When it comes to taking care of the planet, you, our members, are giving it plenty of thought and TLC. You’re recycling like crazy, doing laundry with cold water, filtering your drinking water rather than buying it in bottles, planting flowers, vegetables and trees, and coming up with ways to reduce, reuse and recycle every day. Your innovative ideas for green living inspired us to share some eco-friendly tips of our own. Thank you one and all for your great suggestions.
Throw in the towel.
Throw a dry towel into the dryer with your wet clothes. The dry towel helps absorb the moisture quickly and leads to shorter drying time and reduced use of energy. Full loads also dry faster than loads containing just a few items.
Become a peanut farmer.
Reuse packing peanuts in your container gardens. They’re light and airy enough to allow for drainage—and mixing them in with potting soil reduces its weight and makes it much easier to move large potted plants. Store your peanuts in a Ziploc® brand Big Bag until you’re ready to use them. (By the way, did you know you can rinse out your Ziploc® brand Containers and use them over and over?)
A fine feathered friend.
Consider recycling old feather pillows by putting the feathers outside so that birds can literally “feather their nests.” Simply remove the feathers from the pillow and place them in mesh bags (ones with holes about as wide as those on grocery store mesh onion bags work well) to hang off tree branches. Then sit back and enjoy watching the birds use old feathers to make nice soft nests for their young ones.
Drive a green machine.
Getting more mileage from a tank of gasoline helps not only our environment but also your wallet. To maximize your fuel efficiency, start by clearing out any junk in your trunk that can weigh down your car. Tires should be properly inflated and your air filter regularly cleaned. Keep your windows up when driving on the highway to avoid drag—if it’s cool enough outside, use flow-through ventilation. Drive at a smooth, even speed and avoid sudden starts and stops. Don’t let your car idle for more than a minute because it takes less gas to restart your car than it does to let it idle. And do consider carpooling, where possible.
Water, water everywhere.
Put a bucket or a pitcher in the sink when you’re running the tap waiting for the water to get warm. Then use the saved water to give houseplants a good soak. Using water filters and reusable bottles instead of buying water in plastic bottles is also a good trick to save water.
Pile it on!
Compost piles or mulch pits turns vegetable waste and lawn clippings into rich, organic fertilizer. In addition, paper from paper shredders and non-coloured pages of newspapers can also be shredded and used for mulch—just weigh down the paper mulch with heavier mulch material, such as wood chips or bark.
Eat your greens.
Make your kitchen a more environmentally-friendly place by choosing locally grown, raised or produced organic food, whenever possible. When you buy from local farmers, you’re helping to reduce the energy it takes to get farm products to your table. Look for locally raised poultry and meat and dairy products and eggs, as well as sustainable fish caught in local waters.
The paper chase.
Use return envelopes from junk mail to write shopping lists on, then tuck your coupons inside. You can also start filling your fax machine trays at work with scratch paper, that way both sides of the paper get used.
Swags are in the bag.
Ziploc® brand Big Bags, that is. When artificial floral swags get dusty, put them in a Ziploc® brand Big Bag with a few tablespoonfuls of salt. Shake! The salt takes the dust off and your flowers are ready to be re-hung! This tip is great for refreshing all your silk and artificial flowers so you don’t have to buy new. Best of all, you can save the salt and reuse it the next time your flowers get dusty.
We’re glad to see that taking care of our planet and its environment is such a big part of our members’ lives! Please continue to show your children and grandchildren that they can play a part in protecting the earth, too. And thanks again for sharing your inspirational ideas with us.
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