10 ways to go green and save money
Posted
Sep 27 2007, 10:20 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
This post comes from partner blog Wise Bread.
Want to help the environment, but not too keen on all of the expensive suggestions floating around out there? Here are 10 frugal ways to incorporate green living into your life without throwing your well-laid budget plans to the wind.
1. Safety razors. Giving up disposable razors for the old-fashioned safety razor is a great way to save money and the environment. The multi-packs of flat razor blades are not only inexpensive, they come without all of the extra plastic housing that ultimately ends up in landfills. We've been doing this in our house for a few years and have noticed a tremendous savings. Added bonus: We don't have to carve out extra storage in the cabinets when we stock up. Flat packs of blades store very efficiently in a minimum amount of space.
2. Mineral salt deodorant sticks. You can find these at nearly any health food or natural living store. They last an incredibly long time, don't contain harmful ingredients and don't come with a ton of obnoxious plastic packaging to toss in the landfill once the product has been used up.
3. Reusable coffee filters. Just imagine never having to buy or run out of these little babies again.
4. Give up paper towels. OK, I'll be honest. This is not easy in the beginning. The trick? Having a simple, workable system for keeping clean rags on hand. I ended up using several of those fabric sleeves with elastic on both ends -- the kind people use to store empty plastic grocery bags for quick access. I hung one in each place we routinely used paper towels. Then I raided the pile of old T-shirts we had set aside to go to Goodwill, cut them into cleaning rags and filled each of the sleeves. When we need to do a quick cleanup, we reach for a washable cleaning rag instead of a paper towel.
5. Recycle old athletic socks. Not possible, you say. I beg to differ. Cut off each sock slightly above the ankle and below the ribbed leg section. I use the foot portion instead of those expensive disposable dusting mittens. These things are great for dusting stair banister railings and table legs. Cut open the leftover ribbed section and use it as a moisture-holding dishrag. The ridges give you extra scrubbing power.
6. Shop for secondhand goods. Anything you are comfortable buying secondhand doesn’t end up in a garbage dump. This applies to furniture, clothing, toys, kitchenware and, to a certain extent, automobiles. This personal finance practice goes a long way to help out the planet and your pocketbook at the same time.
7. Think before you print. Save money on ink and paper by checking to see if you really need a paper copy of the document before hitting the print button. Still think you need it? Check out the economy mode for printing, which uses less ink and saves you money in the long run on those refilled cartridges.
8. Celebrate the power of tie-dye. This is a great, affordable way to give lightly stained, lighter-colored linens and clothing items a second shelf life. Some ideas? Old sheets, curtains, pillowcases, socks and T-shirts, just to name a few.
9. Find a second use for plastic grocery bags. Use them to line small trash cans (one less item to buy), pick up after your dog in the park, and provide extra cushioning in holiday postal packages.
10. Consider a personal filter for your kitchen faucet. This will enable you to skip the packaging and expense of large cases of bottled water. We've been using one for at least five or six years and really like not having to find extra room for the bottles.
There you have it: Ten ways that won't break the bank or the planet. If you want more, check out this article for 10 more green ways to save. Have another idea? Leave me a comment. I'd love to hear about it.
