I do not celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. I am not Irish, and I really have no idea what this holiday is about. But this year is different, I’m going green.

I believe that good stewardship of what we have been given, recycling, and reducing our waste is a big part of the frugal life. The more you reuse, the less you have to purchase, and of course the less you purchase the more money stays in your pocket.

Here are some easy ways to consume less, reuse more, and prolong the life of the things you already own.

• Purchase compact fluorescent light bulbs, or even better LEDs.
• Combine errands, this saves money in gas and wear and tear on the car.
• Use a clothesline to dry clothes.
• Purchase whole foods. Less packaging means less waste.
• Grow some of your own food. Even if you have a small yard, certain vegetables can be grown in pots on the porch.
• Find new uses for old things, instead of throwing out lonely socks, use them as dust rags. Egg cartons can be used to start seeds indoors, milk jugs can be used as watering cans, meat trays can be used as toys in the tub or paint trays (clean them in the dishwasher first). The possibilities are endless.
• Shop at the thrift store, and donate unwanted items too.
• Maintain your vehicles. Cars that are well maintained run better, use less gas, and last longer.
• Shorten your showers, turn off lights when you leave a room, raise or lower your thermostat a few degrees.
• Bank on-line. This cuts down on tons of paper waste.
• Make or buy reusable grocery bags.
• Cloth diapers, in the long run it saves money and you aren’t filling up landfills with dirty diapers.
• Buy and use rechargeable batteries.
• Compost yard and kitchen waste.
• If you can’t reuse it recycle it.

Over the past few years, we have stopped buying bottled water and juices. Now when we go on a day trip we fill up our Nalgene bottles with our favorite drink. The initial cost of the bottles was less than the cumulative cost of purchasing bottled drinks. We also aren’t creating waste with our empty water bottles and juice boxes.

This is just a short list of things you can do to be a better steward. What are some things you do to recycle, reduce, and reuse? Leave a comment and let us know.

The Happy Housewife

 

Filed under: Frugal living, Holidays, Homemaking, My life