Earth Day is next week, so I thought this would be a good time to talk about ways we've found to economically live greener. I've seen some really excellent ideas in various threads here, so I know y'all are just brimming with ideas I would never have thought of

Of course I recycle everything my county facility will accept. I found these "pop out hamper" thingies at the Dollar Tree. They are kind of like mesh laundry bags with flexible metal that allows them to pop into shape and then fold back up. I use these for my recyclables and I love not having to scrub out those hard plastic recycling bins anymore, not to mention not having to lug them around whether empty or full.

One thing I have been able to finally accomplish is switching to 100% rechargeable batteries. I buy good 9v rechargeables because that's what powers my smoke detectors. Other than those, I only buy AA and AAA batteries because I got C and D adapters that convert an AA cell into either of those sizes. I also got THIS Solar Charger (from the non-featured merchant for $31.xx+ship) and I have it sitting on the dash of my vehicle so I always have charged batteries. If I do have to buy batteries when I'm out and about for whatever reason, I buy the Rayovac Hybrid batteries. Those things have been great.

I can't say I've done anything specific to be "green", but I'm not big into wasting money either so the "green" I have is mostly a side effect of saving $$ on energy bills. The house (where I live and my rental) have CFL's wherever possible and as much insulation as I can add. HE gas furnace in one, flame retention oil burner in the other.
Recycling is mandatory here, just set the stuff out at the curb and the city picks it up and separates metal from glass from plastic.
About 1/2 my back yard will be garden this year, lol. There'll be green stuff in there, does that count?

You could always start a compost pile for your gardening.

I should probably try to be "greener" but, I'm too lazy right now, and the few moves I did try to cut energy costs backfired (those stupid energy efficient bulbs burned out within 4 months, and this apt is REALLY bad with the whole insulation thing).

I try to keep the gas usage down, but I still have to fill up about 2.5 times every two weeks. (Kia Spectra..I think it holds about 11-13 gallons? Not sure).

We don't recycle right now. There's no recycling pick up at our apt, and it's a pain. I'm gonna try to start when we move though.

Of course gardening counts! What's greener than that? I have a black thumb but I'm trying to get better. This has actually turned out OK for me, though, since my kids will help with planting. They figure that there is something wrong with my hands and it kills plants, so they pick them up and plant them for the sake of the plants

I wanted to start composting, but I know the critters would get into it (plus it would stink). I saw this really great composter that is plastic and critter-proof, but it's like $70.

I don't even have garbage pick up here It's available, but since I'm going to the transfer station to recycle anyway, I might as well lug the garbage too. The trip there isn't added, really, it only adds an extra 2 miles 3 days a week to my regular PO trip.

ETA: I've switched to CF bulbs as well. Dollar General frequently has promotions where I can get them pretty cheap there after rebate, I always get them during that time, and also got a bunch when Walmart had 8 packs clearanced last summer. I've had a few go out quickly, too, but most of them do seem to last awhile - not sure what was wrong with those duds.

Heh. I said I was going to plant a garden. I didn't say it was going to actually work. Last time all I got was an awful lot of happy, well-fed rabbits.

Huh.

My family must be gardening experts. Every time we'd do a garden, we'd have tomatoes and squash and beans and peas, and okra and all that stuff out the whazzoo.

ETA:

They had a segment on composting on the news here...Apparently, if ya get the right composter, it won't stink (at least not when the lids on. ) and it's basically air-tight, so critters can't get in either...

Well see, you're doing it different then. I plant mine out in the yard.

that roto-tiller's gotta be a bitch.

Well, we put it in my great-uncle's yard. I meant, silly, that we had so much that EVERYONE within like a 10 mile radius AND at my dad's side job (security at a local hospital) were alway happy to see a reduction in their grocery bill.

Great-uncle would till up the area, then we were responsible for planting, weeding, and picking. He'd water.

He had TONS of cats, a fox or two, other normal critters in the area (there was a brushy/woody area near him)...But no fence or anything. We didn't do anything special or anything.

I am just the weak link in my family. My Dad could plant a rose petal and in a year there would be a 10 year old blooming bush! I just got a mutated gene or something in that regard

That composter thing is probably exactly the one I was talking about. It's critter and smell proof and actually very nice looking - but it's pricey.

