This post was published last March, but since I am having writers block ~ or perhaps it is my sinus headache I thought it would be the perfect post to finish out Laura’s Little Green Project.
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 water 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. I purchased this CamelBak
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?
With our recent move (2 moves in 6 months) I got discouraged and had gotten out of eating whole foods and we had gradually started buying more & more processed foods. I am back on track and we are back on track, so much so that my husband wanted to know where did all the garbage go? LoL He was loading up the garbage in his truck for the weekly trip up the road to the dump and there were only a few bags! Hee hee…so I reminded him!
We had a drought last summer. I didn’t want our bushes to die so I used empty milk cartoons to drain my tub one load at a time and watered the bushes with our tub water! I had the best smelling bushes!! LOL!! We also put a bucket in the shower to catch water that way also.
I also do a clothes swap with friends. About every other month we bag up the clothes we don’t wear anymore and pass it to the next person on the list. It doesn’t cost anything but we each get a couple new things or even more for as long as we want to keep it.
I pass my 15 yr olds hand-me-downs to a friend. Her 2 boys wear them then pass their hand-me-downs to our younger boys. When they are done with it I give them to the local Crisis Pregnancy.
I safe the magazines we get and once every couple months I donate them to the cancer center. They are so thankful for any magazines no matter how old.
Hi there!
I just wanted to say that I enjoy your blog so much! These are all wonderful and simple ideas…thanks for sharing!
Hope your sinus headache lets up soon…so you can enjoy your weekend!
Many BLessings,
Jes
I stopped buying magazines and borrow them from the library instead. I’m a magazine junkie, so this has really saved us money – and it’s environmentally friendly. I also wash and reuse ziplock bags – they dry quickly if you stick them on an upside-down whisk or pair of tongs.
Don’t forget to take your burned-out fluorescent light bulbs to Home Depot for disposal.
Such a great list of green tips! Hope your headache goes away…that is NOT fun!
I got all of my kids, my husband and I reusable water bottles. Various brands but all BPA, lead, etc free. I let them pick out what they wanted and everyone uses them all the time. It’s so nice not having all that plastic waste!
Every time a light bulb goes out, I get another CFL to replace it. We are almost completely switched! YAY!
We purchase way less processed foods so we have way less waste. And much healthier for all of us too!
We recycle, use reusable bags when shopping and use rechargeable batteries. My kids are big on turning lights off in rooms when they leave. I’m sure there is more that is just a part of our daily routine that I’m forgetting but we do some. I’d love to do more!
So we bought a compost bin from our city…only it is smaller than our compost pile was, so we have a small compost pile, and a mostly full bin.
And I can’t wait to have a clothesline. I have been telling the hubby we need one, and I ran across someone’s blog post where they made one and posted prices. So when I told him, they made it for less than $20, he said I should make plans for putting on up.
Now if only we can stop getting threats of blizzards and ice storms out of the way.
And I like that I could go down your list and say, we do that, and that, and that…man I must be awesome!
Great list! WE wash and reuse bags, use cloth napkins and rags, and wash and reuse jars/plastic containers.