So, I decided to do the obligatory environmentally conscious article for earth day. I’ll be honest with you, I haven’t jumped on the “going green” bandwagon. It’s not that I don’t like the environment, I am just skeptical about the hysteria that everyone thinks our planet is going melt soon. Having said that, whether your a tree hugger or not, there are many financial advantages to being more environmentally friendly. Most of it has to do with conserving energy. The less energy that you consume, the more money you’ll save over a lifetime.
- Insulate Your Water Heater. It will take less time for your water heater to heat the water.
- Buy a programmable thermostat.Program the temperature to be hotter when you’re gone, and cooler when you’re home.
- Replace the weather strips on your exterior doors. help keep the cold air inside in the summer and the hot air inside in the winter.
- Re-caulk/Re-seal the windows. Same concept as above.
- Buy a Brita water filter. I bet there are tons of people who think they are so environmentally conscious, yet they buy Fiji water every week and don’t reuse the plastic bottles. Even better than reusing the plastic bottles is filtering your tap water with a Brita pitcher.
- Use a dry-erase board for note taking. If you’ve got a big family that is going in and out of the house all the time, put up a dry-erase or chalk board in the kitchen to make notes and remember phone numbers.
- Grow your own fruit and vegetables. Maintaining a garden can be very fun, and it sometimes tastes better than the stuff you buy on the side of the road.
- Make your own cleaning products. click here for tips on how to make your own cleaning products. All you need is some baking soda, ammonia, and detergent.
- Buy used furniture, electronics, and other house decor. You’ll save thousands over your lifetime if you find bargains on lightly used furniture, electronics, and other household accents.
- Re-use plastic grocery bags. My wife and I don’t even use these anymore, because we spent $5 and bought cloth bags at Publix, a large grocery chain in the southeast. We like the fact that we’re helping out the environment, but we did it more because we can usually fit a whole grocery cart full of food into five large cloth bags. But, if you still use the plastic bags, do what we did with them. We kept them and used them to pack lunches and use for doggy do-do bags.
::Steps up on my soap box::
I have no problem with people trying to do what they can to help out the environment. My wife and I aren’t obsessed with it, but we do little things here and there. However, I have a BIG problem with people who make us feel guilty about being free and using energy. I believe in freedom, and if you want to take really hot showers, have the a/c down to 72, and use a paper towel every time you wash your hands, then go right ahead. It’s your life, and the government and the media shouldn’t be the ones telling you how to live it. If you want to go green, do it because you genuinely want to help the environment and be a good steward of the environment that God gave us. Don’t do it just because you felt guilty about it.