I have a family of rabbits living under my shed. They came with the place. Do they really eat a lot? I think we now have a cat, too and my dogs are none too pleased. If I were to try and keep the rabbits out, I'd have to plant in the front yard. Now, I live in the country, but none of my neighbors have their veggie gardens in the FRONT yard. They already consider me a Yankee, I don't know what they'd think if I did that.

reuseable shopping bags. Plastic does not break down fast at all.

Ghost power loss - appliances plugged into outlets but not being used still use power when plugged in. Unplug those toasters, toaster ovens, etc when not in use.

Buy reuseable water bottles instead of the throw away kind.

Install radiant barrier in your attic.

switch to energy saving light bulbs.

save water - shower with a friend.

Personally I celebrate "Earth Day" buy burning a 55-gallon drum of industrial carbon dust just to annoy the hippies.

BUT, if you want to talk about saving money, it so happens that I've switched over to 100% wind power electricity. I live in an area where we have some degree of deregulation and competition, and I found that I could save about 23% on the price of kilowatt-hours by switching from the greedy former monopoly using fossil fuels (mostly nat gas), to a competitor's all-windmill all-the-time plan.

A couple of things on the rechargeable batteries:

1: A solar charger will never pay for itself vs. a standard charger. A standard charger uses very little power. Another thing to consider is the charger will sit in the sun and the batteries will get hot, severely reducing their lifespan.

2: Rechargables only keep their charge for about 30 days, not good for smoke detectors/remotes etc.

3: The C and D adapters don't work well for high drain devices (precisely why the manufacturer of the device chose to use the to begin with) Look for a "wolf in sheeps clothing" when buying C/D, rechargeables. Make sure that the MAH rating is significantly more than a AA, they should weigh a lot more also.

All that being said rechargeable AA's are EXCELLENT of you have a toddler with a bunch of toys that seem to go through them like water !!!

1) compost heap
2) use coffee grounds for acid-loving plants (roses, camelias)
3) buy our produce from a local grower during their growing season
4) reduce car trips
5) bring my own bags when I'm out shopping
6) when I eat at the company cafeteria, I use real flatware and a real plate, not the disposeable stuff
7) use CF bulbs where I can or lower-wattage bulbs where I can
8) use fountain pens so I'm not littering the world with disposable pens. There are new permanent fountain pen inks, so there's no reason not to use them
9) recycle everything we can, though we do miss things occasionally
10) growing some of our own fruits and vegetables plus gathering up some items of friends and neighbors. We have a friend who makes sorbet out of our fruit harvests, plus we make jam and stuff. Yummy and ecological

1. I got sold on reusable bags for groceries after learning that the petroleum used to make 6 plastic bags is enough to go one mile in your car. Plus I bought one to use and found out how many more groceries you can get into one bag, and they dont rip...I love my reusable bags, even got a thermal one for cold items.

2. the new lightbulbs.

3. turned down the water heater and have the whole family working on less water usage.

4. Reusable water bottles, and your own water purifier.

5. Im so excited to plant the garden and go to farmers markets!

Doesn't sound so bad, considering it only takes about 2.4 fluid ounces of gasoline to make my car go one mile. But I'd prefer paper if I can get it.

The solar charger has already paid for itself because I keep it in my car and have batteries on hand rather than having to buy more while I'm out. I don't have to keep it in the sun if the batteries in it are already charged, only when I'm swapping drained cells for charged It takes the same time to charge cells as it would if it were electric (a few hours). This keeps all the mp3 players, handheld games and cameras working while we go (or when camping, etc).

My 9v batteries still have charge left at the 6 month changeout intervals. They were higher priced cells, but I think they were worth it as they do retain their charge.

Also, those hybrids hold their charge almost as long as a disposable alkaline. They come out of the pack fully charged as well. I don't know what tests may say about their lifespan vs. other rechargeables, but I have not had any cells go bad in the 2 years since I picked up the first pack. I have only seen them available in AA and AAA cells, though.

I think they're really coming along with developing reliable rechargeables. Silly as it may be, that's exciting to me

I'm glad to see the technology coming along, I haven't used rechargeables in a while due to the pitfalls I mentioned but I think we're going to give them another try.

