Going Green Without Going Broke

AuthorHouse

Contents

Foreword..............................................................................................xiPart One..............................................................................................1Suggestion 1 One man's trash is another man's treasure...............................................3Suggestion 2 Making a silk purse from a sow's ear....................................................5Suggestion 3 Reduce, Reuse, Recycle..................................................................7Suggestion 4 Mary, Mary quite contrary, how does your garden grow?...................................11Suggestion 5 Go high class...........................................................................13Suggestion 6 Wipe out paper towel expenses...........................................................15Suggestion 7 Go old school...........................................................................17Suggestion 8 No vampires here!.......................................................................20Suggestion 9 Paper or plastic? NEITHER!..............................................................23Suggestion 10 Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain...................................................26Suggestion 11 Baby its cold (hot) outside.............................................................28Suggestion 12 I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down...................................33Suggestion 13 It's all relative.......................................................................35Suggestion 14 Old school isn't necessarily bad school.................................................38Suggestion 15 You light up my life....................................................................41Suggestion 16 Time is on your side, yes it is.........................................................44Suggestion 17 Here comes the sun, na na na nah .......................................................46Suggestion 18 Oh oh oh it's Magic!....................................................................49Suggestion 19 Don't charge it, Recharge it!...........................................................51Suggestion 20 Tanks a lot.............................................................................55Suggestion 21 Raindrops keep fallin' on my.... floor?.................................................57Suggestion 22 Showerheads.............................................................................59Suggestion 23 Cloth Diapers...........................................................................61Suggestion 24 Computer Settings.......................................................................64Suggestion 25 Faucet Aerators.........................................................................66Part Two..............................................................................................69Part Three............................................................................................811. Mom had a WHAT in the yard?........................................................................812. New house, not so new dilemma......................................................................823. He who has the most toys...........................................................................834. Clothes shopping the easy fun way..................................................................85Part Four.............................................................................................871. Eco-friendly solutions.............................................................................872. Stories from other people..........................................................................943. The possibilities in the green business............................................................1014. Interesting ideas..................................................................................103

Chapter One

Most likely, you did think of it. None of this is new. It's just put together for easy reference. You may end up kicking yourself, as I did, when you realize just how easy these things really are. Most of these suggestions won't alter your lifestyle much, if at all, and will cost close to nothing. I did mention that quite a few of these suggestions will cost you less than $20 didn't I? Good.

This book is formatted specifically so you can go through the table of contents and go directly to the suggestions that interest you the most. You can go through and choose one or two this month and put them into practice, then come back next month and chose one or two more. At this rate, it will take you just over a year to put all of these things into practice. If you are ready to see more savings a little faster, then go through and choose all the suggestions that are free. Put all of them into practice. Then you will have a little bit of money you aren't accustomed to having and you can use that initiate some of the other suggestions that aren't free.

Nothing in this book should cost you more than about $80.00. Even if you decide not to employ all of the ideas in this book, please keep this in mind; everything you do, each tiny little thing, makes an impact. Even with just one person doing it, there is still an impact. It's OK if you live in an apartment and just can't have a garden or if you just don't have the time to take care of it. You can do other things that help you and the environment.

Don't feel guilty if you can't do all of these. Doing any of them is a step in the right direction. It is becoming part of the solution, rather than the problem. Be proud of the ideas you have chosen to participate in, be very proud. Teach your friends, your children and yourself to live with Mother Nature rather than in spite of her.

Here we go ...

SUGGESTION 1

One man's trash is another man's treasure

Freecycle(tm)

A few years ago, I heard about a program called Freecycle(tm) and decided to give it a try. The explanation I got when I asked about it was this: We throw away so many perfectly good items every month that simply go to the landfill and do no one any good, least of all, Mother Earth.

Why not see if anyone else wants them first? I thought it was a great concept. There are a few rules to Freecycle(tm), but they aren't hard to follow. First, your first post must be an offer, in the spirit of giving. Beyond that, each particular area has its own rules, which they inform you of when you join.

Here is how to join. Go to www.freecycle.org. From there, find the group in your area and click on it. You are automatically directed to a yahoo group page where you can join the group. If there isn't one in your area you can find the link on that same page to help you start your own. I think all areas should have this. I have received some of the most wonderful items from this service!

Best of all, EVERYTHING IS FREE!!!!

PROS

a. Lower your carbon footprint

b. Save money by getting items from the list

c. Meet some great people and make some new friends along the way

d. Everything is free!

CONS

e. This will fill up your inbox very quickly, unless you are only offering things, then you can filter out the offer postings. You may want to set up a new email account just for this.

f. You have to be quick if you want something another member is posting.

TIDBIT: Is your coffee pot working slower then usual and you're ready to buy a new machine? Don't! First try cleaning it out with vinegar & water. Vinegar will help clean the calcium deposits clogging the machine causing it to brew slower then usual.

