After having surgery for severe allergies, my husband’s doctor encouraged us to switch to a greener, organic, all natural lifestyle. It ain’t easy being green. That’s what Kermit the Frog used to say all the time and I used to agree with him but now after making the switch I’ve learned it ain’t so hard after all. Here’s a few things I did to make the switch more convenient.
Start with Laundry Detergent
Changing from Tide to Ecos brand laundry soap was the first step I made towards going green. It required some research on my part but not near as much as I thought it would. I was in the grocery store one day when they were handing out free samples of different laundry detergent brands. I collected as many as they would give me of each brand. Two of those brands were Ecos and Greenworks. Both detergents performed about the same but Ecos won out because it was a few dollars cheaper. The liquid Ecos laundry detergent washes 100 loads for $11.99.
Discover What Products You Use That Are Already Green
I hadn’t thought much about it before but at the beginning of going green I realized that there were a few things I was already doing green. I use vinegar and water to clean the glass in my house and all of our recyclable plastics were going into separate bins for recycling later. I’m sure there are things you do that are organic or all natural already if you take a moment to think about it.
Learn to Preserve Energy in Small Ways
During the summer months we used to crank the AC on high even at night. Now I am the proud owner of several box style floor fans. As soon as it cools down at night I fling open all the windows and sliding glass doors, place the fans directly in the windows and sliding doors and leave for the night. In the morning my house is downright cold so about 7 a.m. I reverse the process. I remove all the fans and set them on the floor, turned on low, and shut all the windows, doors and blinds. It may be dark and cool but I rarely use the AC now. It’s the small things that help.
Unplug Everything
This is a small change in lifestyle that can save you bundles of money. Instead of just turning off the television set, dvd player, VCR and computer, unplug them. When they are merely turned off they continue to pull energy but unplugged they do nothing. One easy way of doing this is to plug your electronics into an power strip so all you have to unplug is the strip itself. Takes 2 seconds out of your life and will save you money.
Rethink Your Water Habits
Stop buying bottled water. Instead purchase a good water faucet filtration system like the one from Brita. It will cost you about 20 bucks. Use reusable water canteens for portable carrying and keep a pitcher of water in the fridge. If you buy one $4.00 case of bottled water once a week you will spend $208 a year. With a water filtration system you will spend $80 to get started ($20 for filter + $60 for 1 year supply of replacement filters) plus another $10 per reusable canteen. Which means your start up costs won’t save you a whole lot of money but after the first year you will end up ony spending the $60 a year for replacement filters. That’s a $148 savings yearly.
Of course there are many other things I’ve done to change to a greener lifestyle but it would take too long to post them all. What steps have you taken to live a greener, all natural, greener lifestyle?
Thank you, now if we can inspire the young
I didn’t quite understand this at first. But when I went through it a fourth time, it all added up in my mind. Thanks for the idea. Absolutely something to twirl in my mind.