Green Tips for Daily Living
March 26, 2009 by green team
Filed under Green Tips
Here are some simple “green tips” for every day living. When done regularly, they just become a way of life. Drop us an email at feedback@greenkampong.com with tips of your own.
1. Skip the bottled water
- Use a water filter to purify tap water instead of buying bottled water. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it generates large amounts of plastic container waste.
- Bring a reusable water bottle, preferably aluminium rather than plastic, with you when travelling or at work. This also applies to buying coffee.
2. Borrow instead of buying
- Borrow from libraries instead of buying personal books and movies. This saves money, not to mention the ink and paper that goes into printing new books. Download from bit torrent. Go paperless and wireless.
3. Less petrol means more money
- Shake those legs! Walk or bike to work. This saves on petrol, ERP and parking costs while improving your cardiovascular health and reducing your risk of obesity.
- Consider telecommuting if you live far from your work. Or move closer. Even if this means paying more rent, it could save you money in the long term.
4. Make your own cleaning supplies
- The big secret: you can make very effective, non-toxic cleaning products whenever you need them. All you need are a few simple ingredients like baking soda, vinegar, lemon, and soap.
- Making your own cleaning products saves money, time, and packaging-not to mention your indoor air quality. It’s fun!
5. Eat smart
- If you eat meat, add one meatless meal a week. Meat costs a lot at the store-and it’s even more expensive when you consider the related environmental and health costs.
- Buy locally raised, humane, and organic meat, eggs, and dairy whenever you can. Purchasing from local farmers keeps money in the local economy.
6. Think before you buy
- Go online to find new or gently used second-hand products. Discover vintage. Whether you’ve just moved or are looking to redecorate, consider a service like yahoo classifieds or ebay to track down furniture, appliances, and other items cheaply or for free. This is especially true for baby’s toys and accessories.
- Check out garage sales, thrift stores, and consignment shops for clothing and other everyday items.
7. Save energy to save money
- Use fans whenever possible; air conditioning units are huge energy eaters.
- Install compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) when your older incandescent bulbs burn out.
- Unplug appliances when you’re not using them. Or, use a “smart” power strip that senses when appliances are off and cuts “phantom” or “vampire” energy use.
- Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible. As much as 85 percent of the energy used to machine-wash clothes goes to heating the water.
- Use a drying rack or clothesline to save the energy otherwise used during machine drying.
8. Buy smart
- Buy in bulk. Purchasing food from bulk bins can save money and packaging.
- Wear clothes that don’t need to be dry-cleaned. This saves money and cuts down on toxic chemical use.
- Invest in high-quality, long-lasting products. You might pay more now, but you’ll be happy when you don’t have to replace items as frequently.
9. Save water to save money
- Take shorter showers to reduce water use. This will lower your water and heating bills too. Take cold showers whenever possible; avoid baths.
- Install a low-flow showerhead. They don’t cost much, and the water and energy savings can quickly pay back your investment.
- Avoid using a dishwasher; soap plates without using the tap and then rinse sparingly.
- Wash your car as sparingly as possible; commercial carwashes have a tendency to waste large amounts of water though some do use recycled water.
10. Keep electronics out of the trash
- Keep your cell phones, computers, and other electronics as long as possible.
- Donate or recycle them responsibly when the time comes. E-waste contains mercury and other toxics and is a growing environmental problem.
- Recycle your cell phone.
- What items can and can’t be recycled; lobby to have a recycling bin in your area.
Looking forward to more green stuff from Green Kampong. Good to see another green blog (using Revolution theme and WordPress).
Cheers
Eugene
Green kampong,do you conduct talks/workshops in libraries,schools,tertiary institutions(or anywhere else)???
Hi, I have one to add to your transportation tips.
Keep your car tires inflated!
It’s so useful,thank you so much.
We parents should be the models for greening our world after all we dream to see our children live in a better world.
Yes，I agree with you.
IT’S SO GOOD ,I LIKE IT!
Great stuff ! Simple and so easy to implement !! Some of the practical suggestions will have to be tweaked an adapted for use depending on where you live !!
it’s wonderful when i read your information
it’s useful for my life and my country
i will tell to everybody about information
thank you for your information, this information can make me more save
thank you for sharing me this information ..it means a lot :)
Hi,
tips given by you are very useful
I want to add more, which I follow as much as I can
1) switch off ur monitor, when u leave for the day (so much energy can be saved by it)
2) don’t use plastic bags to carry things, Use a cloth bag
So glad to have discovered you by chance. Look forward to more tips from you. Yes we have to help Mother Earth; afterall we are mothers ourselves. I try my best to recycle my stuff until it cant be recycled anymore eg. those old adult clothes which are still nice and presentable can be made into smaller items like a dress or a blouse for yr little girl with matching bags ribbons for her hair even. Or even a bandeau for yr son. If the outfit is too old, you can made them into ragged table cloths and the fancy buttons can be sewn to other kids outfits or pouches. Just be creative. List is endless.
I like it because of its being simple and direct to the point. i think it would reaaly be part of my living
I hope everyone appreciates this tips and do their part in keeping our planet green. I’ll definitely do mine.
It’s wonderful reading, thank you for the information. Looking forward for more useful tips. Like to add a few…
1. Shut down your PC when not working instead of hibernating it.
2. Put your A/c always in sleep mode
3. Kill your car engine when in traffic signal
4. Unplug your mobile from charger when fully charged
5. Avoid using plastic cups for tea/coffee
am so happy to have stumbled in your website, this is a social advocate am looking for and would really love to share some tips..
For individuals we can help save mother earth if we follow and apply the 3R’s:
1. REDUCE
2. RE-USE
3. RECYCLE
great, all the tips above are already been carried out by me. hope all malaysians would follow suit and help our children to have a better world to live in and of course you would be financially better, believe me.
It’s very informative for a better tommorrow.
Thank you for the information I got on Green Tips for Daily Living!
I wish all people on earth could access this page and we jointly work to save our mother Earth.
I would like to add to the tips:
1-Plant trees when and where possible
2-Use non-disporsable containers (eg marketing …)
3-Use solar energy when possible
thanks a billion for the tips
save the earth