Tips to Help Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Growing up my dad was always laid off so we learned many things to help us save money. We plant our own garden every year and boy does the food taste much better when it is home grown. We also use reusable cloth napkins, we make sure we have plenty with our large family but it saves us tons in the long run plus they are earth friendly.

Forget paper products!! Use fabric whenever possible. I use cloth napkins and washcloths and dishtowels rather than paper napkins and paper towels. Not only are cloth napkins way prettier than paper napkins, but they feel so much better on your hands (no bleachiness). Also, they can just be thrown in the wash with your towels! Washcloths are great too because they can be rinsed out and reused when cleaning up a spill...you can't rinse out a paper towel! And dishtowels are a much lovelier addition to your decor than paper towels.

My family & I do so much to reduce, reuse & recycle! We always recycle anything that can be. We "lasagna" garden; taking newspapers & putting them on your garden, then adding anything that can be composted (kitchen waste, leaves, grass, etc.), then newspapers,then waste, etc. we always bring a refillable water bottle on any trips. We use reusable lunch bags. We donate clothes & other items to thrift stores. We turn off all electronics at the end of the day & unplug them when not in use. We even turn off the electronics 2-3 nights per week & do family game night, outside time or bike rides! New this year - we are making newspaper pots to start seeds in!

I take a 5 minute shower and I only run a full load of clothes and dishes to save water.

We recycle everything here.. I save leftover vegetables, freeze them and meat as well for soups and stews.. Leftover bread makes for great stuffing and croutons..We save the cardboard egg cartons so my small granchildren and I can plant vegetable seeds ..an empty drywall bucket for rain to use in between. We also belong to an organizatoin called Freecycle.. Someone somewhere may be able to use your recycables..try it Freecycle.org see if you have one in your community

My parents taught me to use Water,Vinegar and a little bit of rubbing alcohol to clean windows.Especially car windows.Car windows get very dirty very quick and it is a good combination to clean without all the chemicals found in most cleaners.

My husband thinks I am crazy, and yes, this may be true. I reuse paper towels. If I have only used them to dry a small spot or my hands, I dry it on the faucet or the toaster to repurpose it. The whole family knows to do this, they weren't easily trained, though. It took some time but they got it. I also recycle as much as I can. Even junk mail gets put in the cardboard pile. I have yet to get a composter for my backyard, unfortunately, I really don't have the room for it, but I will do my best to make space for one.

I use reusable bags for shopping, use empty containers to grow plants and always turn off the lights when not in room. Also I use the energy saving bulbs. Do not keep the water running while brushing your teeth. I have appliance that are energy efficent.

I always turn off the water when brushing my teeth and I use the reusable grocery bags for just about everything. This is one of my favorites though: When I receive a box in the mail, I keep the packing paper so that the next time I am painting or doing a messy craft, I can lay the paper out and protect my craft table. I will reuse the paper until it falls apart. Another good one is collecting the rain water in a large covered container to water the garden.

i save water by brushing my teeth while showering...i wash all clothes in cold water....i reuse plastic grocery bags as garbage can liners and paper bags too....

I have joined the Telework movement at work!! Teleworking save time, money, and reduces the carbon footprint!! Every little bit helps!

I use Goodbye Detergent kitchen cleaners - they're made of recycled materials and require little to no cleaner to get your dishes, counters, whatever...I LOVE them - you just get the scrubs a little wet and clean up. Because they don't soak up your cleaner, they use less and you aren't washing and washing to get the cleaner out of the sponge.

Lights out, everything that can be turned off is off before we the leave the house in the morning. Programmable thermostats and energy saver appliances really do make a big difference!!!

My eco-friendly tip is to set up a recycling bin in my classroom. Not only are we, as a class, helping reduce our footprints, but we are also learning together more about how to save the Earth! :) Pass it on...

My eco-friendly tip involves all the k-cups we have after use.....in my house we empty the grounds into a bowl which gets sprinkled in the garden, the filters are put into the mulch pile to break down and the actual k-cup we use to start seeds....it already has a whole punched int the bottom from the brewer so water can get in...