10 Easy Ways to Go Green
Going green seems like such a huge, expensive commitment that a lot of people are too overwhelmed by it to try. So I am putting together a list of easy and realistic ways you can go greener:
- Unplug appliances you don’t use. This is a tip that has been floating around for a while but do most of this do it? No. So I encourage you to do it! Its greener and you will save on your electric bill.
- Turn off the water when you brush your teeth. My son is five and he is super into saving water lately, ever since we starting researching going green. This is a super easy way to conserve water.
- Switch out that soda for water! I know seems weird when we are talking about conserving water to say go drink it but did you know it takes hundreds of liters of water to make a 2-liter of soda? Isn’t that crazy! Switching from soda to water will save you money, improve your health and help the planet! For those that hate plain water I recommend getting a reusable water bottle that has tic marks on it for how much you should drink by a certain time. I find you can accomplish almost anything when you break it into smaller chunks. Or, if you still can’t stomach the idea of plain water try flavoring it with fruit. Lots of reusable water bottles have built in fruit filter so you can add things like berries without it coming out when you drink.
- Start a garden! Anytime you can grow your own food I highly recommend it (read my article about why you should garden with your kids and all of the amazing benefits). It’s greening, healthier and saves a lot of money.
- If you do start a garden here are some tips for having a more green garden: if your town/neighborhood allows them have a rain barrel, use water from cooking pasta to water the garden, compost your food to make your own organic fertilizer, and use your old coffee grounds and egg shells for plants that need nitrogen like tomatoes.
- Don’t buy fast fashion. So don’t buy clothes that are basically disposable and you won’t get more than a couple of uses out of. The conditions the workers that produce these clothes are terrible and is bad for the environment.
- Walk/ride your bike/carpool – if it is possible to walk or ride your bike instead of drive that’s a great way to go green, save money and improve your health! But, walking and riding a bike isn’t always safe or realistic so when possible try to find a carpool option or public transportation.
- Don’t buy more than you want. That sounds like ummm yeah duh why would I buy stuff I don’t even want. Well as an American I can tell you I have sooo much stuff in my home that I absolutely don’t need and in reality don’t even really want. I listened to Jane Goodalls MasterClass and she made this point and it honestly changed my entire perspective on what I buy. If you have an opportunity to listen to her MasterClass I highly recommend it.
- Reuse or donate. I know when I get into spring cleaning mode I just start purging everything but it is so wasteful to just throw away reusable things. If you can donate old clothes to a local homeless shelter, old luggage to foster care, business suits to a women’s shelter and so many other places can find new life for something that has outlived its usefulness to you.
- Meatless Mondays! Going meatless for only one day a week has huge lasting benefits for our planet.
- Extra idea: talk to others about going green! This is probably the most important thing you can do to go green. When we spread the word we get more people to take small steps towards going green and maybe they will get more people to take small steps and by the end of the chain reaction huge strides have been made!
Saving the planet seems like a fool’s errand at this point but every baby step we take has a global impact! We can make our planet a better place for not only future generations but for everyone now.
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