Tips to Help Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

I try to reuse/recycle before I recycle, to get the most out of products/containers before throwing them away in the recycle bin. When I can, I print on paper that has been printed on before -- I'll use the backs of flyers, letters, and junk mail I receive. I reuse plastic containers from whipped cream, margarine, chinese food, etc. for storing things.

I learned to put a brick in your toilet tank, this saves that much in the amount of water used for each flush. Adds up to be a lot of water and money saved.

We use cloth shopping bags, turn lights off, unplug everything at night and have already started collecting rain water to water our gardens this summer. Everything gets washed on cold, I hang as much wash out to dry as possible, we also use cardboard boxes as weed barrier in our gardens. Then we move on to riding bikes if we have an errand within 5-6 miles, wash & reuse plastic zip bags, and compost all our veggie scraps for our garden the following year. I collect the glass jars and repurpose them. Some have veggie seeds that are sprouting. Tin cans are reused as well for different things. These are just a few things my family is doing.

I take all the socks we have holes in and tie them together in knots for our dogs to play with, they absolutely love them and they rock playing tug-of-war! I also use egg containers and newspaper to make planters to start my seedlings. Of course we use our reusable bags when shopping too! I love to go to our Dumps Swap Shop and pick up things others now have no use for , usually there are loads of books and lots of nick-knacks we can use for kids crafts. We do much more, but there is so much to list!

I take my reuseable grocery bags to shop and save them from giving me the plastic bags, I also use them for gifts, just add a bow and little decoration and they have a gift bag that they can continue to use, I even put a ltiile note inside giving them some ideas on how to use reuseable bags. A good thing is , to use lamps instead of regular lighting, I use a small lamp with an energy saving bulb in my family room, bedroom, and kitchen, you dont need to use so much light , and it gives your home a cozy fill.

To prevent additional chemicals from polluting the earth, for cleaning purposes I use toothpaste; vinegar; orange peel; lemon peel; and many other household "grocery" items, instead of buying actual cleaning products. These household items work great and I feel better knowing that I am trying to be as "Eco-Friendly" in my own minimal way.

Oh, so many! I do them without thinking about it as it's just a way of life around here.

Reuse and recycle things like; the rubber bands from your produce or the boxes deliveries come in.
Old clothing: This week I sewed two decorative couch pillows from a skirt that had a broken zipper.
I use red and black pepper sprinkled on the garden plants to deter deer and rabbits.
Cool papers and scraps are saved to cut out little gift cards or other stationary needs.
Errands are grouped together so I'm only having to drive to run errands once a week.
We use ceramic, double insulted coffee travel mugs and make our coffee and iced coffee at home.
Keep a basket for 'scrap paper' next to the phone or in the kitchen to write on - always using paper that would have otherwise been thrown away.
Using collected rain water to water my garden.

Soooo many more!!

I get a lot of packages in the mail, which equals a lot of cardboard. I am going to put it all to good use by using it as a base in my flower beds! It keeps the weeds out, and breaks down naturally over time so it is great for the Earth, plus it is way better than those weed fabric things they sell that don't really keep any weeds out. :-)

We have changed our bathroon shower head with low flow ones, all of our light bubls are now LED bulbs, I have been washing my laundry in cold water for the past three years and we recycle any and everything we can.

My favorite tip is to use club soda to clean glass (windows, mirrors, table tops, etc.). It leaves them sparkling and is completely safe.

I purchase green power through my utility company. It costs a bit more but I feel much better about it.

I have just switched to a low flow shower head and I have a faucet aerator in my kitchen and bathroom. I use reusable shopping bags when I go grocery shopping and I do all my shopping in one trip. I bring all the plastic bags to the grocery store for them to recycle! I love reducing, reusing, and recycling!

We try to do as much as we can. We don't buy bottled water, we have reusable bottles. Baking soda and vinegar to clean, I use reusable shopping bags, we even reuse our junk mail! The kids reuse it to make crafts and color on. Instead of turning on the ac in the summer, open the windows, wash clothes in cold water and hang dry when ever possible.

This year I am planting a garden to have fresh and organicly grown produce right in my backyard! Also, I work in the solar cell industry in order to make costs cheaper for more people to be able to afford it!

I use baking soda and vinegar for a LOT in my house from everything to exfoliating my face to scrubbing my stove. You can descale a teapot or unclog a small clog in your sink. It just rocks.