How Being Environmentally Friendly Can Save You Money
I know many people who want to help the environment, but most of them do not know where to begin. Some feel overwhelmed with the vast number of options available. Though it would be great if everyone made wise choices concerning the environment in everything they do, it is not necessary. If everyone would just make a few changes, the positive impact on our planet would be astounding. Fortunately, I know several ways to be good to the environment, save money in the process, and even improve your family’s health. Read on for more information.
We are going to discuss ideas in one category at a time. Do not feel like you have to dive in and do them all at once. Trying to enforce too much change at one time can backfire. Instead, take it little at a time and implement the changes that you can.
In the Kitchen
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Let’s be honest here. Processed foods are not healthy for people, the environment, or our wallets. Everyone’s grocery expenses will differ according to the food they eat and the number of people they feed. However, I can pretty much guarantee that switching to homemade food can save everyone money.
I have known several single people who state that it is cheaper for them just to grab some fast food. Sorry, I disagree. More convenient? Yes. Cheaper? No. Being single means that you do not need as many groceries and that your meals do not have to be so big. And you can always make extra to put it away for another meal or lunch the next day.
I know that cooking from scratch can be time-consuming and most of us do not have extra time, but there are ways to make it easier on yourself.
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Crockpots, or slow cookers, are lifesavers. You can throw your ingredients together in the morning, set them to cook in your Crockpot, and Voila! At the end of the day, you have a home-cooked meal that took you almost no time to prepare.
There are several cookbooks and websites that share recipes you can make in a Crockpot, but you might be surprised to find that some meals you cook already can be done in the slow cooker.
Bonus: Slow cookers use very little energy, so even leaving yours on all day is more environmentally friendly than using a stove or oven is.
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This requires more time than the slow cooker, but it can also reap much bigger rewards. Dedicate an off day once a week or once a month to this. Make a list of meals you want to eat during that time frame and ensure you have all of the ingredients on hand.
There are several meals you can fully precook, including casseroles. Get these started first and make them all together- as much as you can fit in the oven. By cooking things all at once and back to back, you are saving energy because your oven remains hot longer. When these items are complete, wrap them up and put them away in the freezer or fridge.
There are also items that cannot be fully precooked, but you can have the ingredients prepared. For instance, if you like to make fresh pancakes in the mornings, you can use your precook day to mix the dry ingredients and have them in a baggie. Then, when you are ready to cook them, all you need to do is add your wet ingredients.
I try to do this once a month, and I let my kids be involved in the process. This cuts down on my work, lets me spend time with them, and teaches them life skills. As there are four children and we have a really full schedule, I prepare a lot of breakfast items. I cook waffles, pancakes, sausage egg and cheese wraps, and a few other items they like before freezing them. During the week, they just have to get what they want from the freezer and heat them up.
This process saves time during the week, keeps my family eating healthy, cuts down on our grocery budget, and cuts down on the trash we would be throwing out if we were buying processed foods.
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Water is a very healthy thing for us to drink, but buying bottled water can add up quickly. We used to spend $30 or more every month on store brand water, and that was just for one of our kids and my husband. That may not seem like much, but even the minimum of our $30 a month water budget adds up to $360 a year. To make it worse, those plastic bottles just get thrown away- definitely not environmentally friendly.
About two months ago, I decided to get a water pitcher filter. The initial investment was $30. I then found some nice, reusable water bottles for $1 each. For $36, I was able to stop buying packs of water. Every two to three months, we will need to purchase a new filter that costs less than $10. This small investment is saving us a minimum of $220 each year, and no bottles are being thrown away. If the environmentally friendly and money-saving nature of this move was not enough, everyone in my house is now drinking more water since there is always a cold pitcher sitting in the fridge.
Upgrade Appliances
Often we ask ourselves - how can I save money? Upgrading your appliances to energy-efficient ones is a very wise and environmentally friendly move to make. The initial investment can be high, of course, but most of these appliances pay for themselves within the first year thanks to the energy savings they provide.
Explore Possibilities To Save Your Money. Meet Billry.
Gardening
If you love fresh fruits and vegetables, one of the best things you can do is plant your own garden. Doing so saves you money on groceries, is environmentally friendly, and lets you know exactly what goes on your produce. That is hard to do with produce you purchase at the store.
Go solar
Solar energy is one of the most environmentally friendly forms of energy around. If you can make the initial investment to have solar panels installed on your roof, you can save thousands in electricity usage each year. And as most of those panels can last a few decades, you can enjoy those savings for a long time.
Change Light Bulbs
Switching to LED bulbs can save you a good amount of energy annually and it is environmentally friendly. That is not to mention a reduction in the amount you spend on bulbs. LED bulbs last much longer than regular bulbs. We spend about $13 on an off-brand box of 12 LED bulbs. Most rooms that are used little keep the same bulbs for what seems an eternity. Common areas need to be changed more often, of course, but we buy LED bulbs less than a third as often as we bought regular bulbs.
Outdoor Workouts
Forego the electric home gym equipment, like your treadmill, and workout DVDs. If you pay for a gym membership, cancel it. Get outside and exercise, instead.
I find that playing with my kids for about 15 minutes in our front yard is the equivalent of an hour-long workout indoors and it is more fun. We do have some home gym equipment for rainy and cold days, but none of them require electricity.
