50 Green Tips for the New Year

January 1- Put away the lights!  If you haven’t already, it is time to pack away all the extra wattage in holiday lighting.  If you have a new string of energy-saving miniature lights (which add up to about 40 watts), consider leaving it up in place of a high-wattage lamp for a festive glow throughout the year. January 2- Head to the library.  Instead of browsing for the latest novel or kid’s classic at the big bookstore chains, check out the selection at the local library.  Not only will you save ink and paper when you share a book, but the library is often closer to residential communities and you will save on fuel too. January 3- Put your bag in your bag.  We know you mean to bring your own reusable bag to the store instead of using the plastic bags every time.  Forgetting is easy to do, but if you have a fold-up reusable bag that fits inside your purse or tote, you will always have it when you need it. January 4-  Check your produce.  Next time you are at the store, read the labels to check the country of origin of your produce.  Make a habit of buying only produce from the country you live in.  Not only will you reduce the carbon footprint of you food, but you will cut out the additional pesticides applied to imported produce. January 5-  Leave the straw.  Most restaurants give a wrapped straw as an option with a drink.  By not taking and using it, you are reducing both the amount of paper and plastic you consume.  They may be small, but think about how many straws you use in a typical year!   January 6-  Shower shorter!  Limiting your showers to 5 minutes can cut the hygiene resources you use in half every day.  Time the kids- it will be fun and teach them good energy-saving principles for the future. January 7- Watch the degrees.  Turning down the thermostat just a couple of degrees can save significant amounts on your heating costs.  A slightly heavier sweatshirt should make up the difference in warmth. January 8- Eat without the packaging.  Try to reduce the amount of packaging waste you create by buying foods in bulk rather than prepackaged products.  It is not difficult to divide nuts and other snacks into small reusable containers rather than buying pre-portioned snack-size bags. January 9- Have a research day.  You’ve heard all the controversy about biofuels.  Assign a half hour today to look up the main arguments about the pros and cons of biofuels and be better informed to make choices and participate in debates with your friends. January 10- Out with the old (or never used)!  Encourage each member of your home to downsize their personal possessions and take the seldom used or since replaced items to your local family shelter or charity store where they can be reused.  Try not to replace the items that you gave away. January 11- Eat lower on the food chain.  Think about the steps of the food chain that has created your meal.  If it is an option to eat what your food ate, you are cutting out a step and using less energy.  Eating grains, for example, uses less energy than eating the beef cattle that were fed the grains.  Similarly, eating large fish, like tuna, uses less energy than eating small fish, like sardines.   January 12- Dim the lights.  It is estimated that installing just one inexpensive dimmer switch can save over 30 pounds of carbon in one year.  Try one in the bathroom and ease into the early morning wake-up routine. January 13- Share the soup.  Cooking a larger pot of soup uses very little extra energy, while making another meal doubles the energy output.  Why not share meals with a neighboring family?  The same savings goes for casseroles- only one oven needs to be fired up if you alternate the cooking duties. January 14- Catch the bus.  Using public transportation is a great way to live a greener life.  If you need to drive to work, use public transportation on weekends or allow your children to catch the school bus rather than driving them to school each day.   January 15- Use ‘real’ dishes for gatherings and parties.  Disposable plates and utensils may be easy but they create a lot of waste.  Have your family and friends who are last to leave help you with the washing- chances are they won’t really mind and you can enjoy a chat like our grandparents did before disposables were invented. January 16- Buy organic cotton.  Cotton crops are sprayed with large amounts of pesticides, contaminating soil and water supplies in the areas where they are grown.  Many online companies sell organic cotton clothing. January 17- Eat in.  Replace at least one of the meals you eat out a week with one prepared at home.  Not only will you save on travel costs, but you will also be better able to control how your food is sourced. January 18- Half fill the tank.  The next time you go to the gas station, resist the urge to fill your tank up all the way.  A full tank increases the amount of pollutants that are released into the air. January 19-  Check all the bulbs.  Take another look at all the light bulbs in your home.  Make sure they have all been changed to energy-saving long life bulbs like CFLs. January 20-  Need a gift?  Shopping at thrift shops is not just a money-saver but is a great energy-saving practice too.  You might be surprised how many people would appreciate a one-of-a-kind vintage vase from a thrift store rather than a new vase from a chain store that is packaged in wasteful plastics and flown in from thousands of miles away. January 21- Avoid the drive thru.  Using the drive thru lanes at banks and restaurants uses more fuel.  Parking the car and walking into the building not only saves energy and emissions, but it also gives you an opportunity to move your body. January 22- Listen to green tunes.  Download music and software instead of buying CDs, reducing the amount of energy used and waste produced. January 23-  Buy from the little guy.  Support you neighborhood produce market or bakery.  Chances are both you and your food will travel less on the way to the table. January 24- Check your tires.  