After a good cleaning & rinsing - your coffee maker should work as good as new

On to the next suggestion.

SUGGESTION 2

Making a silk purse from a sow's ear

Compost your organic waste

We all have leftovers from what we eat or how we prepare our food. This goes down the drain, into the compactor or in the trash can. Why? Take all of your organic waste from the kitchen and even your dryer lint, put it in a compost bin outside (not against the house, though I know that it's tempting). There are two reasons for this. First, the smell. Yes, it's going to smell a little, it's going to be full of rotting food, dryer lint, grass clippings, and even dog waste if you pick it up out of the yard. Secondly, decomposing material produces heat. Would you put a lit match next to something that will burn if you didn't want to burn it? No, of course not. I used scrap 1 by 6 wood and made a little box for my compost and a square (or almost square) piece of scrap plywood for the lid.

Once the composting process is in full swing, you can actually take the fully composted material and use it in your garden instead of buying soil or compost material from the store (hey, there's a few more pennies saved!). If you have chosen not to garden or you can't, there may be a community garden you can donate it to, or you could actually sell the compost material for a nominal cost. No, you won't get rich from it, but that's not what it's for.

PROS

a. Lower your carbon footprint

b. Lower your trash amount

c. Great for organic gardening

d. No more stinking trash cans from rotting food

e. You can use, donate or sell the composted material

CONS

a. It's a little extra work to take the scraps out rather than just throwing them in the trash or the disposal

b. A compost bin does require a small amount of maintenance

SUGGESTION 3

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Recycle (paper, plastics, cans and glass)

OK, I know you have heard this one so many times that you are tempted to skip over this part. Please bear with me and let me tell you what happened when I started composting and recycling at my house

It is only my son and I living in the house and I rarely have company. With that said, you wouldn't think we made much trash. You would be wrong. I was making more trash in a week than would fit into my 96-GALLON trashcan! No, I don't know how we did it either, but I fixed it. I was paying about $17/mo to rent the 96-gallon trashcan. I was also having to pay at least four $18 fees a month because the trash man always had to get out to load my trash can back up and empty it a second, and sometimes a third time!

So you figure that the minimum of these four fees is $72 a month I was paying ON TOP OF my regular water charges, which ran about $50 anyway! That's a lot of money for trash disposal!

I did some research on my city website and found out they have a recycling program. I paid the one time fee of about $10 bucks to get two recycle bins.

Thereafter I paid $2.10 a month for the recycling service to come get my recyclables each week. Once I started recycling, I only had about 1 bag of trash a week, if that. It also allowed me to move to a smaller trashcan, which also saved me some money on trashcan rental. So, now that I have you totally confused with all of that intangible stuff, let's do the math.

BEFORE:

96-gallon trash receptacle 17.00/mo

At least four "excess" fees $72.00/mo

For a total of $89.00/mo

(in addition to the water charges)

AFTER:

64-gallon trash receptacle $13.00/mo

Excess fees $ 0.00

Recycling fee $ 2.10/mo

For a total of $15.10/mo

(in addition to the water charges)

The difference between $89 and $15.10 a month is a whopping $73.90!!!!! THAT is money saved to jump up and down about! That is nearly three tanks of gas in my car, even at the prices the way they are now!! I put my recycle bin next to my trash can so it's almost no effort at all to separate the trash from the recyclables. For almost $75, I would say it was MORE than worth it!

If your city doesn't have a pick up service for the recycling bins, check Freecycle(tm) for some bins or buckets. Set them outside and fill them with recyclables. Once they are full, you will have to drive down to the recycling station to dump your recyclables in their bins. It's a little more work, but Mother Earth is worth it.

PROS

a. Lower your carbon footprint

b. Less trash to take out

c. Save money

d. Very little lifestyle change

CONS

a. Take out the recycle bin with the trash

b. If your city does not have a recycling pick up program, you may have to take your own recyclables in when your bin gets full.

TIDBIT: In a poll on the fourstateshomepage, this question was asked.

More and more companies are trying to be more environmentally friendly, or Green.

Is it important to you as a consumer that a company be more Green?

Yes (86.7%)

No (13.3%)

SUGGESTION 4

Mary, Mary quite contrary, how does your garden grow?

Plant a garden!

Check with your state or county agriculture or farm extension (they all have one) to determine which crops can be grown in your area and when to plant them.

These agencies will often offer free 'how to' booklets available for postage or free online. Remember that what you plant in south Texas and Vermont will differ somewhat.

While planting in the ground is the best way, if you live in an apartment building, then using pots or planters to grow tomatoes and other crops is an option. Try to get the pots from Freecycle(tm) as discussed in suggestion 1.

See if there is a discussion group online in your area to ask advice. Most people are more than happy to help you and it's a great way to make new friends. After making some new friends, you might even trade fruits and veggies with the growers in your area.

