I am not a huge green person, but I do worry over the size of landfills and amount of packaging everything seems to have (need?) these days...it seems like one trip to Wal-Mart fills up my entire kitchen trash can and I am on a budget... who isn't? So, I try to save money wherever I can!
Here are the few things that I like to do:
1. Recycle glass, plastic and cans - I pay more for my service, but to me it is worth the few dollars more a month (it makes me feel better too and who can't stand ot feel better?).
2. Use re-chargable batteries...anyone who has a baby or who has had one around knows that they come with a landslide of batteries (all different sizes). Well, I couldn't get the hang of this until the amount of batteries became more managable (when he was almost 2). This not only keeps them out of the landfill, but it also saves me money. The math...a pack of 4 AA batteries usually cost me about $5 or more...depending on where I buy them and I was replacing them pretty much every week (in my baby monitor), so that was costing me $20 month and $260 a year (some months have more than 4 weeks)! The rechargable batteries cost $12 for 4, but they last a LONG time...I am still using the ones I bought over a year ago. So, $12 or $260 - you decide!
3. Use & re-use the cloth bags at the grocery store - I try to remember everytime, but if I don't I save the plastic bags and use them for trash bags in my bathrooms. This saves the landfills and probably saves money at the grocery store too...they cost money and the grocery store doesn't charge us (some do now, but not mine), so the cost is rolled into the food that I buy or cuts in the salaries of the employees that I LOVE!
4. Use rags instead of papertowels - this is a pain sometimes, but I usually wash them about once a month all together on sanitary, which makes it easier to deal with - because I don't like to wash the chemicals and germs with my clothes on anything but sanitary (if your washer doesn't have sanitary - use hot water and bleach). This also not only saves the landfills, but my wallet...if I pay $8 for a pack of 6 (big) rolls...and nothing for rags (I use old towels, t-shirts, kitchen towels etc, but you can buy them at Lowe's or Home Depot and they come in a cool box dispenser). If I use them to clean everything all week - I use the whole pack - that is $8 a week...which is $416 a year!!! Now, to be fair - I still use them for stuff and would probably use the pack wihtin a month, which cost me $96 a year, so the real savings is $320 a year - still impressive in my book!!! So, free or $320 a year - you decide!
5. Crackin' the code on household cleaners - I am still working on this one, but instead of buying Clorox Anywhere - I mix my own bleach with the correct amount of water (according to the label) to make it safe for my family and put it in a spray bottle myself (clearly marked). I am also working on this with Amonia (but I hate the smell and am still working on it). If you read your cleaners in your cupboard now...these are the two ingredients they have, but they also have a lot of other stuff...frangrances etc that may or may not be good for your family. (NEVER mix the two, bleach/ammonia - the fumes can kill you!) I gased myself when I was pregnant - not fun. This saves the landfill and money too! A bottle of ammonia cleaner cost about $3 for 32oz, which lasts me about a month - or ammonia which cost $5 for 3 quarts, which lasts me about 2yrs...so $156 or $2.50 a year - you decide!
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