What differences can I make in my home to go 'green'?
Answer:
Fortunately, going green can mean saving a lot of money, although you may need to spend a little to get started. By going green in your household, you should try to reduce the energy that you consume, and also reduce the toxins that you use or create a demand for with your purchases.
To reduce your electricity usage and bring down your power bills, replace any old-fashioned incandescent light bulbs with compact florescent ones. They cost a little more up front (but often have state rebate coupons--ask at the counter), but they cut your electrical usage by 75%. Start with the bulbs that are on the most. Don't worry about bulbs that don't get turned on much or left on, like closet bulbs. Call your electric company and ask about their programs for reducing usage. They may send someone out to your house to look at all your appliances and tell you how you can cut their usage. Or they may loan you a usage meter so that you can go around and measure the usage of each appliance. That would make a great activity to do with your kids. Have them do the math. Then make a game of studying the electric bill with them each month and trying to get it to go down. When it comes time to replace appliances like refrigerators, washers, always go with EnergyStar, because even if they cost a little more up front, they will save you much more in the long run.
Heating and transportation are the other big energy users, and great things to think about for saving money as well as energy. Since you have limited income, you may qualify for state programs for weatherproofing your house. Call around state agencies to find out if such programs exist in your state, and get your house snug and tight. You'll be much more comfortable as well as save money. Get a copy of "The Home Energy Diet" by Paul Scheckel from your library or through interlibrary loan for some great ideas about having a more comfortable, cheaper, greener home.
For transportation, walk and bike as much as possible instead of driving. This will be good for your health, your kids' health, your pocketbook, and the environment. Yes, it may take more time to walk or bike than to drive, but when you factor in the exercise that you're getting at the same time, you're saving time by not having to go to the gym (or paying for the gym either).
To save more money, avoid buying fancy cleaners. Vinegar and baking soda can tackle just about any cleaning job in the house, and without chemicals. I had some horrible baked on grease in my stove. Did I spray on oven cleaner? No way--just spread some baking soda paste on in the evening, and the next morning, it wiped clean. There are a lot more tricks out there like that--just search the Internet for what you need to clean, and you'll get some good, safe, very cheap suggestions.
With all the money that you have saved by cutting your energy consumption and avoiding poisonous cleaners, you will be able to afford to invest in organic foods, which will be healthier for you and your girls, and cut healthcare costs down the road. Buy your organic foods in bulk at a food co-op to get the best prices. Take a day a month and work together with your girls to make convenience mixes from scratch, so that you can just dip into your cupboard and have easy meals to make without having to pay for expensive packaging and advertising (or having to pay to throw out the expensive packaging). A lot of baking recipes can be made as convenience mixes just by leaving out the wet ingredients. Make a list of what else to add, and write instructions of how to put the final product together, and put the list inside a ziplock bag along with the dry ingredients. Homemade baking mixes can save you 90% over boxed mixes, and taste better as well.
Got a yard? Plant a big garden with the girls and cut down your food costs. Sure, it will take time to tend, but you'll save time by not mowing as much grass. For an easy way to start a garden, look for the book called Lasagna Gardening. No digging--no kidding. If you start preparing your garden bed this year, you'll already have less to mow this summer, and you'll be ready to plant next spring.
these sites give tips to "go green".
also.
purchase energy efficient products
recycle
plant
instead of pestecides use natural insecticides
Conserve the amount of water and electricity you use. Teach turning off electrical devices when not needed. Turn off water in shower while soaping up. None of this cost's you anything and saves you money at the same time.
You can use bicycles to go to the store instead of using a car. You will be getting exercise and not use any fossil fuels. Plant a tree. Grow a garden. Turn off the water when brushing your teeth and soaping up in the shower. Don't spend all day on video games (burns electricity). Recycle.
Make one night a week a veggie night that doesn't involve cooking. Eat bean salads with left over chicken, slice some peppers and tomatoes, or cucumbers with dressing. It won't heat up the kitchen, is healthy, and will give your children a chance to learn to love veggies. Eat dinner by candle light so they will feel like it is a special night. Then afterwards, play a game or read aloud to them. We did this with our kids. It was a very nice way to bond with them and make special memories. My kids are teens now and they still talk about how much they loved it.
Green paint, green cloths, and after you do this, you and your twins will probably turn green with nausea.
change your light bulbs to compact florescent and get plug strips for you appliances, start cooking in solar ovens, if you want to go even farther go solar!
Easy things to do:
1) lower the temperature of your hot water heater to 120 degrees. You'll save energy (money) and there will be less chance of the kids getting scalded on too hot water.
2) teach the kids to turn off everything that they are not using; lights, T.V. video games. We have a rule in our house: each person can use 1 electrical "thing" at a time, so there is no playing video games & listening to the radio at the same time, for example.
3) Use the diswasher/clothes washer only when you have full loads. Turn off the automatic drying option on the diswasher and wash the clothes in cold water as much as you can.
4) Put up a clothes line to dry your clothes if you can. We save a lot of energy & money by air drying the clothes. My set up cost me about $25.
5) Get some reuseable shopping bags and force yourself to use them. ( I have to stop & remind myself to put them back in the trunk of my car after I use them, but my kids are good at reminding me if I forget!) Refuse plastic bags and use your own.
This would be a good start. After this, brainstorm with the twins and I'm sure they'll help you find more things to do.
Good luck!
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