SHARK BITES – How to “Go Green” For Cheap
Going green and becoming more eco-friendly doesn’t have to mean breaking your budget. There are a lot of easy,
cheap and efficient ways to become environmentally friendly in your life and in your home that you can start doing now. Here are just a few ideas to get started:
- Instead of purchasing newspapers for news and coupons, go online! Get your news on the web, and save some paper. You can also print coupons from your computer.
- Shut down computers, and unplug items that aren’t in use every night. Although they might not be turned on, they are still drawing energy. That adds up over time.
- Purchase rechargeable batteries. This saves a ton of money AND is eco-friendly! You can get the best selling rechargeable battery unit HERE.
- Go for cloth napkins instead of purchasing paper towels.
- Recycle! Learn about all of the ways you can recycle, what happens when you do, and what you can actually recycle – all while earning points to redeem for free items with Recyclebank.
- Instead of buying dryer sheets, soak a dish cloth in a natural fabric softener. This can be thrown in the dryer with your laundry and reused several times before having to re-soak it.
- Donate your plastic shopping bags to grocery stores and give your old newspapers to animal shelters. Purchase reusable grocery bags and totes for future use.
- Try purchasing eco-friendly products for your home, instead of chemical-filled items. Some may be more expensive, but with household and beauty products, you’ll use far less than traditional brands, making them more efficient.
- Love your morning Starbucks? Grab a travel mug instead of getting the paper cups. Plus, you’ll save 10¢ on each cup when you use your reusable mug, and produce less trash.
- Take advantage of your phone, computer and mobile device to purchase your movie and travel tickets via apps. This saves on paper, and you won’t forget the tickets at home!
- Buy houseplants. Let them give your home more oxygen and soak up carbon dioxide. Not only will they add some charm to your space, they are helping you breathe better!
- Change your non-dimmable light bulbs from incandescent to compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs). CFLs come in all shapes and sizes and even many shades of the color spectrum. You do not have to have a white glare or even use the curly bulbs. Incandescent bulbs are going to be obsolete soon, so educate your kids about how much energy CFLs can save. Because CFLs have a trace of mercury in the bulb, they must be disposed of at a recycling center.
- Only run the dishwasher and washing machine when they are full. This saves money, too, because the same amount of energy is used regardless of the size.
- Pack your lunch in insulated bags or containers. You can also prep more lunches for each week and freeze or refrigerate them for quick and easy meals throughout the week.
- Cover your pool when it’s not in use. This helps keep evaporation to a minimum, and helps save you from using more water for refills.
~Sharky
What is “Shark Bites”? Shark Bites is a money-saving tips series here on FreebieShark that aims to help you and your family get the most out of your money. “Shark Bites” posts are both educational and straight to the point. Just another way FreebieShark is helping you save!