Turn down the water heater
I must admit that I like my showers hot. According to my husband, my desired temperature is scalding hot. That’s not quite true but pretty close. Unfortunately, high water temperatures require more energy, meaning more harm to the environment and a bigger electric bill. You can be environmentally friendly without taking ice baths, though- thank goodness. Most hot water heaters stay set at 140 degrees, but turning it down just 20 degrees can make a big difference in the amount of energy you use. And trust me when I say 120 degrees is still plenty warm.
Turn off the lights
...and the water. And unplug anything that is not in use. We all know that turning off the lights and faucets are both money saving and environmentally friendly, but many of us still leave lights on in the room we are not currently occupying. We also still leave the water running while brushing our teeth. Be more diligent in turning off things that are not in use. It is also a good idea to unplug items that are not in use. This is pretty simple when it comes to phone charges, but I must admit I do not feel like finding my way behind my microwave and oven every time I finish with them. Instead, buy power strips and plug anything you can into those. That way, when you do not need those items, you can just hit the power switch on the strip. I promise it takes much less effort. Just be sure that you place the power strip somewhere that you can easily reach it.
Change your shower head
Speaking of wasting water, do you know how much unused water goes down your drain every time you take a shower? Changing your shower head and buying aerators for sink faucets help control the flow of water leading to less wasted water, a very environmentally friendly move.
Make Home improvements
There are several home improvements that can make your home more energy-efficient, such as installing installation and weather stripping, replacing windows, and new roofs. These are things that will require an initial investment, but your wallet and planet will thank you for cutting back on your energy usage.
You do not have to do it all at once, either. Make a list of things you need to do and work your way down the list as your budget allows.
Also, look into programs in your area. Some agencies provide assistance with weatherization, and some areas have programs that assist in other ways. Ask around to see what is available to you. And don’t forget to deduct those improvements on your taxes to reduce your tax liability.
Yard
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Remember those old lawnmowers that had no motors? They were nothing but blades propelled by your own power. If you did not know, they still make them.
We switched about a year ago to a rotary mower and love it. We do not need to buy oil or gas. The only maintenance is sharpening the blades occasionally. It is also so much quieter, so we can get out early in the morning before the sun starts beating down without worrying about disturbing the neighbors.
My absolute favorite part, though, is that I am not anxious the entire time my boys are pushing the mower since there are no motor-powered blades that could hurt them.
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Planting trees is both environmentally friendly and an excellent way to save money. You can plant them on the side of your house that gets hottest during the day so they provide some shade. That lowers your electric bill and provides a spot to have a picnic with your little ones. Additionally, planting trees helps to replace the ones that are being cut down consistently. If everyone planted a couple of trees in their yard, it would offset some of the damage.
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If you have a garden, do not water it with your garden hose. Instead, set out containers to collect rainwater that you can later use to water your plants.
Cleaning
Stop buying expensive cleaners. You probably already have the best cleaning supplies available in your kitchen. All that money which you would spend on luxury cleaners, you can direct into your savings account.
Vinegar is not only acidic so it gets rid of dirt and grime. It is also odor eliminating. I know this sounds strange since vinegar itself smells pretty bad, but once it dries, you will find that any smells that were in your home are gone. If you have pets that have accidents in the house, vinegar is one of the best ways to clean it up.
Pro tips:
Mix vinegar and water together in a spray bottle to use as an all-purpose cleaner.
Mixing lemon juice with water provides another great natural cleaner, and it smells better than vinegar.
If you are fighting a tough mess, even baked-on grease and food, cover the mess with baking soda. Then, pour vinegar onto it. It will bubble up and help to loosen whatever you are facing.
Go Digital
Paper is a source of contention for many people. No matter how hard I try, junk mail, notes, thoughts, kids’ drawings, and receipts land on my desk and cost me time, energy, and money. How does paper clutter cost money? you may ask. Well, there are several ways:
There has been more than one occasion that I needed to return an item and could not find the receipt, leaving me stuck with something I cannot use.
It is easy to miss deadlines if you do not see the bill. Have you ever had your power or gas disconnected because the due date came and went without you knowing? I have and it was not fun. Not only was it a headache to deal with but I had to pay extra fees to have it reconnected. In fact, it was almost $150 extra even though I paid the bill within an hour of the disconnection.
As strange as it may sound, the space the paper takes up actually costs as well. That is space you could be used for more valuable or important items. If the space is not available, you might end up spending more money on furniture just to create space.
I’ll stop there, but hopefully, you get the idea. One of the best environmentally friendly, money saving tips I can give you is to go digital as much as you can.
Most companies offer a discount if you sign up for paperless billing, so you can save a little there. A word of warning here. Have a separate email address for any bills and make sure that the email account sends notifications that you cannot ignore to your phone. Otherwise, your bills may get lost in your email clutter.
If you read magazines, sign up for a digital membership. They typically cost less and you do not have to figure out where to store them.
Read ebooks or use your local library instead of buying paperbacks. I love to read, and there are some books that I prefer in hard copy. Most of what I want to read, though, I am perfectly fine with borrowing or reading a digital copy.
By going digital, you are not only clearing your space and decreasing the stress that clutter causes. You are also saving trees and using fewer trash bags. It is a total win.
IN Conclusion
There are so many ways to both save money and make environmentally friendly choices. Those listed here are just a few. Think through your daily activities and your lifestyle. Are there any areas you think you could work on? With some thought, research, and creativity, you can come up with several other ideas.