"GREEN" Tips
It's easy being GREEN.
Can you make a difference? Yes! We can all make a difference and it doesn't cost anything except our time and effort. There are simple things we can all do to help conserve energy and to preserve our environment.
Listed below are 10 simple things we can all incorporate into our daily lives that save energy, preserve our natural resources and help clean up our environment. Just start with one or two of the following and once you have made them a part of your daily routine then move on to another one and then another one until you have completed this list. We will continually update this "TIPS" page with new ideas, so check back in another month and see what else you can do to help!
You can download our Simple Green Livng Tips template by clicking on the link below. The template contains our 10 tips, water conservation tips and several ways to help eliminate junk mail and catalogs along with a "Reminder" calendar that helps you make these simple tasks a part of your everyday lives:
Click here to download our FREE Simple Green Living Tips Packet
1. Gas saving tip: SLOW DOWN - for every 5 mph you reduce your highway speed you can reduce fuel consumption by 7% and save up to $.19 per gallon.
2. Water saving tip #1: Create your own, inexpensive "low flow" toilet tank and save up to 300 gallons per month. Fill a 16oz plastic water bottle with stones or sand and place it in your toilet tank. This will displace the water in your tank and reduce the amount of water per flush. MAKE SURE THE BOTTLE DOES NOT INTERFERE WITH THE NORMAL OPERATIONS OF YOUR TOILET FLUSHING SYSTEM.
3. New use for plastic grocery bags. Take a plastic bag with you the next time you go for a hike or trail run and take a few extra minutes to pick up trash along the way. You can get your daily excercise AND help clean up your local parks or trails.
4. Electronic waste tip: Every year nearly 200 million tons of elecronic waste end up in our land fills with most containing hazardous materials like mercury, lead and chromium. Contact www.eiae.org to find an e-recycler in your area or contact www.samsclub.com for an e-recycling program that allows you to recycle and reuse old electronics equipment AND get a Sam's Club gift card in the process.
5. Water savings tip #2: Sweep away water waste by using a broom to clean off your driveways and sidewalks instead of hosing off these areas. You can save up to 80 gallons of water each time you do this.
6. Lawn care tip: Set your mower at it's highest setting. This will help develop a stronger root system and a healthier lawn by preventing evaporation of water, preventing water run off and help prevent weeds from growing in your lawn.
7. Weed control: Create your own non-toxic weed killer for use in your rocks, on sidewalks and in driveways. Mix one ounce of white vinegar, one ounce of cheap gin with eight ounces of water and pour or spray this on your weeds.
8. Recycle old athletic shoes. Nike has a program called Reuse-A-Shoe that allows you to send in old or defective althletic shoes to Nike and they will recycle the shoes to create a product called Nike Grind. This is used to create cushioned sports courts all over the world and is used for soccer fields, basketball courts and other sports courts. You can send your shoes to Nike Recycling Center c/o Reuse-A-Shoe at 26755 SW 95th Ave, Wilsonville, OR 97070 or contact www.nikereuseashoe.com for more information or to find a drop off location in your area.
9. Reuse packing peanuts and other packing materials. Contact www.loosefillpackaging.com to find a drop off location in your area for styrafoam packing peanuts as well as other non-recyclable packing materials. You can also call 800-828-2214 for more information.
10. Reuse paper. You can help save up to 100 million trees each year by reusing your printed paper. First only print things you absolutly need to print and once you are done with it, don't throw it away. You can create your own note pads and scratch paper by using the non-printed side. We use an aligator clip to create our note pads and have not purchased any lined note pads for over one year.
There are many more ways to help and you can also check out the following web links for more helpful hints:
www.energyright.com
www.Time.com/environment
www.stopglobalwarming.msn.com www.lifestyle.msn.com/green
