Living green can be simple and affordable. Some of the complaints that I hear people raise are the fact that “green” products cost more money or being “green” in general takes more time. Let me disprove some of these statements.
All you need to do is rearrange how you spend and how you live.
Grocery stores, drug stores and department stores everywhere are giving you a reward for bringing your own bag. The cost of that bag gets absorbed quickly, not mentioning the environmental impact, just on cost alone. Now the snowball begins, and because we have our own bags we have less garbage. Yes, I know some of you still hold out for the line, “but I reuse my plastic bag” seriously, it is more cost effective to have a reusable bag. I also want to add that since I don’t pay for garbage service I have become quite aware of the packaging of items I buy. I question whether or not I need this item in THAT packaging on whether or not I can recycle it. Recycling is free and that is why I don’t pay for garbage service. I have become more conscious. Example, if I buy milk or orange juice I tend to choose the plastic container which can be recycled as opposed to the carton which is not excepted at my dump.
We also compost. I have a kitchen counter composter that I put all of our scraps in and then empty into our outdoor composter. My husband made the outdoor one with material we already had and the cost of the indoor one is paid by all the money we save on not having garbage. Hence the snowball!
This systems works throughout the home. My house is proof that it works. Just switching to low energy CFLs, has kept my electric bill from rising. They cost more, but I pay less then most I know for a two story house. I’m also letting my boys know to turn off the lights when they are done in a certain room. I also unplug all of my appliances that I can easily reach to save phantom energy loss.
At this time of the year heating your home becomes an issue, I take this one seriously. We live in an old home. Before we got new windows, insulation and siding our heating bill was through the roof and that was keeping our temp at about 65. Now that our house has all those things 65 seems great. We wear sweaters, sock and slippers, but honestly I pay half of what we paid way back then. All those things cost us, but we are reaping the benefits now. I keep the temp down now still because I think wearing shorts inside in the winter is ridiculous and a waste of resources. Sorry.
Washing clothes in cold water gets them just as clean as washing with hot water. Line drying- inside or out- a no brainer to save cash and be green.
Just take some time to determine the cost and the environmental as well as the health impact and you can find affordable ways to green your life. Just a thought!
Lisa Moore Gee says
I always use cold water! why pay for the heat if you don't need it?