How do you help the environment in your daily life?

Question

I recycle cans, bottles, boxes, wrappers, and papers. I compost my leftover food. I carpool to work daily. I hang my clothes outside to dry. I purchase "eco-friendly" cleaning products when needed.

What household products will work for cleaning what? (Baking soda, vinegar, et cetera...)

What else can I do to eliminate my "footprint" on the earth?

Answer 1

All human activities degrade and damage environment. What Adoption of best activities would reduce this damage and the resilient capacity would re-store this damage.

Stop waste full use of natural resources and the value added products.

Save electricity, promote re-cycling,  reduce waste generation etc.

thnlks

Answer 2

I do the same things, reducing toxins and other chemicals in my cleaning supplies, and recycling.

A couple other areas to reduce your impact on the earth. Reduce food miles, buy fresh organic and local. Eat what is in season. Look at where the food you buy comes from, some so called farmers markets import food from South America, so ask if it isn't labeled. Reduce toxins from your beauty products, buy organic and natural products there is a whole list of chemicals to avoid. Reduce packaging, look into the bulk bins at your local market and get reusable produce bags as well as shopping bags. Conserve energy and water, time your shower and cut it by a few minutes, adjust your thermostat by a few degrees, unplug chargers when not in use.

My favorite book on the subject is "The Green Book" you can check it out online at www.readthegreenbook.com  I also really like "Easy Green Living" by Renee Loux. I got my produce bags from ecobags.com, but they would be easy to make.

Answer 3

I do the same kind of stuff you do...im kinda a freak about recycling...lol! we went on vacation and the place we went to didnt have recyling bins and the people i was with started to just thow all of their cans and bottles away. I was like "Hey we can recylce thoes instead of having them sit in a landfill forever..." so i went to the trash and picked out all of the bottles and cans and stuff and got them all to make a recyling thing that we brought home with us! Lol! Im vegan also partly because the meat and dairy industry put out a drastic amount of waste from the animals and factories but thats just my personal prefrence (Im not trying t say you should be vegan so please dont take it that way!!! WAY too many people do but thats not what im saying!!!) I also have the energy efficent light bulbs (not LEDs the other kind) and my dad just bought us energy star appliences 4 our kitchen... I take the train to school too...and am starting a compost for my organic garden...

I read the book Gorgeously Green...Its FABULOUS and if you havent read it you tottaly should!!!

Answer 4

You can find out profitable ways tro go green here:

http://www.zimbio.com/Cool+Green+Busines...

Also you can promote ecofriendly behaviour using green promotional items. Check here:

http://www.zazzle.com/livepaths*

Answer 5

I live on a small lake in the woods.  We have tons of trees, birds and animals of all kinds.

I help the environment by enjoying and appreciating what a wonderful world we live in.

Answer 6

I use it up as fast as I can for myself

Answer 7

Your not an idiot your a SAINT!!! If only everyone was as responsible as you! Baking soda can be used to clean almost anything from your teeth (no joke) to your bathroom counter. It tends to leave a film so best to go over it with water. Vinegar can be used to clean glass and as a general disinfectant. Mineral oil spread lightly on a rag is a wonderful wood/furniture polish. It is always best to eat organic, but why not go one step further and raise your own organic fruit and veggies. Even if space doesn't allow you can always have potted patio produce, herbs are especially pretty! If you do have space and are a meat eater you could raise some chickens, who have wonderful personalities and give you eggs, meat and feathers...as well as free entertainment!!! Keep up the good work!!!

Answer 8

First of all, thank you! So many people don't care, but it sounds like you are trying!

I use biodegradable paper plates, paper towels, and napkins, recycle paper, aluminum, boxes, bottles, and wrappers, i carpool to school and ride my bike to places i need to go close to the neighborhood. We have a fuel-eficcent car and earth friendly lightbulbs, too.

Baking soda is good for cleaning pretty much and counter type area like bathtubs and floors as well, and water by itself cleans most things, too.

Answer 9

Using organic stuff helps the planet a lot. ANd when buying food buy local stuff because to ship those things from hhhmm...lets say china to mexico it creates pollution by using airplanes, boats trucks,etc

Buying hemp clothing is also very good.

Answer 10

recycle paper and plastic. i do not drive, so i walk or take mass transit.  baking soda instead of toothpaste.  

by the way you should be proud of the work you do for the environment.

Answer 11

There are many things you can do to live green and some are very inexpensive too!

~Of course, keep recycling everything you can!

~Buy energy saving light bulbs

~Buy things like clothes, paper, ect that are made from recycled materials

~Use reusable batteries or recycle dead batteries properly

~Use reusable shopping bags

~If you have plastic shopping bags, use them instead of just tossing them. They can be used to pick up dog poo, line small trash cans, ect.

~Try not to use paper napkins or paper towel as much as possible. Instead use cloth napkins that can be washed.

~Try to use fewer paper plates and more washable ones.

~Take shorter showers

~Turn off lights whenever possible

~Try to by more organic foods and local foods (for example, at a farmer's market)

~Use regular silverware, not plastic

~ Keep use eco friendly products in replace of regular dish washing liquids, house cleaners, ect. (Greenworks)

~Use cold water to wash clothes (Tide Cold water works great)

~On a nice day, turn off the air/heat and open some windows. You save of the cost, get a nice fresh breeze, and help the environment.

~Plant trees around your house to shade and save on using more air conditioning

~Buy one stainless steel, reusable, water bottle instead of using regular plastic ones and then getting rid of them. This one you can clean and use over and over again!

~Change the setting on your sprinklers to use less water

~Buy eco friendly fertilizers (I think they have them at Home Depot)

~Buy or lease a hybrid if possible

~Walk or ride a bike wherever possible

~Keep carpooling

These are just a few ideas I can think of, but you can also go to www.gogreen.com for some more tips. Good luck :)

Answer 12

We also have replaced all of our light bulbs with CFL's which saves a great deal of energy created by coaled fired electric generating plants in our area. We also use recycled paper toilet tissue, tissue and paper towels. Use the Greenwise made by publix markets.

We also make our own household cleaners using vinegar and other natural ingredients. Our favorite recipes are below:

Our Favorite Natural Cleaner Recipes  

ALL PURPOSE CLEANER:

1 qt. Warm water, 1 tsp. Liquid soap, 1 tsp. Borax

¼ Cup undiluted white vinegar. Mix ingredients and store in a spray bottle. Use for cleaning countertops, floors, walls, carpets and upholstery. *We use this for windows too.

SCRUBBING POWDER (for grimy stoves, countertops, pans, and showers):

Baking Soda, Vinegar or Lemon Juice. Punch holes in a jar lid for sprinkling baking soda from jar. Sprinkle baking soda on grime and then sprinkle with vinegar or Lemon Juice. It makes a volcano just like your5th grade science project!

FURNITURE POLISH:

Mix one part lemon juice to two parts vegetable oil. Then add water (2 to 4 parts) and a few drops of lemon oil for fragrance. Shake before using.

* The original recipe called for just lemon juice and oil. This caused a build up problem after a few dusting. Adding the water takes care of that problem and makes the polish work well on Formica countertops, and many other hard surfaces.

Answer 13

I can't say I do much to help the environment. I do a lot to help minimize my impact on it.

The normal things....walk instead of drive, recycle, re-use (a lot!), compost, buy less stuff, make smarter purchasing decisions, reduce chemicals, conserve water and power....

Baking soda works great to clean the microwave. About 1 TBSP in 1 C water, cook about 2 minutes and wipe.

Vinegar cleans anything glass really well. Use newsprint (junkmail) and vinegar to clean windows.