10 Easy Things You Can Do to be More Green

Today is Earth Day.  It is a day when people all around the world  

celebrate the Earth, and find ways to make it a better place to live.

You may think it is hard to be green.  I have to admit, there are times I am all for convenience instead of doing what is better for the earth.  There are simple things you can do though, that will help     make a difference and even save a little bit of money. 

Here is a lit of 10 easy things you can do to be more green

1.  Use energy saving CFL light bulbs.  CFLs  last for up to 10,000 hours, and  use a lot less energy.  If you don't want to change all of your bulbs, why not consider just changing the lights you use the most. 

2. Make your own cleaners.  Not only is making your own cleaner safer because you are not using chemicals,  they are much cheaper too.  Baking soda has long been known to be great for cleaning, and it costs less than $1 a box.  If you don't know how to make your own cleaner, you can find how to clean just about anything from hundreds of blogs online. 

3 Use reusable cloth bags. While I did not make it to Target yesterday to get the free bags they handed out, I did get this one a few years ago.   Using cloth bags keeps hundreds of bags from the landfill.  They can also save you money as many stores give you a .05 credit for each bag you use.  

4. Recycle items like cardboard, plastic, aluminum cans and newspapers.   Where I live our local schools earn much needed money when people place their newspapers in their  recycling bin. I am also living in a state where we get .10 back per can when we bring them back to the store.  While we do have to pay a deposit when we buy our pop, it is always nice to get that cash back at a later time. 

5. Turning off the lights sometimes can be hard if you have kids in the house. I know my teenagers are horrible about turning off the lights. I ask them all the time if they have forgotten how to use the light switch.  Turning off the lights when you are not in the room not only saves energy, but saves money on your electric bill. 

6. Leaving your chargers and electronic cords plugged in when not in use are still sapping energy.  Try to remember to unplug them when not in use. 

7. When you leave the faucet running while brushing your teeth, you wasting a lot of water.  By remembering to turn off the faucet each time you brush, saves a lot of water over time. 

8. Donating unwanted items instead of throwing them away.  Even though you do not want to anymore, does not mean that someone else will not want it.  Also donating gives you a nice tax deduction on your taxes. 

9. Fresh vegetables grown in your own garden not only taste wonderful, but they teach kids where food comes from.  Picky eaters might also eat foods they normally would not if they grow them  themselves. 

10. Use items that would be thrown away and upcycle.  Kara's Rainbow Flower was made completely out of toilet paper tubes.   Some of the other projects her classmates brought in were amazing.  They made birdhouses out milk cartons, earrings from soda cans, piggy banks out of jars, and so much more.   Think out of the box you can find so many new uses for just about anything. 

Hope you have a HAPPY EARTH DAY!