Easy Green Living Tips

This simple tip will help you green your next move to a new house or apartment, and will save you money at the same time.

As soon as you know that you are going to be moving to a new apartment or a new house, start collecting boxes at every opportunity. Whenever you go to the grocery store, or drive through an alley, or see dumpsters, check for sturdy, reusable cardboard boxes that you can grab for free. Another great way to find reusable moving boxes is to check Craigslist.com on a regular basis before your move. Lots of folks who have just moved will put up an ad and leave the cardboard moving boxes at the curb for pick up.

After your move, make sure that you keep your boxes in circulation by giving them to friends who are moving, or listing them on Craigslist.com so that other movers won’t have to buy new boxes, which, of course, require trees, energy, water and transportation.

This is a very simple way to help save the planet and save a lot of money at the same time.

By switching to reusable cloth towels for drying your hands, cleaning up spills, dusting, wiping countertops, and everything else that you currently use paper towels for, you will be helping the planet as well as your pocketbook.

Paper towels are one of the most wasteful products and can be found in most households. In fact, many families go through 2-3 rolls of paper towels each week – using them for napkins, cleaning, drying hands or laying out as placemats or food prep mats. All of these needs can very easily be met with reusable cloth napkins and towels.

Switching to cloth towels means that you will be limiting your impact on the environment by lowering your consumerism and the amount of waste you contribute. Paper towel production requires trees, water, energy and transportation – and then more energy, water and transportation is used in the recycling of the cardboard tube and the used paper towels that are clean enough to be recycled.

Switch to reusable cloth towels (and napkins) made from organic fibers and you will significantly lower your negative impact on the environment.

E-books are an excellent way to cut down on the demand for trees and the water and energy used to produce and transport print books. While I still love the feel of a print book in my hands while cozying up for an evening of reading, e-books really are the more environmentally-conscious way to go.

If you have the money, there are portable electronic readers that can hold your entire e-book library that are easy to take with you wherever you go. If you’re like me and don’t have the money for something like that, reading e-books on your computer is still a way to save trees and enjoy a good read. Naturally, your computer still uses energy during your reading session, but you are able to cut down on the energy, transportation and waste involved in print book publishing.

E-books also tend to be less expensive, so they have the added benefit of saving you money.

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I love to read and, while I do partake in eBooks and audio books, I just can’t give up the feel of real, print book in my hands as I flip through the pages and savor every word.

If you feel the same way about books, but are concerned about the trees, water and energy put into producing them, then this easy green living tip is for you.

There are many great ways to get your hands on used books, which allow you to enjoy a great read and then pass it on to someone else to keep the book in circulation while limiting consumerism.

One of my favorite ways to do this is to swap books on book exchange websites. I generally prefer to buy them locally, but when there is a particular title that I can’t find in the used section of my local bookstore, book exchange websites are the way to go.

My favorite book swapping site at the moment is Swaptree, which employs a simple ISBN input system for listing the books you want to trade and the books that you are looking for. You simply enter your information and receive an email when a possible trade becomes available.

Aftershave products can soothe your face after shaving and can leave your skin feeling smooth and smelling sweet. But with chemicals that range from innocuous to toxic, wasteful packaging that usually isn’t recyclable, and, of course the energy, water and transportation that goes into manufacturing and distributing commercial aftershaves, it may not be the best choice for your health or the environment. Plus, you have the animal testing and animal-derived ingredients to consider as well.

Now, there are some all natural aftershaves that don’t test on animals and, while a little more expensive than conventional brands, they are better for your health and the planet. However, some of these still come in packaging that is not recyclable and there is a much cheaper way to soothe your skin after shaving that will cost you – seriously – like a penny a day.

Witch hazel is an extremely useful, versatile product that can be used for cleaning wounds, caring for a sunburn, facial toner and plenty of other everyday needs. And, it also makes an effective aftershave product. Applied to the skin after shaving, witch hazel soothes the skin and helps prevent razor bumps and irritation.

To be even greener, bypass the cotton pads or cotton balls and use swatches of an old t-shirt to apply witch hazel after shaving. The super soft cloth from reclaimed t-shirt fabric cuts up into little squares easily and is soft on the skin – not to mention, it doesn’t get caught on your stubble like cotton pads or cotton balls can.

Shopping at vintage and thrift stores is a fun, money-saving way to find things you need, as well unexpected treasures. From clothes to kitchen appliances, vintage shops and thrift stores can save you hundreds of dollars with exceptional deals on gently used items.

