At work, I noticed a lot of paper gets tossed in the garbage.  5 steps away we have a recycling container.  I wonder why people don’t take the additional steps to help reduce waste.  Is it weird that I always pull out the paper waste from the garbage and move it to recycling?  I get a little embarrassed when people catch me doing this, but I always follow it up with a comment like, “I’m a recycler.” 

Is there anything that you do to conserve, recycle or reuse that you find embarrassing, but you do it anyways?  Is there anything that you wish your employer would improve on, in terms of going green?  If so, I would love to hear about it.

I’m an avid recycler, and I was shocked today when I went on my daily walk that I noticed lots of cans, bottles along my path and I didn’t do anything about it.  What shocked me even more is how many people also walked past this waste and also didn’t do anything. 

Going forward, I vow to leave my walking path cleaner than it was before I walked by.   I will pick up cans/bottles and dispose of them in an eco-friendly way.  If we all did our best to pick up one piece of  garbage on our walks, just imagine how clean our city would get?

Sorry everyone that it has been such a long time since I posted.  I continue to learn new ways to be green and reduce waste, but my more recent endeavor is to reduce what I purchase.  In order to reduce waste we must begin with reducing consumption.  There is a HUGE problem with overconsumption in the United States that I had to share it with you. 

A few statistics that I learned from a very cool video you must watch!  Actually there are several videos on that site, but in particular watch the one called “The Story of Stuff.”  It’s life changing, I promise!

• Every minute, 1,000 trees are destroyed in the Amazon Rainforests.
• In 30 decades (just over my lifetime) we have used 1/3 of our natural resources.
• If the entire world uses/consumes as much as the United States does we will need 3-5 planets just to dispose of  the waste. 

Garbage doesn’t just go away when you put your trash out on the boulevard.  It goes to a landfill and sits there for years, decades, centuries. 

Of all of the stuff that we buy, did you know that only 1% of that stuff is still in use 6 months later.  99% of the stuff we buy – spend money on ends up in the garbage in 6 months.  I’m shocked. 

Annie Leonard, the activist in the video has spend the last 10 years learning all about the life cycle of the stuff we buy; consume.  There is so many problems we ignore, or pretend doesn’t exist because it makes us uncomfortable.  We need to understand these issues, and change the way we live so we can share a better planet for your children, grandchildren.

Will you do me a favor and spend 20 minutes watching that video.  If you enjoy the video, please share it with someone you love.  We need to all band together, and make a difference.

As we are packing up to move soon, Ben decided to go through the closet storage in one of our bedrooms.  He came downstairs with a box loaded with cable cords, mouses and keyboards.  Stuff we’ve had for a long time, but never used.  I am glad he is giving this stuff up, but what do I do with it?  Our city of Fargo does an electronic recycling even once a year (they take in computers and tv’s).  That’s fine and dandy, but we only have computer parts.

I began searching for what to do with electronic waste on Google and I came across a link that gave me the answer.  Earthlink gave me several different places, depending upon what you want to recycle.  One retail store that sounds promising is Best Buy.   If you click on that link it will take you to a website that will help you find out what they take in.   It states that most things are recycled free with a few exceptions.  Other sites to consider is RadioShack.  They also have a trade in option if the electronics you have still has some value.  If it doesn’t have value, you can still recycle it through them.

I have a goal to get this done this week to clear the clutter in our home.  I will post again later to let you know how it went.  Do you have any other references on recycling electronic waste?  If so please leave me a comment below.  Thank you for visiting!

Of course, you say!  Well, it depends on what you buy.   If you end up buying in bulk, then end up throwing expired food away, then that isn’t green.  When you buy in bulk, make sure you will be able to use it before the expiration date.  This may be easy to figure out; buy the foods you always eat, or maybe just buy the staples for cooking each night.  Costco and Sam’s Club are examples of places you can bulk shop.  And I love these stores because you can find almost anything you want in a larger quantity.

When to not buy in bulk.  Well, as the example of food above is one example.  But another one is a couple of products that my husband bought in bulk, which we will have FOREVER.  He had the right idea when buying in bulk it tends to save you money.   First, Ben bought business envelopes.  It’s good these things don’t expire.  But he bought so many envelopes that we will be able to pass them down to our kids when they are adults.  Second, Ben bought 20 army green T-shirts.  He will be able to have a green T-shirt for every year for the next 20 years.   These things are boxed up and in storage.  To me, these things didn’t need to be purchased in mass quantity.

