Great Lakes Green Pages

For those of you that have followed my blog for a while, then this is not anything new.  Since I have picked up quite a number of new followers of late, I thought I would write this post, even if I am repeating myself.  One big way to cut down on your imprint on the earth is to cut down on waste.  Sometimes, being green and sustainable is hard.  Finding some way to get rid of an air mattress that has a hole in it for example.  Not everything is that tough, though.  Here some easy things that you can do right now, simply and painlessly to make sure that the everyday things that you do are less wasteful.

Water

1. Take quicker showers. For the cost of a timer at the dollar store you can remind yourself and your family to use less water. Set it every time you shower and learn to use less water every time you shower. Figure out how long your showers are first, then gradually learn to shave off water usage a minute at a time.

2. Turn off the tap while you brush and shave. Why is that tap on anyway?

3. Run only full loads of dishes and clothes. Energy efficient dishwashers can use less water than washing by hand. But if you run it before it is full, you may be negating the savings. Same with clothes. Front load washers use significantly less water than top loaders, but either way you will use less if the load is a full one. Washing in cold water uses less energy as well.

4. Flush less, or at least put a Full water bottle in the toilet tank to use less water per flush.
If you hate the idea of the “Yellow/mellow” rule, at least take a large water bottle or jug filled with water and put it in the tank of your toilet. Most homes flush 40% of their water usage, so every drop counts.

Utilities

5. Turn off lights when not in a room. Enough said. Change to CFL bulbs. At the very least use them in outside fixtures and lights that you leave on for long periods.

6. Use power saving settings on your computer. If you think you could do better, you are not alone. An energy audit on the US Department of Energy found that the DOE was wasting over a million dollars a year by leaving computers on overnight. Simple settings that turn off the computer, or put it into stand by automatically when not in use can save a lot of wasted energy in your home or office.

7. Use master strips on electronics and small appliances and turn them off when not in use.
It is said that the average HD television uses more energy in its lifetime while it is off, than when it is on. Same with PlayStation and other video game consoles, DVD players, etc. Anything that has a light or a clock when not in use is drawing power. Ditto with chargers. Cell phones, ipods, MP3 players, and other portable electronics have chargers. If you leave them plugged in when not in use, they are still drawing power. I use master strips all over my house. The microwave, coffee maker, etc get turned off with a single flick of the button. The TV, DVD player, VCR, and audio are all on a single power strip. It goes off every night so that we don’t waste electricity while we sleep. I try to also turn it off every time we leave the house, and while we are out of the room.

Garbage

8. Recycle. Make the effort and it will become painless pretty quickly. Start simply with cans and bottles. Then move on to paper. Then start adding in more complicated materials. Stop with the excuses and just do it. If you do not have curbside recycling, find out the nearest place to drop off. Cleveland has drop box locations all around the city. Some charities collect newspapers and scrap metals-ask your church or kids group. Close the loop by buying products that use recycled materials.

9. Reuse. Try to find new uses for the items you are throwing out. Small jars make great spice bottles. Why buy Tupperware when many of the products that you buy come in reusable containers. You can even rinse out Ziploc bags and reuse them. Turn them inside out to wash and dry, the out them back right when you put them away. When something is at the end of its useful life for you, it may be the start of a new life with someone else. Donate used goods to charity. Have a garage sale. See is items can be repaired instead of tossed out. Even doors and windows can be salvaged. Try Craigs list or some other free site to get rid of stuff rather than letting it go to landfill.

10. Reduce. Buy products with less packaging. Buy bulk or at least bigger sizes when you can. Individually packed servings mean a lot of useless packaging. Buy reusable containers (or those salvaged margarine containers) instead of baggies for your lunch. Invest in a thermos instead of individual soup packages. Use totes and lunch sacks instead of plastic or paper bags.

Gasoline

11. Walk more, drive less. When we can, we try to stay in our neighborhood. This supports local businesses and we can walk to places using less gas.

12. Make sure your tires are properly inflated. If your tires are properly inflated, you get better gas mileage. Simple.

13. Combine trips. If you are going to the store, make a list. This means less trips out to get the things that you forgot. Try to combine trips so that you can be more efficient. Less trips=less gas consumption.

None of these ideas are new. They take a little effort to get into the habit, but can make an impact in the long run. Sometimes it seems that one person can make very little difference in the big scheme of things, but together we can make a difference overall. Even if your efforts just cancel out the bad habits of one other person, together some of us can cancel out quite a few others. Think globally, but act locally.