What are your favorite green money-savers?

Question

What's a neat, time-effective, money saving green tip you have? I already walk whenever practical, and used to bike until statistics made it overwhelmingly clear how many cyclists get hit in our area.

I usually rent, so changes to the house are impossible and impractical. I do stuff cracks, turn the heater/AC down, turn off lights, unplug things when I'm away for long, and use old clothing as rags instead of purchasing new rags. I also switch to the smallest fridge that meets the needs of the house. I've had bunches of roommates, so I use a big fridge when they're all around, or switch to the mini-fridge when it's only one or two. I'm interested in buying or building a small solar cooker to boil water with, preferably just in a window. We're too far north for a full solar cooker for food to pay for itself in a reasonable time frame.

Mostly I like to do things that are good for the environment AND myself. Give a little, take a little.

Answer 1

I have been making changes to live a greener life over the past few years and every little thing really does add up!  Two easy green things I've done that are also great money savers are:

1)  Stop buying bottled water.  Get a reusable water bottle and a water filter.  

2)  Use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins.

~Michele

http://www.trulyorganicbeauty.com

  

Answer 2

Good for you.  I like your ideas especially switching fridges.

What about recycling and products that you use within your home?

One of the things I have done is I stopped using the phosphates and nasty chemicals from being dumped into our Eco system?  I found out that even commerically produced shampoo is bad for our planet.  I just started shopping from Melaleuca.  It's an all Green On Line shopping experience with about 400 products!

Personally my dream is to build a Smart Home as they call it, or a totally green home.  Someday!  Best of luck to you.

Answer 3

If you're in a place that has filling stations for it, go for a car that runs on natural gas! That's what I have, and it's super cheap to fill up and cleaner for the environment, too. Check out my source and see if one would work for you. I sure love mine!  

Answer 4

I'll put my standard go green answer below, most of the items can be adapted to apartment living. Things like line drying, there are a variety of compact drying racks available. Switching to natural cleaners like vinegar and baking soda is a huge money saver. Plugging tv's and other electronics into a power strip with a switch to stop standby energy can save alot on your power bill. If you have any sunny windows or patios you can grow a few food plants, think of what you eat the most and plant that. You can even grow fruit trees in a large pot that can be taken with you when you move. Avoid disposable or single use items when ever possible.

Going green is easy, there are so many great resources about the subject. My personal favorite is "The Green Book" which has parts of its book online as well at www.readthegreenbook.com.

As I have been striving to "Go Green" I realize it is like stepping back in time without getting rid of my modern conveniences. I'm doing many things I learned as a child, like line drying my clothes, sweeping instead of vacuuming, opening the windows in the morning to catch the cool breeze, only buying what I need instead of everything that looks cool, growing some of my own food, and canning what I can't eat now.

To me "going Green" is a frame of mind. Do what fits your lifestyle and do the easy things first, it is a process and like dieting if you go to radical to soon, you are more likely to go back to bad habits. I also believe there are good, better, best choices in most things. If you aren't ready to start a home garden, then try finding a farmers market, until you locate one look for produce grown as close to home as possible and go organic when available.

Many people think "going green" is expensive, I disagree. Some changes may take an initial investment, but they usually have a short payoff time. Things like weatherstiping and insulation cost, but the energy savings will add up quickly. You may need to purchase reusable bags, but most stores give you a 5 or 10 cent credit, so you are paid back within a few months.

My top tips are make your home more energy efficient, that also means using natural light, cooling and heating.

Reduce your packaging, if you eat more fresh food you will generally reduce packaging, it's the same thing they tell dieters, shop the perimiter, that is where all the meat, dairy and produce are located. Only buy what you will use, many Americans throw away a lot of unused food. Buy in bulk, that doesn't just mean large packages, but that area with the bins that you buy only what you plan on using.

Replace disposable items with durable items, if you eat outside often and use disposable paper or plastic plates, it is a wise investment to purchase a set of reusable plastic plates. Replace disposable razors, diapers and cleaning products like swiffer. Avoid bottled water, get a home filter like Pur or Brita.

Recycle, www.earth911.org will help you locate the nearest recycle center. I try to only purchase plastics that are #1 or #2, they are more easily recycled. I also buy recycled products when available, that includes paper towels, napkings, toilet paper, tissue, school/office supplies and clothing.

Detox your cleaning, vinegar and baking soda clean almost anything, they can even losen a hair clog. Seventh Generation and Method are a couple mainstream brands that are very earth friendly.

Just start small and build from there, don't get overwhelmed.

Answer 5

You start by excluding  my biggest green money saver.

For 28 years we have lived in a passive-solar heated house. Our sweat equity and 20k of material cost have thus provided not only our housing but also our heating for 28 years. Now I could not rent a 1700 sq foot apartment for less than 6000 per year, so we had recovered our cost in a bit over 3 years. We have then lived at no house or heating cost for 25 years, still going.

We do live 5 km outside of the city, on high speed roads, so we have a car, but chose one that needs only 60 litres of gasoline per mega-metre travelled, and costs only 10k new. Then we limit our driving to about 800 km/month.

We use phosphate as a cleaner because our waste water is all reclaimed for irrigation, and we need the phosphate as fertilizer. No phosphate will reach the river.

We grow a lot of our own food, and commercial quantities of walnuts. But our soil has high pH, so it can not be used exclusively to feed anyone.

Answer 6

using fluorescents

Answer 7

There are so many things you can do. To name a few:

-Make your own foam soap

-Turn off the water when you brush your teeth

-Use cloth napkins

-Use a toaster oven to reheat rather than a conventional oven

Save money and the environment by making your own foam soap:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article...

There's also a list of 50 things you can do to be more green here:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article...