Green Tip of the Day (3/12/09) – Use Less Water Washing Dishes

Washing dishes does require using water. However, we can cut down the amount of water we use to wash dishes drastically. A couple simple changes and you will be on your way to greenville. One way to save water while washing dishes is to only fill up the sink half way. Turn off water. Wash each dish and then dip it back into the soapy water, giving it a partial “rinse.” Then, turn on water and rinse. Only use as little water as you can. Just enough to rinse the dish. Another way, is to use your plates and cups more than once. The less you use, the less you need to wash, and the less water you will waste.

Any other ideas to save water washing dishes? Post them below!

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Green Tip of the Day (3/10/09) – Check Your Tire Pressure

Make sure that your tires are properly inflated. Tires that are only slightly under inflated can add many gallons to your overall fuel consumption over time. By having properly inflated tires, you will be using LESS gas and helping save natural resources and money as well.

You can do it your self  by purchasing a simple tire gauge. You can pick one up at  your local auto parts store for less than 10 bucks. Be sure and check all four tires monthly.

Any other ideas to save gas and money? Post them below!

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Paper Matters

It didn’t take me long into my recycling journey to master the art of putting my plastics in their proper bins. The same holds true for glass. Recycling was quickly becoming second nature to me, but the one area that I completely lacked in was recycling paper. When I would finish with a magazine or catalog I would just toss it in the trash. The same goes for all the sheets of paper that my kids would scribble on. I didn’t even think twice about it, I would just throw it in the regular kitchen trash. Then one day my Husband said, “You know, all of that is recyclable too.” I just stared blankly at him. You would think this bit of information would have already crossed my mind, but it never did. It was like this fog suddenly lifted and my mind said, “Oh yeah…Duh!” And thus began my recycling of paper.

Before jumping into the paper recycling world I got on my trusty computer and checked into the information available on recycling paper. What I found is just incredible!

The first thing you notice when researching the subject of paper is just how wasteful we are as a society. It really isn’t something you think a lot about unless you start looking it up. For instance, did you know that around 40% of the garbage in our landfills is from paper? It just sits there, rotting. Also, the average American uses somewhere around 680-700 pounds of paper a year! Wow! What do we do with it all? I mean seriously, look around you and see just where all the paper products are and just what you use them for. As I do this I am amazed at how many things I could stop doing – like I could stop buying more and more notebooks and just use the back sides of the scribbled on paper from my kids for jotting down notes and shopping lists. This would cut down not only paper waste but monetary expense as well.

As I kept researching I came upon some other interesting fact such as, if every American recycled every phone book every year we could save 650,000 TONS of paper! (Paper Facts) Additionally, just by recycling one ton of paper (that is 2000 pounds) we could save about 17 trees! (Recycling Facts)

When you look at those numbers you can’t help but want to get in on recycling paper too. It matters – all of it matters. So thus began my desire to make paper recycling just as second nature as plastics and glass.

So, you may be wondering just what types of paper you can recycle.

There are so many:

• cardboard
• newspapers
• magazines
• catalogs
• construction paper
• computer paper
• the paper you put in the office copy machine
• and even the junk mail you get (like those pesky grocery fliers).

This really is just the tip of the iceberg and yet so many of us throw these items in the garbage every day without giving it any additional thought. Well, not me – not any more. I am now committed and when I get done with any form of paper I have trained myself to march it out to the garage and stick it in the recycle bin. It really is just that easy.

Copyright ©  2009, Becki, Green Christian Network, All Rights Reserved

               

Green Tip of the Day (3/09/09) – Wind Power Hosting

If you are a website or blog owner, you should consider wind powered hosting. You will be a part of the solution and save energy by using a natural resource…wind!

Why go Wind powered Hosting?

Well…It’s the equivalent of:

1. Removing 444 cars from the road for a year
2. Powering 321 homes with clean energy for a year
3. Saving 5,654 barrels of oil
4. Protecting 551 acres of forest for a year

You will not just neutralizing your environmental impact, you will be helping to reverse it!