I can't find ANY C/D batteries that are more than the 2500mah you get from AA batteries. Are ALL C/D batteries just AA's in a C/D case?

You know I hadn't given it much thought before this discussion, but I really don't use many C or D cells. I do have some battery space generic cells, and those adapters, but most things we have use AA. The output is the same 1.5v, and perhaps since the technology is advancing they are able to use the smaller cells more often than previously? I really don't know that much about them on a technical level, I just like being able to use them without issue and not tossing cells into the landfill.

I have noticed the same thing you brought up, though. The C and D always seem to be the same capacity as whatever AA/AAA is available?

The 9v I bought were from a battery store (battery warehouse or something like that?). Again, because I'm not keen on the technical side, I don't know why these were super great, I just asked the guy at the counter which would be best for my purpose and he suggested these, which turned out to work exactly as I had hoped. He did explain why, but my eyes glassed over and I don't remember

For reusable bags, I'm most fond of the ones from Chico Bags. My local store has them at the counter, but I've discovered that I prefer these to all other brands I've tried.

I just bought three of those green bags (kinda like beach bags ) that HEB sells. They're very sturdy and whole a LOT more than the plastic bags.. But it can be a pain when the bagger comes and just starts throwing anything into 'em. I like them bagged in a specific way.

Compact fluorescents (only had one batch that died early all others last a very long time, much longer than incandescent)

No bottled water, we have a PUR filter on the sink and a filter on the icemaker, and use insulated mugs

low flow shower head

combine car trips, and no random wasteful trips

Need to do more, will start recycling soon

I found some D's rated at 10,000mah but they are $11 EACH. $11 D cell

That's really high. I suggest you check out batteryspace, that's where I got the bulk of my cells. They have combo deals that make the individual cell cost very reasonable. Also, their BC1HU charger is an excellent unit.

We're gradually replacing our lightbulbs with energy-efficient ones and accumulating reusable cloth shopping bags. We've also replaced our heating/AC with more energy-efficient versions and replaced most of our old, drafty windows. (House is 25 years old so it was time to do both.)

I've also got a philosophy of buying good things that last (clothes, shoes, tools, kitchen utensils). More expensive in the short run, but cheaper in the long run and kinder to the environment because you're not throiwng away broken/worn out stuff after a year and buying new.

that's like 400 mi / week!

Ways we are trying to "Go Green"
1. Recyle everything that can be recyled -- plastic, paper, etc...... We have gotten to the point where we do not even have a full bag of trash to put out each week.

2. Anything with metal in it gets loaded into a truck once a month and sold to a metal recycler. We own a small used car lot, so this can be auto parts that needed to be replaced. It is even the aluminum cans that customers come into the lot with in their hands. We set up recyling bins in our building, so it makes it easier for our customers to recyle.

3. Buying food in bulk. This has greatly reduced the amount of packaging we were tossing each week.

4. Cooking large meals, then freezing. This has reduced our energy bill. It also helps with next # on list

5. Keeping freezer full. It is more efficient to have a full freezer than an empty one

6. Reuseable shopping bags

7. Light footed on the gas pedal. Keeping tires full of air.

8. Energy saving light bulbs -- these really are helping keep the bills down

9. Water heater off when not in use -- gas water heater, so we've seen a reduction of $75 a month just doing this

10. If it isn't in use, it is unplugged -- chargers, appliances suck energy when not even in use

11. Friendly cleaners -- vinegar and water is a great window cleaner, baking soda

12. Walking or biking to anything nearby -- weather permitting

13. Buying used -- thrift stores, craigslist

14. If you don't use it, sell it or donate it.

15. Composting food scraps -- this is going into this year's garden.

16. Garden -- we rent, but containers work great. We go to construction sites and ask for their big paint pails when they are done. Drill a hole in the bottom, prop up on bricks for drainage.

17. Rechargeable batteries have been a lifesaver. We have 2 boys and it seems everything they use has batteries in it.

18. Wash clothes in cold water. Dry on a line. We don't have an HOA, so this is possible for us.

Great list, brubaker Did you know white vinegar and water is also a sanitizer and deodorizer? I use it for my main all-purpose cleaner.

