10 Eco-friendly things you can do today and doesn’t cost you a dime
// June 22nd, 2007
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I know I cover a lot of Eco-friendly products you can buy for your home, but sometimes we don’t want to make a financial commitment to something until we are ready to do so. Take my boyfriend for example. He’s not a green person and sometimes he doesn’t understand why I want to buy Organic products and Eco-friendly cleaning supplies when the “regular” brands costs a lot less. But he’s starting to do things around the house because I ask him to, and he’s starting to get the whole “Environmentally Conscious” thing. So this is for the people who want to start doing nice things for the place we all call home but have not totally committed to the sustainable living idea.. well, not yet.
- Stop buying bottled water. According to Lighter Footstep, Bottled water produces up to 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year and it’s not always safer than regular tap water. In practice, about 70 percent of bottled water never crosses state lines for sale, making it exempt from FDA oversight. On the other hand, water systems in the developed world are well-regulated. You can use a stainless steel thermos to hydrate when you are out and about. Think how much you can save per day if you stopped buying bottled water.
- Use cold water to do the dishes and the laundry. In all reality; you really don’t need hot water to clean your clothes. Cold water will work just as fine and you will also save on electricity so more reason to use cold water.
- When brushing your teeth, don’t let the water run. I have been known to do this but you can gently remind yourself not to. Turning off the water between rinses can save at least two gallons in one brushing session.
- Turn off all the electrical appliances when you are not using them. Better yet pull out the cord from the socket. 75% of the electricity used to power electronics is consumed when they turned are off but plugged in. Too tedious? I put all my chargers and things that need to be on constantly into one large power strip. The rest, I have strategically placed all the cords around on electrical outlet with a button I can push to turn on and off. Everyone has at least one or two of these. If not, try Ikea, that’s the one we use. (Let’s take some of the money you saved from Bottle Waters and Electricity Bill and apply it towards this.. so it’s still free)
- Recycle. It only takes a moment of your time to sort out the recyclables from trash. I have a large container where I chuck all the recyclables and sort them out night before the pickup date. For finding recycling programs in your community; enter your zip code at Earth911.Org
- Subscribe to Ideal Bite (They were featured in Yoga Journal). It costs you nothing. Nada.. Zip.. Zero, and offer invaluable information on how you can stay green. It’s not only for the Environmentalists. Ideal Bite is actually geared toward regular consumers who are interested in doing simple things that doesn’t detract from their busy lifestyle. It’s fun and simple and their breath of resources are amazing.
- Take out that dusty thermos out of your cabinet and take it to Starbucks or where ever you go to get your java fix.
- Turn down your thermostat up one degree in the Summer; Down one degree in the winter. By turning your central heating thermostat down by 1°C, you can make reductions of 10% in your heating bill.
- Register to Vote. With the Presidential Election coming up, we all need get more actively involved in asserting your rights as a citizen and as a good human. Vote for candidates who seem sincere about your favorite causes. Write to let them know what your thoughts are. (Senator Kennedy, have you gotten my latest memos?) Without your participation; there can be no change. (No, I did not vote in the last election. Shame on me, but I will be sure to vote this time.)
- Consume less. I love shopping. It’s my therapy, but I know it’s not good for me financially or to the environment. I have cut down on my spending habits and I can honestly say that I don’t miss it that much. Of course splurge once in awhile but do we really need another handbag, shoes, clothes, etc?
Sustainable Living will be inevitable as the climates change due to Global Warming as we consume more and more of the Earth’s natural resources. This can either be forced upon us or we can slowly take baby steps to come up with a solution. We as humans can achieve many amazing feats. I take the look at the world around us and see so much beauty that we have created and know that this is more than a possibility. If I can get my boyfriend to turn off the power surge and start recycling; then I know that you can too. It’s easy, really.
Sources:
Yoga Journal
Popularity: 13% [?]
Tagged Sustainable living, Recycling, Conservation, Global Warming, Living Green, Environmental Issues
27 Responses to “10 Eco-friendly things you can do today and doesn’t cost you a dime”
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June 22nd, 2007 at 2:09 pm
I think I knew most of this, but the unplugging of electronics and the thermostat adjustment are two that I did not. Makes sense though, because I burned out the controller board on the treadmill simply by never using it. It was always powered up.
PS - been using the same plastic bottle for water at work for about a year now!
June 22nd, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Hey Julie, Thanks for stopping by. That’s great that you are doing these things already. I have found out that there are a lot of people who do great things for the environment. Very encouraging I must say. This is Sustainable Living 101… for people who haven’t given much thought to green living yet.
