Easy Things to Do Around the House to be More Environmentally Friendly

Being environmentally friendly is ingrained in my very being but maybe it’s not so natural for others so here are some simple things you can do around the house to become more environmentally friendly.

- Recycle aluminum cans and #1 plastic: this is the most rewarding because you can get cash in exchange – separate them out from the rest of your recycling and when you’ve collected a bunch take them to a recycling center (often found in grocery store parking lots)

- Recycle other metal, glass, and plastic: my city collects these curbside on garbage day (they take the aluminum and #1 plastic also but then I don’t get the cash for those)

- Recycle paper and cardboard: these are not collected curbside so I have to make a trip out to the city’s recycling center – I make sure I have a full car load before going to save on gas

- Switch to compact florescent bulbs: if you haven’t switched yet because you don’t like florescent white light then stop making excuses because you can buy “warm white” bulbs, just check the package and make sure it says “warm” or “2700k”

- Unplug your chargers when not using them: I think the electric toothbrush is the biggest electricity vampire, my father once asked me how I know this and I told him to feel the plug, it’s toasty even when the toothbrush is fully charged. I can go about 2 weeks on one charge so no need to keep it plugged in all the time.

- Use Rubbermaid or Gladware type containers for your lunch rather than Ziplock bags. They create a lot less waste. And if you do use Ziplock bags keep in mind that they are #4 plastic and can be recycled even though they are not marked.

- Put on a sweater and socks rather than turning the heat up

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It’s easy to recycle household waste like waste metal. You can take your old batteries to you local battery recycling point.

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