How are you handling the composting? Do you have a special container or just a mesh wire set up?

Athena, your point of buying durable goods is also very good. I was raised buying cheap, so this has been a habit I had to work hard to break. It really does add up, though, when you have to replace things faster, even at half the cost you still spend more on something that doesn't last.

In some cases you can buy used high quality good for about the same price a cheap good brand new. Many people can't get over the "buying used" hurdle, especially since so much stuff is bought on impulse. We have very little stuff in our house we bought new, and most of it we can sell for what we paid for it when we don't need/want it anymore. If you buy quality used stuff and resell when done you have made no "footprint" on the environment for that item other than the energy it used.

Another thing to do is only allow 2 Heat A/C switch overs per year. Once you turn the A/C on in the spring no more running the heat until next fall. Once you turn the heat on in the fall no more A/C until next spring. It's not easy if you live in an area where the weather fluctuates a lot but it will save you a TON on your utility bills !!

We have a tumbling composter. We rent, so a whole set up wouldn't work for us.

I grew up in a house where we paid good money for the things we got and then we used them till they couldn't be used anymore. I think my parents still have their rotary telephones, lol.

Just ordered low discharge batteries and a LaCross 900 charger. Hope the $93 expenditure it pays off. I was looking at the recycling box for our batteries (to take to the city recycling center) and realized how many we were going through. Keys toys eat the heck out of them...

It really does add up! I trained my kids early with rechargeables. I give them each 6 each of AA and AAA batteries that belong to them. I got different colored cells, so they know which batteries belong to whom. This also helped get them in the habit of removing batteries from toys they played with for a solid week, but then made it's way down to the bottom of the toybox with batteries left in it. Now it's video games and such, but the principle still remains that they have to take the batteries out of one thing to use them in another.

I think you're going to be pleasantly surprised at the difference in the cells now. I remember that you couldn't even use rechargeables in most things. They are really awesome now If you're out and about and HAVE to get some, try those hybrids. I pay about $6 for a 4 pack of cells, but they work in my digital camera and anything else I've ever stuck them in, performing as good as any high end alkaline IME.

That's what I bought, the hybrids, 20 AA's and 8 AAA's. The charger came with regular NiMh4 AA's and 4 AAA's. My harmony remote eats AAA's like candy, especially if I use the glow feature much. Now I can switch the glow to a longer delay time and not worry about batteries

The Charger is one of those high tech jobs that's supposed to preserve the life o the batteries. I read the reviews on Amazon and people seemed to be really happy with it, especially for the price. All the stuff was on sale over at Thomas plus free shipping. I even found a coupon code for an additional 5% off.

I don't know about that. We have horrible gas mileage and A LOT of stop and go city usage. DH goes to work at night, but often gets stuck in the evening traffic, and I go to school in the mornings and get stuck in THAT traffic nightmare. I can guarantee you, we do NOT see the advertised gas mileage, even for city usage (and I'm not sure the 2002's have the same mileage as the current Kia Spectra's either).

I haven't done the math, so I don't know what it would "average out" to in terms of mileage, but are you sure you did it for every TWO weeks?

ETA: I just did the math and if we got the stated city MPG (which I know we don't), it would work out to about 260* (I think it's only 11 gal tank). Like I said though, based on the state of our car, I doubt we really get the stated MPG. Also, 2.5 times a week is really an average. Some weeks we only fill up twice during that two week period, sometimes we fill up three times...And on the weeks we drive to Corpus Christi, Texas, we fill up 4-5 times (depending on how much we drive down there as well).

Just cuz I'm curious...I'll make sure to note the mileage on Friday (when DH gets paid, and then again next Friday and the one after that).

It very well could be pretty high, because on the weekends we try to get a lot accomplished and/or have "family time"--which to *us* consists of getting out of the house and going to parks or hike and bike trails, and we like to go to certain stores to look around.

*based on http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calculatorC...=1&id=17574 using the city mileage for our *normal* driving usage (90% of the time, it's in city).

