10 Easy “Green” Habits

Nowadays, everyone is extolling the virtues of ‘green living’.  It’s definitely about time that we took notice of our planet and what we need to do to save it, but sometimes I find that a lot of the eco-friendly talk revolves around products that are too expensive for the average consumer, or celebrities that have the money to completely revamp the way they live their lives, or methods that are such a big change from the way that we are used to living our daily lives that they seem unattainable.  But green living doesn’t have to be expensive and it doesn’t have to be a lot of work either.  There are so many ways to live in a more eco-friendly way that are easy to do and will actually save you money in the process.

As you may know, I’m all about the shortcuts that help to get things done quickly and easily.  I believe in working smart, rather than working hard, so I am always ready to embrace ideas that have a lot of impact without requiring a great deal of effort or sacrifice.  So I have included ten of the easiest ways to ‘go green’ while also saving some green.  As always, if you have any tips to add, please do so, because the more we can help each other, the better this world will be!

The following ten green habits all share a few things in common.  None of them cost any money to implement (and many will save you money) and they only require a minimal expenditure of effort, so you can conserve your own energy while conserving the planet!  Stay tuned for more eco-friendly tips in coming posts that will be easy to adapt to your current lifestyle.

10 Easy Green Habits:

1. Turn off the lights when you leave a room.

2. Plug all of your electronics into a power strip and turn it off when not in use.

3. Only wash full loads of clothes or dishes.

4. Watch less TV and read more (get books from the library or borrow from a friend!)

5. Turn off the water when brushing your teeth and washing your face.

6. Map out errands to do all the ones in a similar area at the same time to save gas (and time!)

7. Arrange as many carpools as possible to and from the kids’ activities.

8. Even if you don’t buy reusable shopping bags, take bags you already have to the store to avoid using new ones.

9. Give up bottled water, especially when you’re home.  Use a real glass instead.

10. Donate or sell stuff you no longer want, rather than throwing it away – or find a new purpose for old items.

All of these eco-friendly tips are easy to do and really do make a difference!  There are plenty of other green habits that are easy to adapt to your current lifestyle.  For example, when decorating, consider buying furniture and home decor items that are made from more sustainable materials.  Even your garden can be made greener by decorating with garden statues or paving stones that use recycled materials.  No matter what greener habits you decide to adapt, getting started in developing new ‘green’ habits today will help the planet tomorrow!