Ten Ways to Save the Planet Without Losing Your Mind
By Lisa Sharp | Leave A Comment
By Lisa Sharp | Leave A Comment
Check back every Monday for more ways to incorporate living green into your everyday life.
Going Green may seem overwhelming at times. You may think if you don’t go all the way why bother. But every little thing you do, does count. Don’t think that you have to have solar panels on your house to make a difference. Here are some small things you can do to help save the planet.
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Use farmer’s markets. You will be supporting local farmers and often save money. You will also reduce the amount of energy required for growing and transporting your food to you by one fifth. For a bigger impact buy local meat. If you don’t have the space or need all the meat in a share go together with other families.
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Buy organic food. Even if you only buy some items organic you will stop a lot of toxic chemicals from being used. Organic soils capture and store carbon dioxide at much higher levels than soils from conventional farms. For a bigger impact buy local organic.
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Buy fresh food not frozen. Frozen food uses 10 times the energy to produce. For a bigger impact grow your own produce.
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Use a reusable lunch box. They look nicer and keep your food fresher. Just think of all the paper bags you can save. For a bigger impact pack your food in reusable containers like the Wrap-N-Mat.
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Choose product refills. You will save money and a lot of waste by buying bigger refills for your smaller bottles. For a bigger impact use bulk bins as much as you can and bring your own contains to fill.
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Ditch the plastic bags.
Each year the U.S. uses 84 billion plastic bags. Plastics never biodegrade. They have made their way into our oceans and food chain! To break this cycle use reusable bags. You can buy them in most grocery stores for a dollar and some stores even give you a discount for using them. For a bigger impact ditch produce bags by using reusable produce bags which you can buy at reusablebags.com and replace plastic bags for meat with butcher bags. -
Cut back on meat.
Having even just one meatless meal a week will save you money and help prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer. For a bigger impact when you do eat meat eat organic. The animals are raised better and it’s better for you. -
Fix water leaks.
One dripping faucet can waste 250 gallons of water a month. That is 3,000 gallons of water wasted annually. You can check to see if your toilet is leaking by adding a few drops of food coloring in your tank, don’t flush. If the color shows up in the bowl within a few minutes you have a leak that needs fixed. For a bigger impact learn to read your water meter to know when you have a leak. -
Buy Non-toxic Cleaners.
Cleaners like Method and Seventh Generation are easy to find and affordable. They also work great and won’t harm the environment or your family. You can also make your own to save money. Baking soda, vinegar and plain old soap will clean most everything. For a bigger impact, buy refills when you can to save on packaging. -
Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner.
Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. For a bigger impact buy a filter that you clean and reuse.
If you want more tips on living green, check out Lisa’s blog Retro Housewife Goes Green.
FILED UNDER: Green
ABOUT Lisa Sharp
Lisa is a housewife, environmental activist, freelance writer, and photographer. She is living in a{read more}
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Thanks for the great tips Lisa! I try to buy refills whenever possible but was not sure if that was a “green” choice or not. Glad to hear that it is.
If you are considering a remodel..saving the planet and saving money can be accomplished at the same time. Consider these tips..
1. Invest in higher energy efficient windows, doors, insulation and appliances. The extra cost now will be recovered in a few years and the environmental benefits from less energy useage for years to come.
2. Try to reuse cabinets, doors, windows..as much as you can.
3. When you are starting your design shop for salvage or special order windows, doors, appliance, that are available for you to use. They always cost a lot less and you may save them from going to a landfill.
This is just the start of the list of tips on saving money when you remodel from the website http://www.remodelormove.com
Where does that stat on frozen food come from? It’s been thrown around in many similar articles with no reference. I tend to choose frozen vegetables during the winter when local produce is not available. I’ve considered this to be a healthier option and always check the package to make sure they were grown in Canada.
I’d like to see a comparison on energy consumption for:
- fresh produce that has travelled a long distance and/or has been in cold storage for a long time
- canned fruits & vegetables (local products)
- frozen fruits & vegetables (local products)
Of course, there are many of variations on this with home canning vs. commercial canning or freezing and local products vs. produce from far away. I’ve also heard that canned & frozen food has better nutritional value than out of season fresh food.
Generally, I think home canning is the best method of preserving food for the winter but it’s a lot of work so I don’t do as much as I’d like to.
Another great eco-tip is to pick up some American made reusable bags from Hero Bags. They have some wonderful quality shopping bags that will last a lifetime and are made out of recycled cotton and organic cotton lunch bags for the kids as well. Everything is machine washable too! http://www.herobags.com
Lena- Refills are always greener but of course are the most green when you buy refills for green products.
Dan- Thanks for the link.
Megan- That is a good question. I have to say I buy some frozen as well because I don’t always get enough fresh frozen before winter. I will see if I can find some info.
Eco-mom- Thanks for the link.