Green choice have green impacts — not only for the environment, but for your wallet as well. Implement these green changes into your life to be more environmentally friendly and realize more savings.
1. Light bulbs: Phase out your incandescent lights in favor of the greener CFL or compact fluorescent light bulb. The latter operates four times as efficiently as incandescent and lasts up to 10 times as long. The money you’ll save on electricity just by switching bulbs is impressive. Save even more by becoming vigilant about turning off lights when not in use.
2. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: First, reduce the waste you create. Start by using cloth towels instead of disposable paper towels in your bathroom, or by carrying your own water bottle instead of purchasing bottled water. Next, make a point of reuse. Reuse grocery bags as “poop scoop” bags, wash and reuse aluminum foil instead of throwing it out, or offer old newspapers to pet shelters that use them to line cages. Finally, note what your city recycles and recycle when you can. If your work has a party, take home the soda cans and bottles for recycling in lieu of throwing them out.
3. Green Your Garden: Get smart about your garden with green tips. Implement an irrigation system to water more efficiently. These systems emit a low flow of water through emitters placed near plant roots. With more water going directly to the plant root system, less water is wasted. You’ll save money, help the environment and make your plants happy. Seek out and repair any water leaks inside or outside your home, since that flushes money right down the drain.
Replace an old garden hose with an environmentally friendly hose that uses approximately 50 percent less water than a traditional hose. These have restrictors to control water pressure and reduce puddling. Lastly, make a habit of watering in the morning or evening — the cooler parts of the day. When you water in the heat of the day, more water evaporates as it sinks in, leaving your garden thirstier.
4. Bundle Errands to Save Gas: Plan out your errands to avoid wasting gas. For example, choosing to go to the dry cleaner on your way to the gym, work out, then grocery shop on the way home saves fuel and funds over running each errand separately and returning home in between. As a bonus, you’ll have more time left over for things you enjoy. Get even greener here by walking or bicycling on errands when possible.
5. Clean Green: Switch over your cleaning products to green cleaners. Start by using chemical- and fragrance-free laundry and dish detergents. Look for all-purpose cleaners marked as biodegradable or create your own natural cleaner. Distilled white vinegar, for example, works just as well as traditional window cleaners and costs less.
These small changes will make a big impact on the environment and your bottom line. They represent only a portion of the environmentally conscious practices you can cultivate. Making these changes might seem difficult at first but if you keep at it they will become habit. Why not put your green savings to use for your retirement savings account or toward something else that you’ve been saving for?
Lindsey is a professional writer living in the Indianapolis area and she writes on behalf of Sears and other deserving brands. She specializes in writing guest posts on social media and education. Currently, Lindsey is completing work on her master’s degree.