We all know we should do better things for the planet and go green. It’s just not as easy as it sounds sometimes. When you go to the market, everything seems to be touting that it’s a green product, even when it may not be fully green. Marketing has turned going green into making money more than saving the planet. If you pay a little bit of attention and do a little bit of research, you can find things that really will help. We have listed a few simple things that you can do. They are very easy on your budget, and will help you along the path to a better world.
Reusable containers
This one simple move will probably do more for reducing waste than anything else you can do. Where bringing a container of food to the office, or bringing a travel mug to Starbucks instead of using their cups, you can save waste. Start keeping a collapsible bag with you when you go places, keep it in your car, or a purse, it will help you save waste on plastic bags or paper bags that they may give you at whatever location you are. A good trick is to look in your trash can occasionally, look at the containers and bottles, and see if you can think of a way that you would not have those in your trash again. It just takes a little bit of attention and thinking.
Plants
It can be as large as planting a tree somewhere or just bringing in potted plants into the office. There are quite a few different plants such as Peace Lilies, or Widows Tongue, that will clean the air and make a much better environment in the office. Planting trees and plants in places that need it can only help. Plants are important to us; they clean the air, and create oxygen that we need. Some plants can even clean pollution out of the air and the water.
Use less water
Use less water when you can. Although it’s a very small thing, if a large group of people do it, it’s quite amazing what a change it can make. Such simple things as only doing your laundry when it is a full load, or not leaving the tap running while you clean dishes. Just pay attention to your water usage. A side benefit is you will save money from the water utilities Company.
Transportation
When you get on the freeway, look around you at all the people that are in their cars by themselves. Just imagine for a little bit if there were two people in every car, that would be half as many cars. This would mean half the pollution. We know we cannot reduce everybody down to sharing rides, but the more people that start to use public transportation and rideshare, the more common and acceptable it will become.
Lighting
This will also save you money with the utility company. Convert all your lights to LED. Fluorescent bulbs are much better than incandescent bulbs, but for energy-saving, there is nothing better than LED. The bulbs will cost you a little bit more upfront, but the overall savings are amazing.
Computer
Make sure you have your computer configured to go to sleep after it is not being used for a set period of time. When your computer goes to sleep it uses a lot less energy. Although you might have to wait an extra 30 seconds for it to start up when you want to use it, this is a minor inconvenience for the amount of electricity it saves.
Bottled water
Depending on where you are in the United States, tap water is most often better quality than the water you will get out of the bottle. You are just wasting money and promoting a myth. Many of the plastic bottles leave plastic toxins in your water or have rampant bacteria in them. The bottles themselves are one of the largest waste problems that you will see. Do yourself a favor and just use tap water and a reusable water bottle. If the water in your area is not that good, you can always buy a tap filter that will help filter the water into a better quality.
Diapers
Skip over this one if you don’t have babies. Although disposable diapers are much easier than cloth diapers, if you are really serious about being green, then you need to start using cloth diapers. Disposable diapers are a huge landfill problem. If you are serious about the planet, suffering a little bit of discomfort by cleaning cloth diapers is worth it.
Paper towels
It is amazing how many paper towels people go through. To be green, just keep some rags or washable towels around the kitchen and use those instead. It is much better for the planet to wash them than it is to go through hundreds of rolls of paper towels in a year. A side benefit is you will again save money.
These are all just simple things you can do. There are hundreds of things really. You just have to pay a little bit of attention to what you’re doing and what is happening around you. As much as we would all love to have a zero footprint and be the greenest people ever, it is unrealistic. Cutting your waste down into half of what it was is very realistic, and a good start. Every little bit helps to make the world a better place.