Basics of Green
When first learning about the green movement I was overwhelmed with terminology and key terms. I had to look up many items and see what they meant or what levels of committment they required. Therefore, pretty soon, I was reading about being green more than I was able to actually be green. So I wanted to offer an easy immediately possible list of tips that anyone could work from. So Here we go!
- Reduce- buy less, have less, need less- we are all suffering from too much stuff!
- Reuse- buy used at every opportunity and donate or resell all your “retired” belongings
- Recycle- recycle everything possible in your area
- Only toss absolutely unusable items
- Go Chemical free- toss the bleach and other harmful chemicals, Vinegar is a great natural cleaner
- Give up convenience to help the great good- Don’t use plastic water bottles for example.
- Try to purchase items made of renewable resources- many of which are natural fabrics and materials that are safer for your family.
The biggest thing to remember about going green?
- Evaluate your lifestyle- What can you sacrifice and what is not negotiable?
- Start small and work up- many people start by using cloth shopping bags or another small change and work into bigger changes.
- Create a simple system the whole family can follow.
- Create habits- once you do something enough you will do it out of habit and you won’t be “thinking” about doing it anymore.
- Strive to sacrifice some convenience for our great mother earth- but if done right there are reusable replacements that are just as or almost as easy!
