Look familiar? Get off the couch and go green!
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Going green isn't always easy. While there are lots of things—turning down your thermostat, say, or unplugging your cell phone charger—that you can accomplish with minimal effort by the end of the day, still more green actions require a little more planning and organization. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do them, or consider them for the next step you take toward a greener lifestyle; in fact, many of these actions aren't nearly as hard as you'd think (and they have big green payoffs). So don't be lazy—get off the couch and add these to your green to-do list today!
- Have a "zero-sum" home.
Easy in principle, though a little more difficult in practice, the concept behind a "zero-sum" life is simple: For every new thing that comes in to your house, something old goes out (and not in the trash, please). New sweater? Pass an old one on to Goodwill or Freecycle. New laptop? Be sure that old one gets properly recycled. New piece of furniture? Sell or donate your old furniture—get tips on how in our How to Go Green: Furniture guide. By keeping the zero-sum game in mind, you won't pile up as much stuff; if you do end up accruing more, you know you'll have to really, really need it first. - Have an almost zero waste home.
Going full-on zero waste is tough, even for the most conscientious green greenie, so, this tip applies to every room in your house, with the kitchen and bathroom getting a partial pass for now. Think about the stuff that typically goes in trash in your bedroom, or home office, or other living space. In your bedroom, is it tissues, paper, and (gasp!) clothing? Use a handkerchief, put paper in your recycling bin, and donate your old clothes or host a clothing swap party—see, that wasn't so bad, was it? Same routine for your home office—paperless, please—and other rooms in the house. If it can't be reused, repurposed or recycled, it doesn't really belong in your green life, mmkay?
The kitchen and bathroom are slightly different animals. Even if you compost your organic waste (more on that in a sec), there are a handful of things that even the most careful green cook ends up chucking in the garbage—even if you keep plastic out of your kitchen as a rule, and don't eat much meat, as you can't compost meat scraps in most home composting systems. So just try to take it easy on chucking stuff that can't be composted by cutting back on packaging by buying in bulk and mindfully recycling as much as possible. And, in the bathroom, well, some of the stuff that goes on in there just has to go away, so take it easy on the garbage and ponder the selective flush every now and then. - Compost your organic waste.
Organic waste—food scraps and other plant-based materials—makes up around 30 percent of our solid waste, so composting can really cut back on the volume of garbage you produce. And, as we've noted in the past, composting is not just for those with huge backyards (or those who don't wear shoes). You don't really need any backyard to start; aside from a variety of indoor and small-space models, there are a handful of methods you can employ to handle your organic waste without a compost pile. Learn more of the basics of composting and, if you're a renter, get cracking with these tips for composting in an apartment. Remember, if it doesn't quite go as planned, we've already got some troubleshooting tips to help. - Grow (some of) your own food.
It'd be great if we all had a couple hundred square feet of outdoor space for a garden so we could grow our own food, but that isn't in the cards for us all. For many apartment dwellers and urbanites alike, a sunny outdoor plot in the backyard is a nice thought, but just not feasible. Fear not! You can still grow your own food by shrewdly using space and being smart about what gets planted in your containers and window boxes. With just a bit of space, you can grow your very own veggies, including summer delights like sugar snap peas and fall and winter favorites like swiss chard.
If you're without even the smallest of plots, and can only manage a handful of containers for a garden, herbs like basil (delicious in everything from mojitos to salad), mint (for margaritas, anyone?), rosemary (perfect for rosemary biscuits, sage, thyme and oregano are all low-maintenance plants that can grow in pots or a windowbox—just don't forget to talk to them.
And, for a bonus don't-be-lazy tip, start your own community garden. You'll have room for your own garden, and can share the space with other aspiring gardeners in your community. Grow more plants, meet more people, have more fun; everybody wins! - Add insulation to your attic. If you have reasonable access to your attic—like through a ladder or other means that doesn't require you to cut a hole in the ceiling—then adding proper insulation can have huge return on investment, and isn't that hard. The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates it will save you 2,142 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions—through the heat your home retains in winter and doesn't gain in the summer—and hundreds of dollars in lower energy bills. If you've got less than about 16 inches up there, it's totally worth an afternoon crawling around up there to make your home more efficient; if you don't know how much you've got, it's time to get off the couch and learn. Lloyd has a great step-by-step tutorial to getting it done.
- Drink raw milk.
While raw milk laws can make it tough to find unpasteurized moo juice at your corner grocery, the health benefits of the raw white stuff are myriad: 20 amino acids (the building blocks of protein); 60 plus (known) fully intact and functional enzymes; and, thanks to the intact lactose-digesting Lactobacilli bacteria, it's even tolerable to some lactose-intolerant folks. In short: It does a body good.
Because of the lack of pasteurization, drinking raw milk isn't without risks, of course, so it pays to do a little homework and get to know your raw milk source; many farmers and co-ops are happy to give you a tour of their milking and storage facilities, to help you insure the quality of the milk. But with the legwork comes reward: Not only can you enjoy the benefits of the milk, but it offers the opportunity for making cheese, butter, and other dairy products in the comfort of your own kitchen (and that's another post). So, mind the laws in your neck of the woods, and check Local Harvest or The Campaign for Real Milk to find a local farmer, co-op, or other enlightened organization who believes in the power of raw milk near you.
More on taking action and being green:
Take Your Green Cues from the Amish
Combine Errands with Your Exercise Routine
Runner Trains for Marathon by Running Errands
Take Action with Planet Green
More on being lazy (if you must) and green:
Take it Easy: Sloth is Green
The Laziest Man of Earth's Guide to Green Living
The TH Interview: Josh Dorfman, Author of The Lazy Environmentalist
Lazy Gardening Ideas: Garden-in-a-Bag & Topsy Turvy
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