Hey, if you already have a website or blog, then it is not additional cost to your budget. All you are doing is making a better, greener choice for God’s planet and being a better steward!

Click Here for wind powered hosting options!

Any other ideas to help save energy and make websites/blogs greener? Post them below!

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Green Tip of the Day (3/04/09) – Natural Light

Open the blinds more. If we would all limit the amount of electricity we use to keep our homes lit, we would make a huge impact on energy resources. Avoid using your lamps and lights as much as possible during the day. Instead, open blinds and doors and let the light shine in.

In the evenings, opt for a more romantic feel and use candles. Sure, you do need to turn on the lights. However, try being creative and limiting the amount of electricity you consume just to have light. Candles are a great option. Especially the ones that smell good and are natural based.

Another positive with going green in the light department is the money you will save consuming less energy!

Make a simple change…go natural light!

Any other ideas to cut the lights? Post them below!

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Green Tip of the Day (3/03/09) – Air Dry

Let’s face it, we all have this not so fun task, we can use it as an opportunity to go green. It can be another way for us to add a little more green into our lives.

One simple way to help laundry time become a more eco-friendly experience is to stop using the dryer to dry clothes. Or, a the very least, limit it. Instead, try air drying them. Hang them out to dry and let the cool (soon to be warm) breeze of God’s planet dry them for you. They will smell and feel better, and even better, you will save energy and money. Plus, you will be a better steward for God’s planet.

Go Green…air dry!

Any other ideas for going green with laundry? Post them below!

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Green Tip of the Day (3/02/09) – Start Small

I wanted to make this a general encouragement tip. Not all of us were born with a green spoon in our mouths! Maybe this whole eco-friendly, go green stuff is new to you. That’s OK! Research for yourself. Read the Scriptures. Pray. God will reveal Truth to you!

Then, if you decide to go green, do not try to overload yourself. Make little changes, one at a time. Every little step really does matter. Make one change a day, week or month. Make it a goal to at least take baby steps!

The best place for a newbie to start would be recycling. Your state will provide the bins. You could return plastic and paper bags to your local grocery store’s recycling bins. Recycling is the easiest place for someone new to the eco-friendly world to start. Plus, it’s F-R-E-E!

Any other ideas for where a go green newbie can start? Post them below!

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Green Tip of the Day (3/01/09) – Moms…use clothe diapers.

Sure, this is a little messier than the easier, disposable version. However, do you even realize the amount of disposable diapers that are filling landfills?? Cloth diapers are a choice that every mother should seriously consider. Let’s look at some facts that are quite alarming…

Disposable Diapers Sobering Facts:

• from birth to about 2-1/2 the average child will go through about 7,300 diapers
• the cost for that is about $2600
• 18 billion diapers enter landfills each year
• disposable diapers make up about 3.4 million tons of trash
• health risks such as fertility issues in males, eyes, nose and throat issues and even asthma-like symptoms have been connected to disposable diapers!
• long term negative affects on animal and water life.
• the chemicals that make disposable diapers white increase the risk of cancer
• affect development
• they use more water. yep. you may need to wash cloth diapers, however, way more water is used making disposable diapers!
• a study, conducted by Anderson Laboratories in 1999 and published in the Archives of Environmental Health, found that disposable diapers release chemicals called volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene and dipentene. They have been shown to have toxic health effects, such as cancer and brain damage, when used over time or high exposure.
• they use 1.3 million tons of wood pulp. that’s about 1/4 million trees every year.
• they take up to 500 years to break down.
• more viruses than you want to know about…including polio, survive for two weeks or more after disposed of.

There are many many many more reasons to avoid disposable diapers. However, I think our readers are intelligent and the above information is enough to get you thinking! Research for yourself. You will be shocked!

Go for organic natural reusable cloth diapers. You will not only be helping the environment and saving money, you will also protect your sweet precious love bugs from harm!

Any other comments or ideas on the cloth v/s disposable diapers debate? Post them below!

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