Do you have any problems buying in bulk?  Any stories you’d like to share?  I’d love to hear them.  If you have any ideas on how to buy in bulk without wasting, please write me a comment below!  Thanks for visiting!

Do you want to make a change in your life that makes a difference?  This is a new year and you can make simple changes to help the environment.    How do you start?  What are the simple things you can do to help?

1.  Recycle.  Recycling reduces the amount of garbage that goes into the landfill.  This has a snowball effect.  Less in the landfill means less methane in the atmosphere.  This means less of an impact on global warming.  Of course this is just one aspect of going green, but it is one of the most basic.

2.  Buy CFL’s.  This is such an easy thing to do.  I don’t want to waste the regular incandescent bulbs, so I will wait until they burn out then replace them with the CFL.  These use a fraction of the electricity with a lower wattage.

3.  Turn off the lights.  This doesn’t require you spending any money, just requires you to make the choice to shut off the switch after leaving a room.

4.  Plan your trips.  If you have errands to do, plan them in the most gas efficient way so you don’t have to drive out of the way.

5.  Plan your meals.  Planning your meals before you go to the grocery store will reduce the amount of food you end up throwing away because it goes bad.  Also keep track of what you have left so it doesn’t rot before the week ends.  Again, this leads to less garbage that goes into the landfill.

6.   Turn down the thermostat a couple of degrees when it’s cold, and up when it’s hot.  Also make sure the air conditioner is maintained.   Also check that the heater filter is replaced once a month.  Use fans when it’s too warm; they use less electricity than the air conditioner.

7.  Buy in bulk.  This puts less packaging in the landfill.  Any way we can divert garbage from ending in the landfill is a great change to make.

8.  Buy from local farmers/farmers markets.  This helps the local economy, and also the produce has to travel less distance to get to you.  Plus it’s fresher.

9.  Plant a tree.  Trees reduces the amount of carbon that ends up in the atmosphere.

10.  Buy recycled products.  This completes the cycle.  Creating demand for recycled products will make more companies realize that they should make products from renewable materials.  Thus closing the loop.

BONUS:  One last one idea.  Bring your canvas bags instead of taking home plastic bags.  Plastic bags are one time use items that take energy to create/recycle.  If you bring your canvas bags you can save these plastic bags ending up in the landfill and harming wildlife.

What changes will you  make this year to improve the condition of the planet?   These changes are just a beginning of what you can do.  Being green requires some thought and some time.  But in the end you are making the world a better place.  What new change are you making this year?  Please comment below.  Thank you very much for visiting!

I am wondering if you have any unique ways to use these objects instead of throwing them away.  I am going to write a short list on easy projects so you don’t ever have to throw away toilet paper rolls again!

1.  Artwork.  Just see this website.

2.  Use toilet paper rolls as packing material.

3.  Hamster or birds love these things; to hide in or chew on.

4.  Plant seedlings in it.  You can even plant the whole tube in the ground (with the seedlings) because it will decompose.

5.  These unique party favors.

6.  Kids crafts.

7.  Pen holder.

8.  Cut into 1 inch sections, decorate and use as napkin rings.

9.  Use them to wrap yarn or Christmas lights around.

10.  Use them as a candle mold.

Hopefully I left you with some creative ideas to use toilet paper rolls with.  If you have other ways you use them I would love to hear about them.  Please leave me a comment below.  Thank you for visiting!

I understand that electricity/heat are one of the major bills of the household.  I know that pretty well because our heat bill usually creeps up to $400 during the harsh winter months.  We are currently in that part of the year so I want to get some ideas on how to cut back on our electricity; not only to save money but to be green.  Here is a short list that I compiled to get you started.

