1. Composting - I currently have 2 bins, but would like to get a third some day. Both of my bins are pretty full right now, probably too full, and I keep adding to them. I have been composting kitchen scraps, leaves and garden waste for years. I took a seminar through our county's recycling department and received the round bin for free. The square one cost me $12 through the same organization. They are fairly easy to maintain and my garden loves the finished product.
I throw the kitchen scraps in the freezer in a plastic container and when it is full I take it out to the compost. This way I am not running to the bins everyday and the scraps don't smell or get too ripe in the freezer.
2. Rain Barrel - We have city water, so we pay for usage and I am always looking for ways to cut down on our consumption. I bought this barrel for $25 through our county. Local high school students made the barrels and they did a great job. You can buy "pretty" ones at big box stores, but you'll pay dearly for them. My plants love the rain and I love that the water is free.
3. I have been taking reusable bags to the grocery store for years, long before it became fashionable. I switched from my small canvas bags to the store bags because they are roomier and lighter in weight. I love my pink bag that my grocery store sold as a promotion during October's breast cancer awareness month. I keep them on a hook where I keep my handbag and keys so I don't forget them when I go shopping.
4. Speaking of grocery bags, I really do try to avoid plastic bags, but we do acquire some plastic bags from other sources like our newspaper bags or maybe I forgot to take my canvas bags to Target or Kohl's and even toilet paper packaging. We recycle plastic bags through the grocery store's recycling program. I also use plastic bags as trash bags at our house. When we had a dog I used the plastic bags as "poop" bags when we took him for walks. The stuffed plastic bag on the left in the picture is for recycling and the bag holder on the wall on the right in the picture is for bags that we will reuse around the house. This is definitely an area where we could improve upon. There are too many plastic bags in this picture.
5. Tap water - We do not buy bottled water. We don't need to because we have a reverse osmosis system that makes our tap water very tasty or should I say "tasteless". Honestly, our city water doesn't taste very good, so I might be tempted to buy bottled, but we don't need to because we all have personal water bottles that we take with us everywhere. This also prevents us from wasting money by buying drinks when we are away from the house. I often hear from the back seat of the car, "I'm thirsty, mommy". The reverse osmosis faucet is in the middle of the picture. We do have to buy filters yearly for the system, but we still save money by not buying bottled water...we drink alot of water.
6. I started switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs several years ago.
Energystar.gov states, "CFL bulbs use 75 percent less energy and lasts about 10 times longer than an incandescent bulbs." My husband doesn't like the mercury issue that the bulbs have, but I think I have come up with a way around that. I keep a sturdy cardboard box in the garage for old batteries and CFLs to be recycled. This reminds us not to throw the burned out CFLs in the regular garbage. Contact your local recycling authority for recycling locations for your cfls and your old batteries.
7. Junk mail - Long before the credit crisis, I stopped getting credit card applications. All applications have a phone number somewhere near the bottom of the letters to call to remove your name from their mailing list. I called and I'm amazed at how much less junk mail I receive now.
8. We avoid paper products whenever possible. We have been using cloth napkins in place of paper towels and napkins for almost 9 years. We received some as wedding gifts and we have been using them ever since. I keep a big pile handy to clean up spills and messy little fingers and faces. I have had a roll of paper towels under my sink for about a year. I really try to avoid using them. I also try to avoid paper plates. I bought this stack of plastic compartment plates at a yard sale and we use them when eating outside on our patio and to take on picnics.
9. From April - October I hang my laundry outside and avoid using my electric dryer. This habit has by far been the biggest money-saver. I definitely notice a difference in my electric bill when I don't use my dryer. You can read more about my adventures in outside-drying here.
What are some things that you do to protect the earth and your balance sheet?
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1 comments:
Great ideas! I have been using towels instead of paper towels, but I never thought of replacing paper napkins with real napkins. DUH! Thanks for the tip!
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