12 gal tank (averaging you estimate in your post)

25mpg (though you said you're getting horrible gas mileage, I'm going by what a friend of mine gets in his kia, because he didn't believe me that my camry got better mileage than his car )

300 miles per tank (12 gal tank x 25 mpg)

in a 14 day period, you fill up approx 2.5 times

that's 750 miles divided by 2weeks = 375 miles per week.



that's how I figured it.


really, that averages out to 50 miles per day, which in some areas of the country isn't hard to do.

if you get 20 mpg then it'd be closer to 300 mi per week

I was going by the STATED city MPG which according to the site I posted was 19 MPG for my 2002 Kia Spectra. I did the math....the last time I filled up (last week), I paid about $36 and change. It was so far on E, I was on fumes. Based on the approximate price of gas (wasn't sure if I paid $3.25 or 3.30), that would be 11 gallons.



ETA: I do realize that we could *save* some gas $$ if we were willing to stay home all day on his days off, but by then I'm usually going stir-crazy and he likes to get out as well. And honestly, it's not fun to stay home and twiddle thumbs all day every day.

11? damn. my suv gets better city mileage than that.

I'd consider myself LUCKY if I actually got the stated 19 MPG (that's the "new" way they figure it, the "old" way says 22, but didn't they say that was deceptive or something? ). Somehow, I'm figuring it's not that. I could be wrong.

To be fair though, I didn't choose this car. My dad said the only choice I had was the color, and I'm not one whine about gifts.

I do want to cut back, but personally, I think we'd see better results cutting back in the "eating out" area. That's one of the areas that is darn hard to *keep* cut back for us..Though I'm sure cutting back on the going out on days off would help it.

I drive about 90-95% city and my 2000 sentra gets about 22-25 mpg, my SO's 2004 Elantra gets 20-24, also 90% city. I have gotten as much as 35 mpg highway with the Sentra on trips.

I take public transportation to and from work. My employer provides me with a free transit pass for trains and buses, so what do I have to lose? I could drive my gas guzzling SUV, but I can put the gas money to something more worthwhile. Our other car is a fuel efficient Toyota Corolla.

We also recycle all of our recyclables and don't use any chemicals in our flower garden.

my camry I've had 8 years, it's a 1997, I bought it 2 years old with 29,000 and now has 168,000..... it STILL gets 33-35 on the hwy and 25-28 in town!

I heart my camry!

I want a smart car.

could anything be smaller than what you already have?

That's great!

I think the Kia was bought with like 12 miles on it. It's now got almost 111,000 (but to be fair I was going back and forth to Kansas a lot in 2002-2003 + back and forth to Corpus Christi.

Whenever we get enough money/ability, I would like to get a much more fuel efficient car (we'll probably still keep the Kia for one person to drive though).

I would love to get a smart car or a hybrid, but I have a feeling that'll be out of our budget range.

Things we do:

1. We recycle...paper, plastic, glass, aluminum. I honestly didn't know there were places in the country where recycling wasn't automatically included with your trash service!

2. I am fanatical about turning stuff off...lights, TV, water, etc., when not in use. I wish we could switch to all CFL but they give DH migraines.

3. DS wears cloth diapers!! This was more of a financial decision than an environmental one, but I still get a little warm fuzzy everytime I think about how many disposable diapers we're NOT contributing to the nearest landfill.

4. We use paper bags for our groceries, then use those bags for sorting our recycling. My only beef with Walmart is that they only have plastic bags, but fortunately my local grocery store is a plastic bag recycling collection point, so when I do shop at Walmart I save the bags and drop them in the recycling bin on my next trip to the store.

5. We stopped buying bottled water and instead bought a Pur pitcher (the biggest one with the spout on the side). We already have a million reusable bottles laying around, and now they're actually getting used!

Things I'm going to try to do:

1. Switch to reusable grocery bags. (We have a million paper bags stockpiled for the recycling.) I've been putting off the reusable bag thing because the ones my store carries seem awfully small, and I've not been motivated enough to track down some bigger ones.

2. Minimize use of a/c this summer in both my house and car...more open windows.

3. I'm thinking about attempting a container garden on the deck...not that I have the first idea where to begin.

I thought the HEB ones looked kinda small too...But we got three, and they hold a CRAP LOAD!!!!!

