The buzz word nowadays is "Living Green". www.livinggreen.org defined it as "making choices in our day-to-day lives that are healthy for people and the environment. These practices can help save money and at the same time improve our health and overall quality of life".
When you think of it --it's really going back to basics! Remember the days when our parents remind us to shut down the lights when not in use? It's no different from the way we lived then - -only today - it's the government and active groups who are telling us to do so!
This morning, I took a course on our company's Living Green policy -- and it inspired me to start a smaller scale policy in our house.
The girls don't know it yet (no different anyway from my daily yacking)...but tomorrow I will reinforce it during dinner!
To keep me inspired, I joined ONE MILLION ACTS OF GREEN and in addition to my support to the site, here's my list of how to live green to reduce household cost this summer:
Lower your energy consumption
- Turn off lights , TVs and computers when not in use
- Close air conditioner in the morning
- Unplug electronics not being used
- Open windows
- Plan on watching DVD rented as a family unit
- Do laundry in cold water
- Set air conditioner at 79
- Close closet doors at all time
Minimize use of paper/plastic/disposable items
- Wash and reuse ceramic plates/ silver utensils for parties
- Minimize use of disposable snack bags
- Carry lunch in a reusable container
- Use personalized water bottles instead of disposable
- Use rechargeable batteries
- Reuse empty boxes for any storage needs
Reduce kitchen related activities
- Plan meals for the week
- Reduce visit to grocery
- Cook all meals on a weekend
- Use microwave to heat sauces instead of stove top
- Minimize baking
- Include no-cook meals in menu (salad, sandwiches, chips and salsa)
Others
- Separate biodegradable versus non biodegradable items in trash
- Donate items to charity