1. Obviously turning off the lights is first and foremost.

2.  Do you really need the TV on all night while you are on Facebook too?  Pick up a book instead.

3.  Pack your freezer/fridge so it’s full.   If there is a lot of space, fill milk jugs with water and fill the voids.

4.  Use a toaster oven for your smaller baking needs.  It costs a fourth as much to operate a toaster oven than a stove.

5.  Set your thermostat to a lower temperature during the day when you are gone and at night.

6.  Hang your clothes outside.  It costs approximately $0.35 to dry a load of clothes.  If all Americans would use the clothesline or wooden drying racks, the savings would be enough to close several power plants.

7.  Change all of your light bulbs to Compact Florescent.  This is a pretty visual statistic: If every American home replaced just one light with a light that’s earned the ENERGY STAR, we would save enough energy to light 3 million homes for a year, save about $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent 9 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year, equivalent to those from about 800,000 cars.

8.  Christmas time is now over, but with the holiday season, some of us like to decorate with lights!  Here is an energy calculator if you are wondering how much those lights add to your energy bill each month.

9. Change out the air filter on your heater.  This will keep your furnace running at it’s top efficiency and the furnace will last longer.  It also will cut back on energy bills.

10.  Open windows instead of turning on the air conditioner.  Also keep the area around the air conditioner clean so that air flow is better.  Good maintenance will help the longevity.

Do you want to take this even further?  Why not do some of these steps at work?  Turn off your computer while you are away from your desk.  Turn off lights in rooms that aren’t used often.  Change out any inefficient lights and use fans to circulate the heat and air conditioning.   I would like the company I work for to become more green.  I am thinking about making a suggestion to them on simple changes.    Did you make any changes at work?  Are they a green company?  If so, what are they doing to reduce their impact?  Please leave me a comment below.    Thanks for visiting!

In the next two months, Ben and I will get getting our house cleared out of all of the junk we have collected over the years.  As we pack up our belongings we will find stuff we don’t use anymore.  What I intend on doing with these items is making a donation to our local thrift store.  I don’t throw out anything that still has some life left in them.

We have purchased a duplex, all on one level.  Ben and I have always wanted to get investment properties that help us diversify for our retirement.  We will rent out the other side and make a little bit of income from that.  This will help us with our mortgage on the duplex.  Also, since it is a one level duplex, I will be excited to see  smaller electricity bills from this new house.

Going green is about having a light impact on the environment, being a positive “green” influence on others, and also saving money.   What does going green mean to you?  Do you have ways of going green that you would like to share?  If so please leave a comment below.  Thanks for visiting!

It has been a while since I/we have blogged.  I have been a little behind on my research on going green.  I want to get back into learning how to be a greener consumer.   For now, we will not have the same format as we originally planned.  Ben has a lot of projects he is working on, so I will be doing some research/writing for a little bit until we can get back on track.

Did you have a Green Christmas?  I originally intended on making all of my Christmas gifts, or finding gifts at Thrift Stores that I can reuse.  I didn’t do that as I planned.  This Christmas season came up so fast that I just didn’t have time.   However, I did make some last minute gifts (truffles) and I had purchased some cute jars with a clip top that I gave as gifts.  They were unique and reusable.  The gift recipients will be able to use the jars again for whatever they would like, so there is really no waste on those gifts.   Throughout this year I will be working on making gifts that I can give this year and I will blog about my progress.  I still intend on making my own paper from all of the wrapping paper scraps that we have from 2009′s Christmas.  I am proud to announce that from the 2009′s scraps, I was able to wrap all of my gifts this year with just what I salvaged.

There are also things that I want to accomplish this year.  First, I want to make all of my gifts this year.  This may be difficult because I have a niece and nephew that may not appreciate homemade gifts, but would prefer toys.  I also have male family members that will be hard to make gifts for.  I will see this as a challenge I will overcome.    Second, I want to help one friend recycle.  I already talked to my friend about this idea and she will get back to me.  To me, recycling is really important for our future generations.  These things that we recycle not only become new items, but also reduces the amount of garbage we bring to the landfill-thus releasing less methane into the atmosphere.    Third, I would like to create even less waste than we already do.  I want to do this by really focusing on packaging on the products that we buy.  If you think about it, packaging may actually add cost to the items we buy.  Reducing packaging may help us save money.  I will keep you up to date on my research here.

I guess a few of these things will become my resolutions.  Do you have any green resolutions.  I would love to hear them if you can leave me a comment below.  Thanks for coming back to our blog.