We all know that there is more we can do to be environmentally friendly. We know not to use dryer sheets, drive less, recycle, etc. Here are some other unique ideas that can help take our homes to the next level of green:
- Line dry your wash. Even if it is just blankets, towels, or jeans, it can be a giant power saver.
- Compost your kitchen and garden waste to amend your yard soil naturally.
- Avoid buying bagged soils and fertilizer. Chemicals in fertilizers taint the water runoff in your backyard, and the bagged product travels hundreds of miles on a truck before you buy it.
- Start or join a “reuse group” on Facebook or NextDoor for your neighborhood. Not only can you have an environmental impact by posting a photo of that bunch of hangers and offering it for free to anyone in your neighborhood, but the group will bring you and your neighbors together, it will save you all money, trips to the store, and give a little relief to the landfill. I for one will take all the fallen pine needles my friends can give. Makes great top mulch!
- Buy local, and learn to cook fresh. Packaged frozen foods take way more energy - especially when you consider that the ingredients were shipped to the manufacturer using fuel, were prepared and cooked in a factory using fuel, were packaged and frozen, shipped, kept frozen, and then purchased and delivered to your home, all before you even turned on the stove. That is a huge amount of energy output for a two dollar pizza.