You’ve heard it before, but checking that your car tires are properly inflated can save significant amounts of fuel and rubber resources. January 25- One world, one mug.  Use your own reusable mug wherever you would normally use a disposable coffee or tea cup.  It is estimated that Americans throw away an incredible 25 billion coffee cups a year.  If you are a daily coffee drinker, this one adjustment can seriously impact your daily waste significantly as well as having a positive impact on your individual health.  Chemicals that leach from Styrofoam cups into the earth may also leach into your coffee, causing unknown health problems. January 26- Start composting now.  Planting a garden is one of the best things you can do for the environment on a small scale.  Start placing your vegetable peelings in a container for composting now so, when planting time comes, you’ll have a head start. January 27-  Wash in cold.  Heating water consumes a lot of energy and much of the household hot water typically goes for washing clothes.   January 28- Check your prescriptions.  Studies show that components of many prescriptions drugs, including birth control pills, enter the environment through the sewer and water system after leaving our bodies.  These drugs have upset the environmental balance in many areas.  See if there are alternatives available to ingesting environmentally harmful drugs. January 29- Flush less water.  Submerging a brick or similar object in your toilet tank will take up space and cause it to use less water per flush, saving on this precious resource. January 30-  Get a refill.  It is important to drink water on the go, but buying water in plastic bottles is an energy-wasting process.  Invest in a reusable water bottle, preferable metal, and refill it as you need to. January 31- Shut this down!  Turn the computer off when you go to bed at night or when you go out, even if it is just for a few hours.  Do this daily saves significant amount of energy over the course of the year.   February 1- Eat in, not carry out.  If you need to eat a meal prepared at a restaurant, avoid the stacks of Styrofoam containers and packaging involved in taking it to go.  Eating on plates that can be washed and using utensils that can be reused keeps unnecessary plastics out of the environment. February 2- Use the sun.  In honor of Groundhog Day, focus on regulating the temperature in you home by using curtains and blinds to let in (or block out) the sun.  Heating and cooling the home typically use the largest amount of the energy supply to your house.   February 3- Cancel the phonebooks.  Most of us use an online phone directory and not paper phone books anyway.  Ask you phone company not to deliver them to you any more and save on large amounts of paper in the landfill. February 4- Support a green initiative. Check with your local government or local activist organizations.  Get involved, even if it is a small way, in a community effort to live greener locally. February 5- Use fewer napkins.  Paper napkins and towels are used to excess and wasted every day.  Projections estimate that if everyone used just one less napkin a day, there would be 4 billion pounds less of waste every year. February 6-  Research the real possibility of using an alternative energy source to power your home.  Solar and wind are two viable options for individual families and the initial costs can often be quickly offset by selling excess energy back to your local power company.   February 7- Try natural cleaners.  Vinegar, baking soda and orange oil are inexpensive cleaners that do not put harsh chemicals close to your family or into the environment. February 8- Talk a walk in nature.  Find out about the natural areas closest to your home.  Walk the trails or the boardwalk and find out what you can do to protect these important spots. February 9-  Learn more about the British Transition Town initiative and consider whether you may be willing to use some of the ideas to begin a movement in your town.  At the very least, some of the information can translate into a more eco-friendly community. February 10- Drive the speed limit.  Increasing your speed by just 10 mph reduces your fuel economy significantly while also increasing emissions. February 11- Investigate your local water source.  Find out any natural areas that your water travels through and be aware of the impacts. February 12- Pay your bills online.  Request to stop receiving paper bills and save on the mountain of paper that collects month after month. February 13- Unplug when not in use.  We have all heard that unplugging appliances when we are not using them is a great way to save energy.  If you already do this, unplug an extra one every time you leave the house.  If you don’t normally do it, start now! February 14- Help your heart and eat less meat!  Beef is a very energy-intensive industry.  Having just one meat-free day a week can reduce the energy that goes into your food as well as helping your heart keep healthy. February 15-  Support green entertainers.  Many musicians and other entertainers have taken steps to reduce the impact of their activities, like tours, on the environment.  Support their efforts by buying a ticket or checking out their latest cause. February 16- Rack the towels.  Don’t wash towels after every use.   They are rarely dirty until several uses later. February 17- Teach what you learn.  Organize a casual social event and let your neighbors know about green happenings in your community.  Most people would like to live ‘greener’ but don’t know how to get started.   February 18-  Control your mail.  Paper and resources used to deliver you junk mail you do not want is an unnecessary waste.  [insert this link into text that follows]<http://greengroup.com/Green-Home/fight-junk-mail-for-a-greener-future.html/> Sign up to discontinue mail that you do not want to receive. February 19- Have a clothes swap party.  Have your friends bring all the clothes, shoes and accessories that they are not using to your place.  Cut some fresh fruit and maybe share a bottle of organic wine while you and your friends see what ‘new’ treasures you can find.  It’s eco-friendly and a lot of fun!