Five Simple Things
General Information, Household Items
There are very simple things people can do that can have a very big environmental impact. The five I am listing here, require very little effort and in some cases no money. A couple of these suggestions could probably even save you money. I hope you read this list with an open mind and a willingness to make a difference.
1. If you leave a room, turn the light off. At night I personally can not stand a brightly lit house. I love soft dim lighting at the end of my day. The only lights I have on, are in the rooms that I am actually in, and as soon as I leave the room, the light goes off. If you have to have a brightly lit house at night, I suggest at least trying to turn off a couple extra lights and experience nice, soft, dim lighting at the end of the day. It is really quite relaxing.
2. When you brush your teeth, turn the water off, and try not to flush the toilet every time. I went to a nature camp through school one year when I was about ten or so and they had this motto, “When it’s yellow let it mellow, when it’s brown flush it down.” Yes, that sounds disgusting, but it stuck with me. If my kids flushed every time they went potty, I can’t even imagine my water bill. It’s really not necessary to let the water run when you brush your teeth either, unless you like the sound of water running down the drain.
3. Buy paper products that are chlorine free. One day while flipping through a Body + Soul magazine I came across this article called “Just One Thing”. It basically quoted big names in the green movement about one thing you can do to make a difference, as the title implies. One of the blurbs was about toilet paper.
Buy recycled TP
Believe it or not, recycled toilet paper can change the world. “If every household in the U.S. bought just one four-pack of 260-sheet recycled bath tissue, it would eliminate 60,600 pounds of chlorine pollution, preserve 356 million gallons of fresh water, and save 988,000 trees,” says Jeffrey Hollender, 52 whose company Seventh Generation, offers a range of environmentally conscious consumer goods. Using recycled paper products saves manufacturers a trip into the forest and doesn’t require the energy needed to extract pulp from trees. Plus, a four-pack of the recycled kind costs about the same as conventional. You can effect change, Hollender insists, “one roll of toilet paper at a time.”
Body + Soul magazine May 2007 issue page 105
So I leave you with a link that can effect great change, one wipe at a time.
Green Forest Unscented Bathroom Tissue, 2-Ply
Some other chlorine free paper products:
Seventh Generation Paper Towels
4. Buy reusable grocery and produce bags, or reuse the plastic bags you get from the store. I also take my own bags when I go shopping at the drugstore, clothing stores, etc. You can buy very attractive bags, or quite frankly, not care what others think. Plastic bags create a lot of pollution to make, and once made, create a lot of pollution.
Organic Cotton Mesh Produce Bags
5. Practice appreciation and gratitude. No matter what life throws at you, you can always be thankful for what you have. Be thankful for your jerky boss for teaching you tolerance. The job you hate, for providing a paycheck. Your spouse or significant other, for being there. Your children, for loving you unconditionally (they do, no matter how they are outwardly acting). Your large mortgage or rent payment, for providing shelter. Your crappy car, for providing transportation. Whatever it is that is creating angst in your life, the more reason you have to be thankful for it. The more we practice gratitude and stop complaining, the better off we will all be.
Debbie @ January 3, 2008