8 Painless Ways to Be Greener

We have all heard about being green and how what we do now affects our children tomorrow. The problem for many is that they are not sure of ways to be green and how much of an impact each individual can truly have. Rest assured that even doing some of the below will help the environment tremendously.

Here are a few ways to be green this year without making enormous changes to your lifestyle.

1) Brushing Your Teeth Without Leaving the Water Running: Most people leave the water running the entire time they are brushing their teeth. Instead turn the water on to wet the toothbrush. Then turn it off until you have to rinse. This might sound crazy but a bathroom faucet can use up to 2 to 5 gallons/minute according to JEA.

2) Taking a Shorter Shower: Try to limit your time in the shower to 10 minutes. This can be difficult for sure but truly anything more than 10 minutes is not necessary. Showers like sinks can use up to 2 to 5 gallons/minute.

3) Buy Music Online: Compact Discs are made from polycarbonate plastic. This does not include the plastic used for the case and the paper used for the cover. Save some of these materials from entering our landfills and buy music on online sources such as itunes.

4) Get a Library Card or Buy an Electronic Book Reader: Printed books mean wasted trees and a negative impact on the Earth and its forestry. By using a library card you can read the books you wish and return them for someone else to read. Basically recycling.

You can also opt for an electric book reader such as Amazon's Kindle or the Sony E-Reader just to name a few. This newer technology is great. It stores thousands of books on a handheld digital device. Buy the books anywhere there is wireless and they are delivered right to your device.

5) Use Reusable Bags: Virtually all grocery stores now have reusable bags for sale. Most even offer a discount for each reusable bag used instead of a plastic bag. Most reusable bags are also made from recycled materials making their benefit to the environment two-fold.

6) Wash Laundry Only With a Full Load: While it can be hard to resist washing a specific shirt without anything else, doing so can save tremendous amounts of water having a huge impact on the environment. Washing machines use over 30 gallons of water/load!

7) Line Dry Clothes: When possible line drying your clothes will not only save you up to $200/year but it can also keep your clothes looking brand new. More importantly however it will help reduce your carbon footprint and the Earth's energy consumption.

8) Use Reusable Water Bottles: Today there are so many options for reusable bottles that are BPA free and will help keep you healthier you would be crazy not to. These can save you money especially if you work in a facility with filtered water or have a filter in your home. This will also reduce the plastic going into the landfills and polluting our water. When you must use disposable plastic bottle be sure to recycle!

These ideas might seem like common sense but making these small changes can go a long way in making an impact on the environment and those of us living in it.

http://www.jea.com/community/education/kidscorner/waterfacts.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_Disc

http://www.apple.com/itunes/

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015T963C/ref=sv_kinc_0

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=8198552921644523779&N=4294954529

http://www.ccetompkins.org/energysavings/factsheets/clothes-dryer.html