June 22nd, 2007 at 3:03 pm
I’ll echo the sentiments of Julie and say, great tip. regarding the appliances.It’s something I never do.
I do the majority of the rest. If nothing else, it’s good to be reassured that I’m doing something useful.
Great post.
June 22nd, 2007 at 3:24 pm
You know most of those are so simple to do and hardly any have crossed my mind. Good post!
June 22nd, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Great article with some useful tips! You should also turn off lights that you aren’t using as it saves energy.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:09 pm
Awwww thanks guys for taking the time to say hello. Means a lot to me.
I am so happy that a lot of you are doing these things already.
Kevin, thanks for making me feel useful.. lol.. I thought I was doing everyone a disservice today.. OK. Just kidding. Cheers…
if you have any more suggestions… feel free to list them on here.
June 23rd, 2007 at 1:08 pm
Love the new page, and these are some great tips..but I had trouble reading the very small font…maybe it is just me and my eyes are going bad!! Oh and Pick up at least one piece of litter every day and put it in it’s place!! My tip of the day!!
June 23rd, 2007 at 5:10 pm
Hey Tom, thanks for stopping by
Good to see you again. 
June 23rd, 2007 at 6:51 pm
u know i already do like more than half of the things u pointed!! and believe me that part of consuming less is the hardest!! as u i love shopping, its like therapy to me too!!
June 23rd, 2007 at 8:14 pm
hey girl know what!!!?? u just gotta awarded in my blog …. come take ur award!!
June 23rd, 2007 at 8:22 pm
hey girl u can put it wherever u want the award is urs!! but im a little confused so how many blogs do u hv??? i guess all ur template changes got me spinning!!
June 24th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
Hey Confessing7girl.. I KNOW! I can’t believe how many times I changed it but it’s all worth it. I went back to the design very similar to the one I had on blogspot.
I think this is more me than any other template I could find.
June 25th, 2007 at 5:20 am
great list!
it’s very useful. thanks for writing on it.
June 27th, 2007 at 12:38 am
These are great tips. I found your page when I searched “eco-friendly tips” on Google. I was pleased to find a place to drop off my recycled materials via the website you linked to, and everything else was great, too! Keep up the good work, Jolly Green Girl.
December 1st, 2007 at 4:37 pm
I like the comment on how sustainable living is inevitable. We might as well take the steps to get used to it, and minimize the negative effects while preserving resources.
I am an anti-bottled water person myself. So pointless!
I really like the site!
December 2nd, 2007 at 7:12 am
Hot water sanitizes though!
December 14th, 2007 at 10:34 am
Use less laundry powder? 5% less than the amount on instruction.
Thank you for the great tips.
December 14th, 2007 at 10:41 am
Use less laundry powder? 5% less than the amount on instruction.
Thank you for the great tips.
December 17th, 2007 at 5:26 am
[…] 10 Eco-friendly Things you can do Today and Doesn’t Cost you a Dime. […]
December 21st, 2007 at 8:02 pm
A few more tips to add to your wonderful list:
- cover your pots when cooking. It speeds heating and saves energy
- Share a magazine subscription with a friend. Save a tree.
- If you shave at the sink, turn off the water while you shave.
December 31st, 2007 at 10:19 pm
On a different note, I found this article http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?p=3225220 listing the greenest cities in the US. This shows that municipalities care about climate change. I guess the general population cares about the environment and global warming. My score on their calculator was 400 but at least I am trying. Here is the link to the website that published the list of cites and where the carbon calculator can be found: www.earthlab.com. The test took me like 5 minutes tops, and then maybe another
March 20th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
Love the tips! I tried going green all at once and it became very overwhelming so now I try to find one new eco-friendly thing to do each month. This month I am trying to get my family to use less paper towels by busting out those linen napkins I’ve had stored away for special occasions. I never realized how many paper towels we contributed to the landfill each day! And it’s just as easy to throw the linen napkins in with a regular load of laundry.
March 25th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Wow! Thanks this is awesome! Most of my family members have not warmed up to the idea of “eco-friendly” just yet, but they are beginning to understand why I prefer that kind of lifestyle now.
Your blog has helped so much!
April 18th, 2008 at 12:41 am
This article is very interesting. I found out another way to save energy is by using a power strip connected to a light switch. This way it is much more convenient to turn off all the power in the room. I did it to all my rooms except my computer room. I had a few accidents when my friends accidentally flip the switch down and my computer just goes blank.
June 14th, 2008 at 7:46 am
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June 20th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Great tips! I really only started to do some of these things a couple of years ago. Sometimes habits are hard to break. After awhile, though, washing in cold water and unplugging electronics becomes habit. Anything helps!
July 17th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
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go try it. its definitely worth it for all.