I love Holly over at 504 Main so much that with her permission, I'm integrating some of my favorite Go Green tips into today's Ticked Pink post. You can also visit Deb over at Menopausal New Mom for her Green post today, and Juney over at 3! A Charm is joining us with her eco-friendly ideas as well. We'd love it if you shared your favorite green ideas and linked up with us! Just grab our cute little button and post.
Now, onto the green tips that Tickle Me Pink:
1.) It would tickle me pink if you select "No" when the ATM machine asks if you want a receipt.
2.) Likewise when you're at the gas pump, opt out of a receipt. We can save so many trees this way! See? You can be green even in little, easy ways like this.
3.) Air dry as many of your clothes as possible. This will help your clothes last longer, reduce your energy bills, and help keep your home cooler in summer, too! I don't remember where I got mine from, but it tickles me pink:
Try looking at this one on Amazon, or this one at Bed, Bath, & Beyond.
4.) Keep your blinds and curtains drawn during the daylight hours in summer to help keep your home cooler.
5.) If you're going to eat beef, eat grass-fed beef. Better yet, be like me & Shelly Kramer and buy your own cow. Also consider doing Meatless Mondays. Even The Father Load is slowly becoming more comfortable with the occasional meatless meal and that tickles me pink!
6.) It tickles me pink to buy local and organic whenever possible. Check out your farmer's market. I got some beautiful heirloom tomatoes from ours last weekend which we paired with fresh mozzarella and our own homegrown basil. Delish! I have enough to make some homemade pesto, too.
7.) Get off catalog & junk mail lists using http://www.catalogchoice.org/.
8.) For special occasions, give family and friends the gift that keeps on giving---donate to their favorite environmental group, charity, or other organization. Do away with all the gift wrap, tissue paper, and ribbons. If you can't, then at least recycle/reuse what you can.
9.) I am going to start doing this myself: I just read that you should stop rinsing your dishes before loading them into the dishwasher. You will save time and 15 gallons of water per load! (but let's see if my dishes still come out as clean!) Skip the heated dry cycle. Select the speed cycle if possible, too.
10.) Don't take baths, take showers. And shorten your showers--turn off the water while you lather up.
11.) Bank and pay your bills on-line. It tickles me pink to save stamps!
12.) BYOB & BYOM. Bring Your Own Bag & Bring Your Own Mug. Seriously, the bags should be habit by now. And as Tracie from Stir-Fry Awesomeness recently pointed out, I hope you are washing those reusables! They get grimy just like anything else. I air-dry mine and I wash my produce bags in a lingerie bag to protect them. While I am guilty of using my reusables for all of my shopping needs, it would be smarter to designate some for just grocery shopping due to germs and the potential for contamination. Bring your own mug to Starbucks or the coffee joint of your choice.
13.) I loathe Styrofoam peanuts. I save them all in my garage and recycle them by using them in packages I send out. In fact, you may catch me on the next episode of Hoarders due to all the Styrofoam peanuts I've collected....
Speaking of Styrofoam, I just stumbled across this gem. I know I don't live in NYC and my children aren't even in the public school system yet, but once they are I'll be doing everything I can to help a project like this. Does your child's school use Styrofoam and Styrofoam lunch trays? If so, check out this link here. The statistics are staggering. But at least for now they are doign "Trayless Tuesdays!"
14.) Reuse cardboard shipping boxes and any supplies/packaging. Don't just put them in your recycling bin.
15.) Buy the Sunchips in the compostable bag.
16.) Try the Three Sisters cereal without the box. Have you ever thought about all the trees used to make cereal boxes and how unnecessary they are? Three Sisters cereals are delicious and are sold exclusively at Whole Foods.
17.) Composting tickles me pink. I have been composting for a while now and let me tell you about some of the things going into my bin daily:
egg shells
apple cores
banana peels
coffee filters
coffee grinds
mushy grapes and blueberries my kids won't eat
potato peelings
melon rinds
lint from my dryer (which isn't being used much lately)
shredded paper and newspaper
grass clippings
leaves
weeds
onion skins
paper towel and toilet paper cardboard rolls
I have put soooo much in there and it's getting heavier/fuller. Here's a shot of what it looks like inside. See, you can tell things are breaking down slowly. I promise it doesn't stink. It's awesome to see the progress. Yes, I need to add some paper as it's kinda wet in there:
18.) Last but not least, Jenny Mac of Let's Have a Cocktail told me about Eco Tools' Look Gorgeous, Love Green Campaign. This project allows you to swap your used cosmetic supplies out for an Eco Tools Alternative. Check it out and ship some of your old makeup brushes in for an eco-friendly exchange!
Now go forth and be GREEN! I am unplugging this weekend as I willl be hanging out with Lee The Hotflash Queen and Tracie of Stir-Fry Awesomeness, so I may be slow returning comments. Perhaps you will see a vlog appear somewhere soon!
