if not for the glaciers, then for the polar bears
I’ve found that besides leaving a lighter environmental footprint, trying to be a little greener has a bunch of incentives, including a lower electricity bill, feeling healthier, keeping the glaciers frozen, and helping keep the polar bears happy. Here are some of the greeney household things I’ve been trying to do (no I’m not going to write the list in bullet points because I don’t like how that looks):
Be more conscious about the things I buy. When it was time to get new lightbulbs, we got the energy-saving, lower-wattage alternative. Instead of getting a wooden chopping board, we got a Bambu one (bamboo, hemp, and sugarcane are sustainable resources that, unlike trees, can be easily planted, harvested, and leave the land renewable). When we ran out of Tide and Bounce (that have chemicals which pollute groundwater ~ not to mention why on earth were we washing our clothes in harmful chemicals when we had the option not to), we picked up Seventh Generation detergent and Meyers’ lavendar sheets.
Be less wasteful. I always walk and use public transporation to get anywhere ~ that’s actually a no-brainer because I live in New York City and mass transit is so convenient. If I could, I’d also learn to bike. We’ve taken to unplugging chargers and power cords when we’re not using them at night (except the one for the fridge). We also try to buy all our food from the farmer’s market and local grocery shops (though I must admit I have had to order from Freshdirect twice during this far-too-long winter chill). Also, very few sheets of paper end up in the recycle pile without first being printed or written on, on both sides, or folded into little paper boxes that are perfect little tabletop trash containers for eraser shreds, paper scraps, and fruit seeds.
Be more resourceful. You know those great plastic containers that you get when you order take-out (I must confess we order-in about twice a week!)? I always clean those and keep them around to use in place of tupperware. It’s a nice way to give that hard-on-the-earth-plastic a bit more mileage before throwing it away. And I hold onto most of the glass bottles, jam jars that come my way ~ they are lovely to keep around to put things like dried pasta and condiments.
What are some of the greeney things you’ve been doing at home?
It’s great to see the simple things other people do to reduce their consumption. Thanks for sharing. As for me, I always bring my own bags to the grocery store, don’t own a car, and read certain magazines/newspapers online instead of purchasing them. Also I save any packaging materials I receive in packages and cut down cardboard boxes to reuse as packaging for flimsy items like cards.
i am big on reusing bags. or at least keeping them when i forget to take my canvas ones to the store. i also save the pages from page-a-day calendars and staple them together to make mini notepads around the house.
i am a new visitor to your site and love it! have added it to links on mine. thank you for sharing your thoughts. i am having a very hard time picking which one of your notebooks i want the most. so hard to choose!