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If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know that living as green as I can in my everyday life is extremely important to me. You can call me “crunchy”, a “hippie” or even a green nut, and I will accept all of those labels. The funniest part about who I am becoming now is just a few years ago, I wasn’t really all that Eco-conscious. It wasn’t that I didn’t care; it was that I thought going green in my life was just something I either could not afford or something that would be too hard to do.
I am here to tell you that I was wrong on both fronts and now I look for new ways to go green in my life every step of the way. If you are on a green journey like me, you may be running out of ideas on where else you could go green that is practical and frugal. Here are 10 new ways to go green in 2015 to inspire you to make just a few more small changes. Each one of these ideas is easy, cheap and in some cases, even free and I bet there is at least one or two things on here that you are not doing and hadn’t even thought of.
6 New Frugal Ways to Go Green in 2015
1. Change up your batteries. I wrote a post a while back about things you should never throw away and batteries was one of them. However, you CAN recycle batteries and Energizer used them to create their new EcoAdvanced battery line. (Can you believe that Energizer, the leader in battery innovation, is the first company in the world to create new, long-lasting batteries out of old ones?! In fact, these are Energizer’s longest-lasting alkaline batteries yet so this means less waste, too!) I go through a lot of batteries here and these batteries were not only right up my alley with their smart green technology, but they were less than $5 for a 4 pack of AA’s at Walmart. I struggled to find them a bit, but eventually, I found them in the photo department. They also come in AAA as well. For more information on this new line, check out BringingInnovation.net
2. Limit what you throw away. This not only keeps waste down, but if you are consciously watching what is going in the trash you are likely to by less, too if you know some of the packaging will go to waste. Before we starting living a more Eco-conscious lifestyle, we were taking out a trash bag from our kitchen about every day or 2. Now, we are down to less that 2 times per week. This is because when I am purchasing things, I pay attention to packaging. One way to reduce you packaging is to buy in bulk. I save so much money this way, too.
3. Clean fridge coils, vents around your house and your computer vents on a regular basis. When these are full of dust bunnies, not only is it unhealthy for your air quality, but it forces your appliances and electronics to work harder that nessisary. This in turn steals electricity that is not needed and causes your stuff to wear out quicker leading to more waste in landfills.
4. Make a commitment to always buy one thing that is sustainable. Most people buy what they can where they can when it comes to sustainably farmed and organic foods and materials.While there is nothing wrong with this, this year, try making a commitment to buy ONE thing sustainable or organic (or both!) no matter what. For me, that is milk. We always buy this and make room in our budget to do so. It doesn’t have to cost a lot either. We get dairy in awesome glass bottles from our local co-op for less than $4 for a half gallon and when we return the glass bottles, we get $1 back, so it’s actually only $3. That is close to “regular” milk prices!
5. Give up paper towels and napkins no matter where you are. You may already do this at home, but it may have not dawned on you to do this out and about. Don’t take napkins at restaurants and if you wash your hand in a public bathroom, is it really that bad to just dry your hands on your pants? Using a towel or an air dryer is wasteful, after all, whether it is at home or out and about. If you feel the need to, try carrying a small washcloth with you in your purse for drying your hands or using as a napkin.
6. Find ways to make your favorite convenience foods and snacks. This may seem more like a money saying tip than an Eco-friendly one, but making your own convenience foods can help you not waste packaging and this in turn saves our environment and the waste most people create. Individually wrapped snacks are the worst when it comes to waste of this kind. Try making these hemp flax-seed granola bars, for instance.
One awesome way to keep going green this year is to win some money to help you do it! What green projects are you putting off until you get more money? A compost bin? A new household appliance that is Eco-friendlier? Why not enter to win the GuiltFreeEnergy Giveaway and have a chance to win part of the $1,000 in Gift Cards? Sounds like a great start to guilt-free living to me!
GuiltFreeEnergy Giveaway - $1,000 in Gift Cards
More Green Living Ideas:
12 Green Bloggers Tell Your How to Go Green Right Now
Why Every Woman Needs to Switch to a Sckooncup
Great tips!! My husband goes through boxes of granola bars every week. I really should start making them at home! #client
Sarah B recently posted..Britax B-Agile 3 - Shower Collection!
I love making the granola bars! They are my weekly ritual and take so little time to do. Let me know how yours turn out, Sarah!
Hi Christine, these are some great points. Here in England I think the notion of going green is something alien to a lot of people, don’t get me wrong as a nation we do our best but we are also very stuck in our ways which is why i think certain things like perhaps giving up paper towels and napkins etc is going to be a little difficult but i like the point you make about buying one sustainable thing- it’s a great place to start and often once you realise the positive impact that one small step can have, it may be far easier to make further changes.
It really is about small changes. Just one small thing can have a big impact on your carbon footprint!
Lovely ideas! I agree that there are so many small things that we can do in order to save energy and reduce our waste. Cleaning our appliances and ventilators is a really great idea. I am happy to find your post! Thank you for sharing!