Act Local Think Global. Ways to Keep Our Planet Healthy

Act local, think global. This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart.

In order to keep our planet both blue (the waters) and green (the land), use cleaners that do not hurt the environment. Try to think of the planet as a whole, air, land and water, all three elements need to be maintained. There are a few helpful hints here to make our earth smile, so read on:

1. Never or very rarely, wear dry cleanable clothing. Washable clothing saves the planet from the dry cleaning chemicals, both those released from the cloths into your home as well as the chemical spills at the dry cleaners. Most every type of clothing can be purchased in a washable version. You just need to look for the care labels and purchase those that are water washable.

2. Use baking soda instead of porcelain cleanser. It has no toxic fumes, no chlorine bleach and is a mild and very effective abrasive.

3. Use cheap white vinegar in a spray bottle to clean your counters as well as cleaning your kitchen floor, a cup in a gallon of water will loosen almost all kitchen crud. If it's really a mess use a spritz of vinegar first and let it sit for ten minuets first. Than mop away, it will smell sweet and shine for you in no time.

4. Hang your cloths out to dry, they will smell lovely, save your energy dollars by not running the dryers and the cloths themselves will last longer as the dryer will not make them shed fibers as they dry.

5. Use that same cheap white vinegar in your final rinse cycle of the washing machine. It will save you money on fabric softeners and keep the perfumed fabric softener chemicals out of our rivers. Your cloths will be soft too!

6. Add a cup of baking soda to your wash, you will need to use less laundry detergent, our rivers and lakes will thank you, and you'll save money, again. By the way, using cold water when ever possible will save energy too. Your hot water heater will run less using less fuel and once again saving you money.

7. Use florescent light bulbs in all of you lights, or even better use LEDs if you can afford them.

8. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, the new version of "The Three R's".

There are several, "reduce," items listed above.

Reuse. We also need to reuse. Use what you have, you need not go out and buy new and improved if what you have is working well. Wait until you need to replace it. Do not replace items based on fashion or whim. Find that tool buried in the basement instead of going out to replace it. Make order of what you have, you will need to run out to the store less for things you already have because you will be able to find them.

Recycle. Carry those plastic bottles home and recycle them from your trunk. Recycle all of your aluminum and 'tin' cans. (They are made from stainless steel these days.) Sort and recycle at home and at work. Every little bit helps.

9. Pay your bills on line. Many credit unions offer unlimited free bill paying. Get with that. It will save you both precious money and time. No more stamps, no more checks to write, no more getting the checks in the mail on time and no more late fees when the payment does not reach it's destination on time. The payments just flow of their own with a minimum of intervention from you once the automatic bill paying is set up.

10. Walk or bicycle to local destinations. Leave the cash burner in the driveway and burn a few calories instead. Your heart and waistline will thank you for it and so will your wallet. The air will be cleaner and you will feel good about helping to keep the planet green.

Bonus tip;
Talk about recycling. Encourage friends and relatives as well as neighbors and co-workers to do their part. If everyone pitches in we can make this old world last for another eon or two. Encourage everyone to have a green day.