PROS

a. Lower your carbon footprint

b. Healthier, better tasting food

c. Easier access to food

d. Less money spent in the stores

e. Sell or trade your excess

f. Time in the garden is time to think

g. Less money spent in your gas tank

h. The little bit of exercise you get from tending your garden is good for you.

CONS

a. It's a bit of time, a bit of work and a bit of research

b. It's about $50 to start a small one (check for extra seeds on Freecycle(tm)-see suggestion 1)

c. You can't control the weather so you don't always get a good crop.

TIDBIT: No money saving here but check with your local animal shelter. Instead of sending your old rugs to the landfill, check with a local animal shelter to see if they can use them. Most shelters will also appreciate old towels, blankets, and sheets.

SUGGESTION 5

Go high class

Stop using paper napkins

I used to go through a lot of paper napkins with my son. I got on Freecycle(tm) one day and decided to see if anyone had any mismatched or unused cloth napkins I could have. Sure enough, I got about 15 from a very nice lady across town.

Some matched, some didn't, but I wasn't concerned about that. Until I could afford my own set of matched ones, this was perfect. I don't even buy napkins anymore! Yes, paper napkins are cheap, but they are even cheaper when you don't have to buy them at all! I use them until they need washing, throw them in the wash, hang them out and start over!

PROS

a. Lower your carbon footprint (I know, by now, it sounds like a ho-hum, but this is important)

b. Less trash in the trash cans

c. Save money by not having to buy napkins (try Freecycle first!)

d. Minimal change to your lifestyle

CONS

a. Washing them

Yes, that is really it! I just can't think of anything else that is bad about these.

TIDBIT: According to thedailygreen.com

Every moment you spend idling your car's engine means needlessly wasting gas, as well as wear and tear. Idling for more than 10 seconds uses more gas than it takes to crank your car. Overall, Americans idle away 2.9 billion gallons of gas each year, worth around $78.2 billion.

SUGGESTION 6

Wipe out paper towel expenses

Stop using paper towels

You know those paper towels in the big jumbo packs? Well I used to buy them like they were going out of style. Now they HAVE gone out of style, at least for those of us going green. I happened to see a TV commercial for this cloth of sorts that swore it was the best thing since sliced bread! (Don't they all?) I didn't figure it could hurt to try it, so I called and ordered a set of the Sham-Wow(tm) towels.

I have never been happier! I used to spend upwards of $20 a month of paper towels! I have now cut down to ONE roll of paper towels about every three months! That is some serious savings! There will always be some things you really do just need a paper towel for, but not very many.

A little trick I learned about these things, the hard way. First, you MUST wash them before you use them for the first time. Second, NEVER, EVER put them in an automatic dryer. These are hang-dry only.

PROS

a. Lower your carbon footprint

b. Save money by not buying paper towels

c. Minimal change to your lifestyle

CONS

a. You have to wash them

Again, there we go.... short and sweet.

TIDBIT: Recycling is a great way to help Mother Earth ... but why not shop smart and PRE-cycle? When you go to your local supermarket or store, consider buying only those goods that you can recycle. If a product is packaged in a container or wrapped in a material that can't be recycled ... don't buy it!

SUGGESTION 7

Go old school

Stop using your automatic dryer

I know this one sounds a little old fashioned, and like a lot of work, but please read through the section anyway. Then you will understand why I have included it.

I did an experiment one day. One that changed everything for me.

I had finally convinced my son to take a nap (not an easy task, believe me) and I turned everything in the house off that would normally be off while I was at work. Now, with everything off, I went outside to my meter.... it was just barely turning, and I do mean just barely. Well, this is great.... I went inside to turn on my dryer to dry a load of clothes. Mind you, I turned nothing else on at all. I went back out to the meter and low and behold! The meter was turning so fast I almost couldn't see the black tick marks on the disc!

That did it for me. I was done with using an automatic dryer. I could just see the money flowing out of my pockets with alarming speed as that disc spun around and around. Not acceptable! After turning the dryer off, I went hunting around the house for some nylon rope and some heavy duty hooks. I put up a temporary clothesline outside using the side of my house and the planks on my fence. A few weeks later I spent about $80 to get a collapsible clothes line from your home improvement store. Then about $3 on a bag that hung on the line and the clothespins. I don't use the dryer at all anymore, unless I am forced to by rain. You can set up a line indoors if you live in an area where it rains a lot. Those can also be found at your home improvement store.

PROS

a. Lower your carbon footprint..... significantly

b. Save money on your electric and/or gas bill ... ... a significant amount

c. I have found that my clothes dry faster on the line than in the dryer, thereby shortening the laundry task overall.

d. A little exercise is good for all of us

CONS

a. It is a fair amount of extra work, but worth the extra money it saved me.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Going Green Without Going Brokeby Diedra "DD" Holley Copyright © 2010 by Diedra "DD" Holley. Excerpted by permission.
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