School, work, vacation or home...here are tips every household can use to be more green.
Rethink how you purchase school supplies and reuse what you can from last year.
It is pretty awesome to start the school year off with all new stuff, such as clothing, binders, folders, pens and pencils, but do you really need to? All that new stuff uses the earth’s resources: trees, water, energy, etc.
Don’t brown bag it.
Invest in a lunchbox, reusable plastic containers, cloth napkins and a thermos. Avoid buying individually packaged foods – that adds up to a lot of trash and is usually more expensive.
Ditch disposable water bottles.
Save the planet and save money by using filtered tap water and stainless steel insulated sports water bottles. They keep the water cooler for longer.
Reduce your greenhouse gas emissions.
Ride the bus when possible to lessen individual vehicle emissions. If the bus is not an option, set up a carpool with neighbors or arrange for a chaperoned “walkpool”. You’ll save gas and get some exercise in the process!
Cut down on electricity.
Turn off lights and electronics when not in use and be sure to unplug cell phone, tablet and laptop chargers. These sound obvious, but you might not be doing them everytime. There are also Smart Power Strips available that stop drawing electricity from appliances that are turned off. Every little bit helps!
