- 1). Carpool to work, school or shopping. According to The State of Green Report for 2009 by Greenbiz, carpooling in the U.S. happens less now than it did a decade ago. With higher gas prices and with many people spending fewer hours at work, it's time to start carpooling again. This step is a great way to reduce carbon footprint and save money.
- 2). Plant a small vegetable garden. Take some space in the backyard or purchase a few inexpensive wooden garden boxes or barrels and plant tomatoes, beans, lettuce, peppers or other fresh vegetables.
This is a triple benefit. It greens up the environment, it saves money at the grocery store, and the fresh vegetables are healthy. - 3). Install a high-tech, programmable thermostat in your home or office. Program the thermostat to reduce the amount of heat or air conditioning at night or when no one is there: again, a double savings, on energy and on heating and air conditioning costs.
- 4). Update your window treatments. Reduce energy consumption and heating and air conditioning costs by installing low-cost blinds or shades on your windows. Pull down shades start round $10 each.
For more energy use reduction, you could spend a few more dollars and install insulated drapes and curtains. These do cost more but will save more in the long term. - 5). Keep recycling or start to recycle paper, bottles, plastic and cans. It takes little effort and even less money to recycle newspapers, magazines, printer paper, soda cans, glass bottles and plastic jugs.
- 6). Use the low-cost cloth shopping bags for grocery, retail, clothing and all types of shopping. The earth-wise bags are available in all sizes these days and most cost very little and some are insulated so that you can carry cold foods. Many people have been using these bags in grocery stores for a while now but they can really be used for mall shopping and all other kinds of shopping too.
- 7). Seal up leaks in your house or office. This is another easy-to-do, low-cost, low time investment that will save on energy use and bills. Sealant can be purchased at local hardware and discount stores. Use it to seal up cracks around windows and doors.
- 8). Do your banking and pay bills online. Banking online is fast, easy, safe, and free. Once you get setup for online banking and paying your bills online, it becomes as easy as clicking on an option to pay the bill. No paper checks, no paper envelopes, no stamp needed.
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