Happy Tuesday, everyone!
How did the long weekend treat you? Did the Easter Bunny come hopping along your way? Tell me all about it in the comment section below – I love to read your thoughts! As for myself, I revelled in a couple of days of blissful downtime with my fiancé and our dog, and I’m looking forward to another busy week here at Slegg Mortgage!
Anybody else feeling this way today? Photo Credit: imgace.com
Today is also Earth Day – since 1970, April 22nd has been held as a day to make people aware of the importance of keeping our planet healthy and clean. On that day, people made promises to help the environment and make positive changes in their community. Since then, more than 500 million people in over 180 countries have participated in Earth Day activities! In light of the spirit of the day, I wanted to dedicate today’s Tuesday’s Top 5 to some simple and effective eco-friendly tips for your house and home.
Photo Credit: skagitfisheries.org
5. Be a Smart Shopper
It’s easy to accidentally buy too much of something, or something that isn’t needed or even wanted – which is why taking the time to make a shopping list before you hit the grocery store is a great way to cut down on accidental waste. A couple other easy, eco-friendly shopping tips include:
- Consider renting or borrowing things you’ll seldom use or will only need to use once
- Buy used items from second hand stores and garage sales
- Choose local and organic produce when it is in season
- Use reusable shopping bags for your groceries instead of plastic
Photo Credit: businesswaste.co.uk
4. Consider Your Daily Commute
According to Statistics Canada, 81% of all Canadians drive to work daily, which means that there are a lot of cars on the roads. By changing the means by which you get to work in the morning, you can help not only the environment, but your wallet – and, depending on what you replace your daily drive with, your waistline. Here are a few simple substitutions to try:
- When driving, reduce idling, drive the speed limit, and maintain correct tire pressure
- Also, try to combine as many (or all, if possible) of your weekly errands into one trip
- Give walking, cycling, carpooling, or public transit a try!
Photo Credit: whitman.edu
3. Simple Substitutions
By making a couple of easy tweaks to our homes and appliances, we can in turn make a noticeable and positive impact on the world around us. Some simple and minor tweaks to everyday household fixtures can make a world of difference to the world we live in! A few examples include:
- Replacing incandescent light bulbs with an LED or CFL variants
- Using aerators on faucets and shower heads
- Weather stripping doors and windows
- Buying EnergyStar certified appliances
- Washing clothes in cold water (bonus points if you live somewhere warm enough to hang your clothes up outdoors to dry)
Photo Credit: ecoplum.com
2. Change How You Clean
Cleaning products are a household necessity; however, a lot of commercial cleaning products are unnecessarily corrosive, toxic, and otherwise damaging to the health of our households. Making a few modifications in what you use around the house to scrub it down will in turn make a difference not only to the health of you and your family, but the environment, too! Here are some simple ways to clean in a greener manner:
- Switch to eco-friendly cleaning products. Some things to look for on labels include biodegradable, phosphate-free and not tested on animals. Seventh Generation, Ecover, President’s Choice Green, Method and other brands are widely available at supermarkets, health food shops and drugstores across Canada.
- Simple and natural cleaners can be made yourself with vinegar, baking soda, and other things you likely have lying around. Keeper of the Home has a great article to get you started on their blog, which you can check out by clicking here
- Use cloth instead of paper for wiping nooks, crannies and counter tops clean. Extra bonus points for re-purposing old t-shirts as rags!
Photo Credit: reloveplanet.com
1. Watch Your Waste
We live in a disposable world – everything comes pre-packaged and wrapped up in endless layers of plastic and wrappers. While we can’t change how companies choose to market and supply us with their products, we can take steps to lessen the impact of the excess materials and learn to be more responsible with our resources. Some things to consider implementing in your life include:
- The 3 R’s – reduce, reuse, and recycle
- Taking harmful goods (like chemicals, left-over paint, electronics, and batteries) to local hazardous waste disposal/recycling depots
- Composting food scraps instead of throwing them away
- Re-purposing packaging wherever possible (some simple examples include using empty glass/plastic jars for storage and saving cardboard tubes and egg cartons for children’s crafts)
Photo Credit: jocaonstuff.com
How are you celebrating Earth Day? Have you made any commitments to living a greener, more environmentally friendly life? If so, I’d love to hear all about how you’re lessening your impact on the Earth in the comments section below!
For now, I’m off to get a few more things knocked off of my to-do list!
Have a lovely Tuesday, everyone.
-Mel
Slegg Mortgage Press 