Sam Royds/Getty Images
READ MORE ABOUT:
- Instead of buying wasteful and expensive wrapping paper for your presents, pull out the most colorful ads and articles from old magazines, tape them together, and then use this homemade wrapping paper to wrap the gift. Newspaper works too--especially the comics section.
- Dryers use an incredible amount of energy, coming in second place for the highest energy-consuming household item. Hang drying your clothing is better for the earth AND your wallet. However, you may not have known this before, but hang drying is also much better for your clothes! The heat from the dryer is remarkably intense and it strips the fibers straight from the materials in your clothing. After all, that IS why lint exists.
- Turn something, anything, off. No matter how conscientious you are, there's a pretty good chance that at any given moment, somewhere in your house, there's a light on that doesn't need to be, or an extra charger plugged in that's drawing phantom power. When you’ve got a minute to spare, just look around and see what's glowing—it's like a treasure hunt, except that instead of pirate gold, you're finding a chance to help save the planet.
- Lots of grocery stores have on-site plastic bag collection centers. So when it's time to go food shopping, bring your tote and your extra plastic bags and bring them right back from whence they came!
- One family on the show Wa$ted managed to use 40 rolls of paper towels in one month! To avoid this waste, carry a cloth towel wherever you go. Keep some at your workplace, in your car, in your pocket, and in your backpack. Change them out daily like you do your underwear. Whip one out when you need to dry your hands or your face. Have some clean backup replacements ready to go.
- Get educated by subscribing to a green e-mail list, newsletter, or blog rss feed, or make your voice heard by signing an online petition. The more you learn about green issues, the smarter all your lifestyle choices will become, and the more you let the powers that be know that green matters to you, the faster we can all look forward to lasting global change.
-
- {}
