Apparently green is the new everything—the new black, the new pink, and the newest way to save the world.
There are a lot of different aspects to going green, and they can definitely become expensive if you try to go green all at once. If you’re having a hard time focusing your green thinking, remember, there are many different reasons why going green is the respectable thing to do. Choose the one that you feel influences you the most and start there.
- Global warming
- Gas prices
- Personal/family health
- Animal testing
- Child safety
5 Ways to (inexpensively) Green Up Your Life
1. Save Some Green
Open a Green Account. This is one of the easiest ways to green up your life. I’ve already done it and it costs nothing to open if you’re already a BWCU member.
There is no minimum balance or monthly fee, plus you get five cents back on select transactions.
Each year the U.S. prints 200 million bank statements and writes 18 million checks. We harvest 38 million trees to make 10 million tons of paper. You can help put a stop to this and replenish our tree supply (and oxygen) by opening a completely paperless Green Account. In addition, you’ll be contributing to the Greensburg Tree Fund just by using your debit card.
2. Au Naturale
Switch to natural cleaning solutions. I like to use Method, which can be found at Target. There are several different scents and a large variety of products. I’ve also used Green Works by Clorox.
Natural cleaning products are important because anything you use gets on your skin (and in your nostrils) even if you wear gloves. Don’t be fooled into thinking our skin is a barrier to harmful substances. It’s actually an organ and everything it touches gets into our systems. (Now go read the label on your favorite cleaner and see if you want that stuff inside of you.)
3. Use and Reuse
I’m talking about water. Turn it off while brushing or shaving and wait until you have full loads in the washer or dishwasher. Using cold or warm water helps to reduce energy, but I’m still a firm believer in hot water—the germs have to go.
Also try reusing your water. Put a small bucket under your kitchen faucet and wash your hands into the bucket (using natural soap). At the end of the day throw the water on your garden.
4. Eliminate the Glow
Unplug everything that has an LED (light emitting diode). This might include cell phone chargers, printers, TVs, etc. All of these are still using electricity even if they are turned off. The same effect could be achieved by plugging them into a power strip and turning the strip off when you’re finished. This could save you up to $200 per year.
5. Greener Grass
Save yourself some yard work and let your grass grow to about 2.5 inches tall. This will allow more surface area to absorb light, which will result in greener, fuller grass with deeper roots, which will result in you having to water less often.
Also cut back on herbicides and increase nitrogen by leaving the grass clippings on your lawn. This discourages weed seeds from germinating because they can’t get to the soil as easily. It also cuts back on the 12 million tons of yard waste sent to landfills.
***Green Reminder: Anything harmful that we put into the environment will eventually effect us.
Kendra
Marketing
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