass and other surfaces. Need to remove stubborn stains? Just add some baking soda to your vinegar cleaner. There are many helpful green cleaning books available.
We all knowing that going green is better for the environment, but it’s also better for you. Conserving resources also helps save you money, which is something most of us are happy to live with.