Some habits that people have are more eco-friendly than others are, and some should be used by as many people as possible. Now a lot of people may believe that only big and drastic steps can help the environment.
However that is not strictly the case, there are some seemingly minor eco-friendly habits that if everybody used could improve the environment yet also be friendly to our bank balances. Now that is definitely a win – win situation.
The following tips demonstrate that it is easy to change our behavior to help our planet and help our often stretched budgets at the same time.
1. Eat at home more frequently, as takeaways can use an unbelievable amount of packaging. With the exception of pizza boxes most of that packaging cannot be recycled at all. You may use slightly more gas or electric by cooking at home but the savings in money, packaging, and the weight around your waist will be worth it. Your wallet will be fuller of dollar bills, and your weight could drop by a few pounds minimum.
Those people that usually drive miles to collect their takeaways could use less gallons of gas, further lowering their carbon footprint, and spending less on filling their fuel tanks.
2. Replace paper napkins with cloth ones. Although cloth ones cost more to begin with, in the end you will save money. More importantly you reduce the amount of paper paste getting dumped into landfill sites as napkins cannot be recycled.
3. Replace paper towels with cloth hand towels. Though not as popular in the rest of the world, we Americans have an addiction to paper towels. Just think about the amount of paper towel waste your family makes in one month. Consider what it will do for the environment if you get rid of the paper towels and use only cloth hand towels. It will be better for your bank account and the environment.
4. Start using reusable bottles for drinking water. Sales of bottled water have risen drastically over the last 20 years or so, and therefore so have the number of bottles going to the trash dump. Although most bottles could be recycled people do not often bother to do so. The authorities in San Francisco decided to help the environment by insisting bottled water could only be sold in reusable bottles.
5. Change your light bulbs. Traditional light bulbs waste an unbelievable amount of electricity. Switch to the energy efficient bulbs and the amount of electricity used in your household will drop markedly. Low energy bulbs do cost more than traditional ones, yet the cost is soon recuperated from lower electricity bills. Energy use drops roughly by a third after switching, and the bulbs can last up to ten times longer.
6. Hang your toilet paper differently, no seriously this bit has been proven by environmental researchers. It is a very simple way of saving paper, you hang the toilet paper over the cardboard roll. In some circles there has been contentious debate as to whether over the roll was better than under the roll. From an ecological viewpoint there is only one winner, over the roll. People apparently use less toilet paper when it is hung over the roll, as they have a clear view of how much they are using.
7. Everybody should use less water. It is a scarcer resource than most people would believe, and it should not be wasted. People that are metered will also tell you that it is an expensive resource.
Saving water can be really easy. For instance do not leave it running while you brush your teeth.
Always take a shower instead of a bath, making sure you only have quick showers. Switch to using a low flow shower head, they are easy to install, and to take out if you have to replace your shower, or at some point move house.
Remember if you are not using things switch them off.
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