Live Green & Help Save Our Environment

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What’s Green Living All About?

When you hear the term “green living”, you may get an image in your head of hippies living in communes making everything they use. Truth is: the definition of green living has changed. The concept simply includes doing things to help the environment be viable for future generations. If you don’t feel like shedding your worldly possessions and living in a mud hut, here are a few steps you can take you make your life a little greener.

Buy local organic products. Organic farmers not only use little to no chemicals, they also take steps to reduce water and soil degradation, along with other problems caused by traditional agriculture. Veggies from groceries stores have usually been shipped a long way, which causes environmental pollution. Buy your produce from a local farmer’s market or coop. If you can’t find one, start your own organic garden.

Use natural products. Household products that don’t contain chemicals are not only better for the environment; they’re safer for your family as well. You can make various cleaning products from stuff in your kitchen, like vinegar. If you don’t have the time, there are products you can buy. Just make sure they’re all natural and don’t just have a few natural ingredients.

Reduce. We’ve all heard the spiel about reduce, reuse, recycle; however, most of us focus on recycling and completely ignore the reducing. Try to use products that don’t end up in landfills like cloth diapers instead of disposables or regular towels instead of paper ones. Another great idea is to buy concentrated products because they come in smaller packages.

Reuse. Many people have gotten in the habit of sending their recyclables away in the bins, but there’s more supply than demand in the recycling market. That’s why it’s also important to reuse items if you can. Before you throw something in the recycling bin, consider whether you could reuse it for something else.

Recycle. We should all have a recycle bin in our homes, but you can do stuff to recycle on your own. Instead of using potting soil in your garden, set up a compost pile and make your own rich soils. You can also use products like shredded plastic bags to mulch your garden. If you get creative, there’s lots of recycling you can do on your own.

Conserve Energy. There are so many things you can do to save energy. The big plus on this is that it also saves you money. Get low energy light bulbs for your fixtures. You could also take more drastic renovation steps by getting new energy efficient windows or installing solar panels. Even small steps like setting the thermostat a degree higher or lower can make a big difference. A big way to conserve energy is to get a more fuel efficient car, or get rid of your car altogether. If you don’t need a big SUV, then don’t get one. You’ll be doing the environment a big favor.

Teach your children. You might not be able to change the world on your own, but you can start a trend my teaching others to be more environmentally friendly, starting with your kids. Make sure your children know what steps you take to improve the environment and why.

So, Let’s get started:

10 Things You Can Do To Go Green Today

We all want to help the environment but many people believe that in order to do so they have to drastically change their lifestyle or spend a lot of money. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. There are a lot of things you can do now that won’t cost much, and might even save you money! While these may possibly seem like little things, all these little things add up with time and if we all did just a few of them, it would have a huge impact environmentally.

Here are 10 “green” things you can do that won’t crimp your style or your wallet:

1. Use recyclable fabric grocery bags instead of plastic – plastic bags take eons to degrade and can be harmful to wildlife. Fabric bags only cost about a $1 and some grocery stores even offer you a rebate every time you use them. Not only that, but they hold more groceries, can be used over and over again for anything, and are easier to carry!
2. Buy reusable coffee filters – you’ll never run out!
3. Put your kitchen scraps in a compost pile – you will have great organic fertilizer for your garden and will be making good use of your scraps.
4. Use cloth kitchen towels instead of paper towels.
5. Buy used items – need a new sofa or TV? Try looking at your local consignment store or in the classifieds – you can get like new items for a fraction of the cost and it keeps those items out of the landfill.
6. Don’t print – do you really need to print that e-mail? Think hard before you print stuff from your computer – you’ll save a ton on ink and paper.
7. Get your news online – instead of getting a newspaper delivered to your home, just use the internet and read your local news online. Almost every newspaper has a website today where you can get the late breaking news.
8. Work from home – if your company allows it, try to work from home 1 or 2 days a week. You’ll produce less carbon emissions, as well as save on gas (plus you’ll probably get a lot more accomplished without your boss staring over your shoulder!)
9. Buy local – flying and trucking food cross-country produces a lot of pollution, so if you have a local farmers market, try to support your local farmers and buy as much food as you can there. It will be healthier for you, as well as easier on the environment.
10. Turn down the temperature setting on your water heater – most people have their water heater set too high – turn yours down to 120 degrees. Also purchase and install an insulating jacket around the water heater. This will help it operate more efficiently and save on heating your water. For a lot more savings, insulate the pipes coming out of the water heater.

There’s plenty more that can be done to help the environment, but it could be mind-boggling to try to implement too many things at once. Try a number of the tips listed above and, once you have them structured into your daily routine, take on more green living activities – before you know it, you’ll be living a fully eco-friendly lifestyle!