On top of those huge savings, shopping at vintage stores and thrift shops lets you help save the planet by limiting your impact on the environment, while still getting all the great stuff that you need and want. By purchasing used items you are limiting the demand of using natural resources, energy and transportation for manufacturing and distributing new items, plus you are bringing new life to a still useful item that might otherwise end up in a landfill.

Plastic baggies might make your life easier, but they are hard on your wallet and on the planet. Disposable bags, baggies and containers spend a couple of days in your kitchen and thousands of years in a landfill - not to mention that buying disposable food storage bags and containers can add up to hundreds of dollars over time.

Keep in mind that these types of plastic don’t biodegrade – they photodegrade, which requires air and sunlight (which are not abundant in landfills). The process takes at least a thousand years, but it could even take much longer than that. So, think about every baggie you use for lunches or freezer storage and every disposable plastic container you use in the fridge. How many disposable baggies and containers do you add to landfills each week?

Fortunately, this is easy to fix. Reusable food storage containers can last you a lifetime and even be passed down to future generations. Eco-friendly reusable food storage containers will save you lots of money over time and will make a significant impact on the amount of plastic you and your family send to landfills.

Glass containers are a great option for most purposes. They work well for storing and transporting food and they even saveenergy when used for baking or for storing in the fridge. But, if you want plastic-y containers for their weight and convenience, your best bet is to find products that do not leach chemicals and should last a long time, such as some containers by Farberware, Gladware, Rubbermaid and Tupperware.

Did you know that most of the plastic baby bottles sold for feeding infants and toddlers have a harmful substance called Bisphenol A (BPA)? While there are some other harmful chemicals and substances that can leach into your baby’s food from the plastic in his or her baby bottle, Bisphenol A is of particular concern and should be avoided. BPA has been linked to hormone disruption, cancer and perhaps also diabetes, which means I don’t want it anywhere near any baby of mine.

Plus, the plastic in conventional plastic baby bottles will take thousands and thousands of years to breakdown in landfills – if it even breaks down at all (plastics in landfills is whole different blog post, which I will get to later).

Your best option as a parent (aside from breastfeeding, of course) is to feed your baby using eco-friendly safer bottles like the ones made by Green to Grow or Born Free. Born Free Baby Bottles are BPA-free and Green to Grow Baby Bottles come in 100% recycled packaging and are lead-free, PVC-free and BPA-free. 

Napkins and paper towels require trees, water, energy and packaging to produce and transport. By the time they end up on the store’s shelf, napkins and paper towels have already had a significant negative impact on the environment. And, this is before they get used once, tossed in the trash and start making their way to the landfill.

You can very easily green your dining routine by using eco-friendly reusable cloth napkins that can last you a lifetime. Inexpensive cloth napkins can be sewn from a variety of reclaimed fabrics or purchased at home and discount stores. At just a few dollars per set, reusable cloth napkins will also save you a lot of money since they can last a lifetime and you will never again need to purchase disposable napkins.

Reusable cloth napkins can be washed in your normal laundry loads and don’t take up much room in the washer, so they shouldn’t increase your water usage. To get a little greener, dry your reusable cloth napkins on a clothesline – or even thrown over your shower rod – rather than drying them in an energy-using dryer. However, they can also be thrown in the dryer with your clothes if line drying is not an option.

Like I have said before, commercial cleaning products are expensive, come in wasteful packaging and are loaded with unnecessary, harsh chemicals that are bad for you, your family, your animals and the environment.

Of course, we all want a clean house, but we don’t have to buy into the hype that we must have the latest “breakthrough” in cleaning products in order to make our home safe and clean. Old-fashioned cleaning products are often the best bet and certainly less expensive. Plus, they clean just as well – if not better – than the brands you see advertised on television.

For example, some big name brands try to convince us that we need their particular brand of abrasive scouring scrub or we will never have a clean shower, bath tub or sink. But, in reality, you can have a sparkling clean bathroom or kitchen without the unnecessary packaging and chemicals, and for pennies instead of dollars.

You can make all natural, eco-friendly abrasive scouring cleaner that will scrub your tub just as well as commercial brands from stuff you probably already have in your pantry.

Simply take one cup distilled white vinegar and mix in ½ cup of baking soda for a great abrasive scrub for your bathroom and kitchen. After scrubbing your surfaces with this mixture, wipe with a vinegar-soaked rag and then with a wet cloth.

This simple mix will save you money, clean your bathroom and kitchen naturally and limit your impact on the environment.