5 Easy Ways of Going Green, Significantly Reducing Your Carbon Footprint.
Hi everyone!
After I gave birth to my son I began researching obsessing over “green” things. What cleaning products to use, vaccinations, diapers, foods, any and everything organic, recycling, homeopathic treatments, I mean. It’s a lot.
And can be very overwhelming but I’ve gathered a few tips together on how to start at least. Being more conscious about what we use and put in/on our bodies it a great start!
I’m nowhere near being “green” but I’ve slowly been changing my mindset and making a few changes here and there. So here’s a little list of where to begin.
1. Recycle!
This one is one of the easiest ones I think. Although I don’t separate bins in my kitchen for recyclable items, I do use a grocery bag to place bottles/cans and other plastic items. The plan is to stop using plastic altogether. But that would mean getting the hubby on board. And that ain’t happening anytime soon.
2. Change out cleaning products.
We all know cleaning products have a bunch of chemicals in them. And if your little one were to get into your cleaning cabinet there would be trouble, but just the fumes of some of these products alone can be harmful. So I’ve begun to use safer products. I’ll sometimes just use water, vinegar, and essential oils, add it to a spray bottle and make my own cleaning agent.
3. Food items.
This one is tricky, organic food is pricey! But organic doesn’t mean free of anything bad, gotta always read the labels. But there are things you don’t necessarily have to buy organic, see chart below. I’ve been switching up a couple of staple items. I.E. Eggs, butter, cream cheese, some fruits & veggies. I have yet to fully convert to organic meats.
4. Reduce!
This includes using less water, less electricity, less disposable items. Well, just less. This one I’m working harder on. Turning off lights when leaving a room, use less water (turn off the faucet when brushing teeth, doing the dishes). Energy-star rated appliances are always great to have, although I think with T.V.’s you have to switch that mode on. Switch all or a few of your light-bulbs to CFL’s.
5. Sign up for e-bills.
This one is SIMPLE!! Who wants all that paper anyways? You’ll save some trees and no need for stamps! win-win. Also, get rid of those pesky credit card pre-approvals. Did you know you can opt out of those? Click here to do that.
BONUS: Got a green thumb? Herb garden. This is next on my list. I know they are pretty simple to maintain. I love fresh herbs when cooking.
Ta-da! Wasn’t that easy? Hope you’ll get some of these started right away! Let me know in the comments below what other easy tips you might have on going green the easy way.
Thanks for stopping in. Happy Friday!
Great simple tips! I hate the super chemical cleaners, because even I am very sensitive to the fumes, much less my children. We recycle cans, but that's the only thing we can readily recycle out here. We reuse a ton of stuff people normally just throw out, though. One step at a time!
This is a good place to start! I make all of my cleaners, So much cheaper! Get the kiddos in on the recycling, they love to sort and reuse lots of things for crafts!
This is such a great list of starters! Plus it makes me feel better, because we're already doing a few of them. My hope for spring is to start a veggie garden with the kiddos and I'd really like to get a good compost going…but I have no clue where to start. Time for some research!
Great list! I'm trying to start a herb garden. So far I just have basil but it is saving me a lot of money. Plus, I like that it comes from my own backyard without any chemicals.