Yesterday was Earth Day. Yeah!
Feeling guilty for what we are doing to the planet? Yeah! Let's just
say it is hard to be environmental if you don't have the green. I am
not talking about the green attitude, I am saying that it is a lot
easier to be environmentally conscious if you are rich. Yet, there
are things that we can all do that are inexpensive, and can even save
us money and conserve energy and resources. This is an expansion of
a Facebook post I did yesterday, and have been thinking of how our
family tries to help out, which helps our pocketbook as well as the
planet and even an IDIOT could do these things!
- Line or “rack” dry your clothes. I know what your are going to say. “My HOA does not allow me to line dry my clothes outside.” Well, what about your garage? Here in Arizona, our garages turn into large heaters just from the tremendous amount of heat being thrown to us by the Sun. Even in the winter, my garage heats up sometimes from the way the solar heat radiates off our garage since it is south facing. If you live in Minnesota you are out of luck in the winter, but the summer should work. My HOA probably still does not approve, but I have seen other neighbors do it as well and what happens in the garage, stays in the garage. OK, what if you do not have a garage or space in the garage? Do you have a spare area in your house, such as an office or bedroom? Then you can dry your laundry there, it may take longer, but that just means you do not have to fold it and put the clothes away just yet!
- If you use a dishwasher, do not use the heated dry option. Just open the door when it is done, or if there are wet dishes put them on a rack to dry or dry them right then and there. It is not difficult when putting dishes away to dry them as well. I also try to keep it to one load (or less) a day unless we are in some sort of holiday when the dish usage goes amuck.
- I try to go to the grocery store once or twice a week. You just need to plan your meals and your trips. There are items that will be missed, and unless you can walk to your store, can you wait? I know it is great to get items at the peak of freshness, but if you have something that might get bad soon, just eat that veggie first!
- Speaking of food - It is usually less expensive to eat at home and usually better for the environment. Since fewer resources are usually used. Sure, there are solar powered pizzerias out there, but they are still few as compared to McDonalds on every corner.
- One more food/drink related item. I am a major ice tea addict cause water gets boring. Unsweetened tea thank you very much, but the reasons for that I will leave to another post. Instead of drinking the drudge that is called ice tea from most to-go places, I make my own. My wonderful Mother-In-Law got me an Ice Tea Maker years ago and I still use it. Then I just add ice and the tea to my favorite washable large cup and have a tasty and healthy beverage on the go. I also try to have water for the kids in older kids type sippy cups. You need to stay hydrated in a desert!
- Got something that you are finished with, but it still works? Give it to Goodwill or a Rummage Sale. Our church, Lord Of Grace in Marana, Arizona, is having a Rummage Sale next Saturday. I am hoping to give them some items. Or you could do a garage sale, but I found those to be more trouble than they are worth. Might as well give it to a good cause than have to haggle over your used goods.
- Reusable bags are not very expensive and sometimes you get them for free at book festivals! Then they are reusable until there are holes in them. Ours are getting to that point. It still beats all those annoying plastic bags. If I do get those annoying bags, I try to reuse them or take them back to the store where they have plastic bag recycling.
- In Tucson, if you are a homeowner, you get a big blue barrel to use to recycle plastics, paper, aluminum, etc. Use that can! If you are an apartment renter, I understand, but when you get large items in cardboard boxes and stuff, those items can be recycled at some local parks where there are large recycling canisters.
- I will not say anything about anyone's thermostat and how you deal with heating or cooling your home since there are many opinions on the subject. The one thing I will say is to keep your heater and air conditioner in good working order. If it is broken but still spewing heated or cooled air you could pay a pretty penny in energy bills, believe me, we know.
- We only own one car. Crazy, I know, but that is how we roll. My husband takes the bus to work. He also hates to drive, so this is a win win for him as long as the bus is on time and the riders are a pleasant bunch. That is not always the case, but he still prefers it to driving. So no, we do not own a Volt, and from what I am hearing, I do not think I want to own one. Our car is a mini-van so it does not sip the gas but sometime chug it. So, we just try to drive less.
I am sure there are many more ways to
be eco-friendly, but these are ours because they are budget-friendly
too! Anyone else got any eco and budget-friendly tips?
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