Living More Sustainably

by Molly Ring

Easy things you and your family can do to feel good about.

As the world continues to grow more aware of the environment and our impact on it, many wonder what they can do to ensure the planet's health for future generations. The following is a list of seemingly small things that add up to more money in your pocket and less waste in our landfills. Representing a true "win-win" situation.

1. Recycle. Recycling makes more sense now than ever before. An aluminum can for example, can sit in a landfill and take 80 to 100 years to decompose, or it can be recycled and back on the shelf in about 90 days.
2. Remember the Other "R's" - Reduce and Reuse. Help to lessen the amount of waste by buying items that use little or no packaging, or "buy in bulk" which reduces excessive packaging. Also, find ways to use items over and over again, such as refilling water bottles.
3. Buy Products Made From Recycled Materials: Resolve to "buy green" by purchasing at least one recycled-content product on a regular basis, such as paper towels, toilet paper, or copy paper for your computer. There are an increasing number of products made from recycled beverage containers including planter boxes, chairs, and even fleece clothing - look/ask for them.
4. Make Your Home Toxic-Free: Keep your home healthy by reducing toxic chemicals. Paints, solvents, and other chemicals should be disposed of safely, not flushed down the toilet or dumped in the back woods.
5. Group Errands Together: Decide to spare the air. By running all of your errands at one time instead of multiple trips you'll save on pollution as well as your gas tank. Every gallon you save also saves 20 pounds of C02 emissions.
6. Start a Compost Pile to Feed Your Garden: Convert those yard clippings and vegetable peelings and even coffee grounds into nature's fertilizer for your garden. It not only reduces the amount of garbage going into landfills, but also makes for a healthier garden.
7. Conserve Energy: Cut your monthly energy bills up to 30 percent by replacing old appliances with Energy Star products. Turn off lights when you walk out of a room. Keep the thermostat at 70 degrees or lower in cold winter months, and 78 degrees or higher in warm summer months. Each degree saves 3 percent of your heating/cooling costs. Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket and save 1,000 pounds of C02 a year, along with the cost of keeping it warm. If you're in the market for a hot water heater anyway - look into "on-demand" water heaters - they make sense.
8. Laundry: Switch to cold-water washing and save 80 percent on the energy used for laundry (about $60 a year). I switched to exclusively cold-water washing a couple of years ago and have not noticed any difference in how clean my clothes are. Hang dry your clothes (when it warms up, of course) instead of using the dryer and save 700 pounds of C02 a year. Don't you hate the thought of using a heat-producing clothes dryer in the summer anyway?

By Molly Ring of Skewed View Studios, Design with a Fresh Perspective