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Spring has sprung and with it, thoughts of green echo through all of our minds. To prove it, we've taken all of your latest suggestions and compiled them in one place. Here's what the Cool People have to say about how they go green (and how you can, too).
A few weeks ago, we asked how you got creative and reused things around the office. And from all over the US, we heard your ideas and passed them along to others so that they, too, could do their part to save the planet from their desk.
Now recently, we've solicited your ideas on things you do to reuse nearly everything at home or how you go green each and every day.
Thus, to satisfy your appetite to save the world, we're leveraging the wisdom of Cool People Everywhere to provide this long and important list of nearly everything that one can do to make things a bit greener this spring:
I keep canvas re-usable tote bags in my car and use them every time I make a purchase at the grocery store/Wal-Mart, Cosco, etc. My grocery store even gives me a 4 cent credit for each bag.
I make all my own baby food with organic fresh veggies and fruits. By doing this I create significantly less waste.
Today I wrote another little "Green Tip" column for our company newsletter. All 600+ employees get a copy, and I get to provide suggestions about how to make our corporate culture less caustic towards creation. It's fun to hear people's responses and watch some stubborn energy wasters slowly make little changes (almost in secret, like they don't want anyone to notice!).
I am riding my bike, instead of driving my car.
We just purchased several reusable grocery bags and I keep them in the car, so that we don't keep carrying home the plastic bags.
Thanks for reminding me that I am green every day because I reuse one glass all day long! I've done that for so long that I hadn't even realized I was being green!
The greenest thing I am doing today is starting a recycling program at the school where I teach. I am worn out from hauling home recycling, and if the program is at my school, more gets recycled!
The one green thing we shall be doing today is watering (unless it is done naturally through God's gift of rain) the new tree that we planted in the back yard yesterday!
I buy a number of bulk food items from my Co-op; usually the same ones. I take my own quart and gallon-size bags to put them in. The large, flimsy ones they furnish are difficult to empty into other containers, so it's actually easier for me to take the heavier ones in which the items will be stored, which I re-use forever.
My one green thing for St. Patrick's Day today is reusing a glass container for my water instead of purchasing my regular bottled water.
What I'm doing green today is taking a walk on the beach with my dog while bringing a trash bag and collecting trash from the beach. I'm accomplishing three things: walking my dog, getting my exercise and doing a little bit of good.
I am green today because I put out some clover seed in my backyard and most likely will be planting more very soon. I also will do my duty to turn off any unnecessary lighting.
First I use the most natural brand of fabric sheets I can find. Then, I cut them in half. As I use each half sheet I put them in the dryer in a small mesh bag. I have several old dryer sheets in the mesh bag at any given time. When they are done with this phase I tuck the small mesh bag(s) in my son's tennis shoes in his gym bag, which helps the shoes stay dryer and fresher smelling.
When I am making tea, if the tea bag is used up, I put the teabag in a dirty cup so I'm not creating more dishes. If I use a spoon for something like cheese, I will use it to mix my dogs food so she gets a taste of it.
I bought a bulk-pack of eggs and it had a large segmented lid. It is now in my jewelry drawer holding earrings.
I have really gotten into sharing books. Mostly the best sellers that we buy, read once, store on our book cases and eventually donate to the library. Now I am sharing them with 4 different people. They share theirs with me too. My sister-in-law picks them up from me in SC when she visits her daughter here in SC. She takes them to Florida to read. When she comes back she gives them to her daughter to read. I also ship back and forth to my best friend in Maryland. I send her a box book rate, she reads them and ships her books back to me. The James Patterson Women's Murder Club books 1 through 5 have now been read by 4 people. How about that for saving trees? When they are all done, I will then donate them to the library. We are having fun with this and all saving money since we email to see who is going to purchase which new book.
My favorite re-use tip is to take dryer sheets after they have been used and stick them under the seat in my car or in my drawers with my clothes and they make a great, subtle air freshener.
I keep empty pill/prescription bottles or film canisters (for those of us who still use 35mm cameras) for safety pins, bobby pins, sewing needles, and other small things, especially when they are needed to travel. They also are great to toss jewelry in when you're traveling!
I've been known to take CDs and DVDs that are scratched beyond repair, glue on an old scrap of felt, and turn it into a coaster.
Whenever I run the water at the kitchen sink - to wash my hands, rinse a dish, or clean vegetables - I make sure there are dishes under the water flow to catch the water for a re-use. I use that water again for dishes that really need a pre-rinse or scrubbing before going in the dishwasher.
One member of our household still likes to use Styrofoam plates, and that's not about to change. So I have taken to sneaking the barely dirty plates out of the garbage can, washing them like a regular glass plate, drying it nicely, and placing it back in the stack of its nefarious kin in the cupboard. If this person notices he's reusing the same Styrofoam plates over and over again, he doesn't let on! I also do this with his disposable plastic cups. Hee hee, sneaky environmentalism.
When I use paper bags from the store, I reuse them by cutting envelopes out of them. Just open a regular envelope, trace it, cut and fold. Its saves me huge on buying envelopes.
I use the cardboard rolls inside TP and paper towels to store extension cords (label length of cord on outside) and rolled up plastic produce bags that can be re-used.
We save all Ziploc bags to reuse as doggie poop bags (since we have small breed dogs, the plastic grocery bags would be overkill for this purpose). (We use the plastic grocery bags as liners for small wastebaskets, such as in the bathroom.)
I use soda can tabs for art projects.
Used dryer sheets make a pretty good dustball to get those dust bunnies. To make the ball, first stack up several sheets, then connect a couple (or 3) old bread wrapper twist ties end to end to make a longer one. Pinch the dryer sheets in the middle and secure with the twisted twist tie. Not too good for the fine collectibles, but works great on larger surfaces, like bookshelves, headboards, end tables, etc. Also, my dryer has a tendency to release a bit of lint and the old dryer sheet is good for wiping up that little "gift".
I re-use aluminum foil rectangles over and over again to wrap up breakfast tacos because I find the foil is rarely soiled. Not only does it save the tedium of ripping off the right shape for the taco but it also keeps the meal warm.
I reuse water. If water bottles are partially full and left behind at my house, I combine the leftovers and use it to water plants or for a refreshing drink for my cats. Then, I recycle the bottles.
As a single person who doesn't really enjoy cooking for one I often will buy prepared deli items that come in plastic boxes. I then wash and save these boxes over and over until they crack or melt beyond use. I haven't bought a plastic storage box in a year! I still think some other material could be used by our delis but I'm doing what I can to decrease the total amount of plastic in the local dump.
We wash and reuse our ziploc baggies until they fall apart, we use cloth napkins (I even keep one in my backpack to use on the go), we save and reuse paper towels after Windexing mirrors, etc, we carry canvas bags in our cars so no matter where we shop, we don't have to use bags provided by the store.
Nice job Cool People!
And of course, you can always send your tips and ideas straight to us. Who knows? We may (re)use one of yours in a future "5 Minutes of Caring" post and send you a free copy of New Day Revolution as a thank you!
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