We do lots of frugal/earth friendly things.

1. Cook more "from scratch" meals, reducing the amount of packaged foods reduces the amount of packagING we are throwing away.

2. Compost. We bought the composter thing when our city was sponsoring a discounted rate on them. I stood in line for a while, but it reduces trash and hopefully I'll get some good garden soil improvement... when I actually start a garden.

3. Cloth/reusable stuff instead of disposable.
Cloth napkins for the dinner table.
Cloths for cleaning instead of paper towels
Cloth diapers/Female products (SO much more comfy!)
Speaking of feminine needs, have you heard about the Diva Cup? http://www.divacup.com
I love mine.

4. No bottled water, we have a faucet filter on the sink.

5. Natural cleaning products.
White vinegar cleans fine.
Eco-friendly detergent, started using it for the sensitive skin in the family, but now I'd use it anyway because I prefer it.

6. Use secondhand clothes, from thrift stores or hand-me-downs from friends. Most of the stuff is in terrific shape, and the stuff that isn't makes great comfy playclothes. Doesn't matter if they're stained, my kids will just be playing outside in the dirt in them anyway! One of my DD's favorite shirts has red paint stains all down one arm. She doesn't care, it has rhinestone glitter hello kitty on the front! What's not to like? We also pass along/donate clothes we no longer need.

7. We don't flush every time for #1. I know, to some that's too "ick" but 7 people with two bathrooms, it makes no sense for 4 kids to each go #1 right before bedtime and flush four times when once would get the job done and use less water. There's a drought here, so reducing water usage is a priority.

8. Set the thermostat high in summer/low in winter. Open windows when the weather is nice.

Things I want to do:
Switch out some bulbs for CFL.
Start using reusable grocery bags.
Start a garden (see #2 above).


Vibrant Echo:
For container gardening I would begin at the local library. I know my "crunchy hippie type" pals have mentioned some good books about square foot gardening and container gardening. Well, techincally I'd google first, then write my list of stuff to check out at the library!

Here's how I saved nearly $1.00 a gallon on gas with my car (from a recent post on my blog). Some tips may not apply to every one (for example you may not have ski racks on your car )

Drive Slower
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the most efficient speed to operate a vehicle is between 55-60mph. Slowing down from 75mph to 55mph can increase your fuel efficiency by 20% or more. See the graph below from the EPA. At the current price of gas ($3.50) you can save up $.70 a gallon just by slowing down!

Remove Your Roof Racks
When I removed the bike rack from the roof of my car, my mileage improved from about 26.2mpg to 27.5mpg (that's a 5% improvement!).

Remove Excess Weight From Your Car
According to the EPA, for every 100 pounds of additional weight you carry in your car, you fuel mileage will go down 2%.

Avoid Idling Your Engine
Try to avoid letting your engine idle for extended periods of time. If it looks like your going to be sitting still for an extended period of time shut turn the car off.

Use Cruise Control
Cruise control will help increase your mileage by reducing the constant speeding up and slowing down that drivers often do without even realizing. Your car will run more efficiently at a constant speed.

Don't "Show boat" Around Town!
Rapid acceleration is a sure way to decrease your cars gas mileage, not to mention the increased wear and tear on your drive train. You can do "burnouts" if you want, but I don't want to hear you complaining about the high price of gas (or tires for that matter).

Keep Your Tires Properly Inflated
Properly inflated tires can increase you fuel efficiency between 2-4%. Keep your tires inflated at the maximum allowable pressure as recommended by the manufacturer. Consult your vehicles owner's manual for more information.

Change Your Car's Air Filter
Believe it or not, according to the EPA, changing a clogged air filter on your car will improve your fuel efficiency by up to 10%. That's another $.35 in savings per gallon!

Use the Recommended Grade of Oil
Using the correct grade of oil for your car can improve your mileage by 1-2%. Also, be sure to change your oil as recommended by your owners manual. The nastier your oil gets, the less efficient your car's engine will run.

the link to my blog is in my signature below.

If I pulled that on the 2-lane Hwy on the way home, I'd either be run over or shot. Possibly both.

I knew I get some heat for that one

I live in Maine, so I have to worry about running into Moose!