5 Ways to Reduce the Carbon Footprint of Your Home

Recycling cans and newspapers helps to decrease the carbon footprint your daily living is leaving on the Earth, but it is no longer enough. It is time to go the extra mile to be eco-chic and help save Mother Earth. And it’s not as hard as it may seem either. A few easy steps on your part can reduce the carbon footprint that your home life leaves behind.

Water

Water is the most precious resource we have and is also the resource that we waste the most. We rinse our dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, run the shower to heat the water, and run the faucet while brushing our teeth. This is all good water that is wasted. Ways to reduce water usage are simple. If you have to run the water in the shower to heat the water, consider capturing the cold water in a bucket to water your plants or wash the kitchen floor later. Do not rinse your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher, and only run your dishwasher when it’s full. Turn the faucet off while you are brushing your teeth. Not only do these steps help to reduce water usage, but it can also save you money.

Furniture

Whether you are moving into a new home or just redecorating your current one, you can buy eco-friendly furniture to help the environment. Buying furniture made of sustainable and recycled materials is just one way to help. Also, consider recycling furniture by buying second-hand or reupholstering existing furniture instead of buying new.

Electricity

It may sound basic, but turn off lights, computers, TVs and other electrical items when you are not in the room or not using these items. Unplug them completely, if possible. If you’re replacing appliances or buying new ones, consider energy efficient ones that use less electricity—saving energy and money.

Lighting

Lighting is another energy waster. Change your conventional incandescent bulbs, which give off more heat than light, to compact florescent bulbs (CFLs) or LEDs—both use less energy and give off less heat. Turn lights off completely when nobody is in the room or natural light can be used. It saves energy, money and Mother Earth. It’s the eco-friendly way to light your life.

Laundry

We have to clean our clothes, but it takes a lot of energy to heat the water for the washing machine and air for the clothes dryer. According to Energy Star the average household does 400 loads of laundry per year—using 13,500 gallons of water. One way to reduce water usage and save energy is to buy an energy efficient washing machine—saving water and almost $550 per year. Also consider washing in cold water instead of hot or warm water. Next, consider cutting out using a clothes dryer—use a clothesline or drying rack instead. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, it saves households about $70 per year and cuts out the usage of the second biggest energy wasting appliance in your home.

Organic and Green Savings: A Great Time to Try Organic Kids Food

Read the full article about what Mom Made Foods has to offer your children and your organic way of life when it comes to eating.

Best Buy Offers More than a Place to Buy Electronics

Yesterday, my computer tanked and I had to rush it to the emergency room. For computers, this is the Geek Squad at Best Buy. I walked in the door and noticed to my right there was a trash can looking container with three little swinging doors. One said, "Cell Phones." The other said, "Rechargeable Batteries," and the third one said, "Printer Cartridges."

I thought and said to myself, "How cool."

I'm more of an online shopper, so I may be late coming to this e-waste party, but you can take your printer cartridges, rechargeable batteries, and old cell phones to your local Best Buy for recycling.

Put it in your good to know file.

Stop Being an e-waster

Did you know that 130 million cell phones get thrown out every year? How about computer monitors? Did you know that 50 million of these wind up in our landfills on an annual basis? It should make sense since technology is inventing newer and better cell phones and computers almost on a daily basis. You may have never thought about it, but when you replace your old computer with your new one, what happens to your old one? If it winds up in the garbage, it winds up in a landfill and becomes e-waste.

It's not just about the devices either. It's also about the power these devices use.

E-waste stands for electronic waste and here is how you can stop it.

Small ways you can stop being an e-waster

Recycle your cell phone. There are 500 million unused cell phones in the U.S. When you get a new cell, you have several options with what you can do with your old one. First, you could give it to someone you know who needs a cell phone. Second, you can donate. There are charities that give cell phones to those who cannot afford one for emergency purposes. Third, you can sell it to a third party recycler. The last two options usually allow you a tax write-off too.

Download your software. More than one billion computer disks are tossed into the trash each year. Consider downloading your software online instead. Sometimes it's cheaper to download it online than it is to buy the CD and when you're done downloading it, you don't have any CD or CD packaging waste to throw away.

Use high-speed Internet service. High-speed Internet service uses less energy than dial-up. It's the 21st century, people, make the switch from dial-up to high speed.

Laptops vs. desktops. Do you know how the U.S. could save $2.5 billion in energy costs? By switching from desktop computers to laptops. Laptops use less energy than desktops, by about 50%.

Email and text message. If you can send messages from your handheld instead of your computer, you'll save about one-third of the electricity it takes for a computer to send these messages.

Switch from answering machines to voice mail. Voice mail service uses a lot less energy than the energy sucking answering machine that is always using energy. These little answering devices also end up as hazardous waste when we toss them in our landfills, so don't buy them in the first place and then you won't have to throw them out.

Use the sleep mode on your computer. Set up your computer so that when you're not using it, it goes into sleep mode. This saves energy and can save you up to $75 per year off your power bill.

It's not about changing your whole life. It's about doing the little things that add up to big things. You can't save the world, but you can contribute to helping save it by doing all of the little things you can.

5 Ways to Be an Eco-chic Traveler

Almost 100% of Americans (91%) take an annual vacation-a week or two to get away from it all on a tropical island, in the mountains, on the beach, or just away from the hustle, bustle, and stress of our daily lives. Be just as aware of what you are doing on vacation as you are when you're at home when it comes to being eco-chic. Take small steps and fit them into your vacation routine to be an eco-chic traveler.

5 ways to eco-chic your vacation

Don't change your linens and towels during your stay. You don't use a new towel and change your bed sheets everyday when you're at home, so don't do it on vacation either. If you're only away for a few days or a week, then use the same towels and linens during your whole stay. If you're away for more than a week, then have your sheets changed once a week and change your towels out once a week too. By taking this small step, you're saving up to 40% of the water used in a hotel per day. You're clean when you dry off with your towels so they aren't getting dirty with one or two uses!

Stay in a green hotel or engage in eco-tourism. There are green hotels popping up all over the world. These hotels run an eco-friendly operation--using chemical free cleaning products, asking you to reuse towels and linens throughout your stay, using energy efficient appliances, light bulbs, and more to meet green standards. There are also eco-tourism efforts taking place in destinations that are not overcrowded and focus on local culture and environmentally friendly practices.

Use e-tickets. Use e-tickets instead of checking in at the counter and getting a paperboard ticket. Even if you print the e-ticket from your home or office computer, the regular paper is more easily recycled than the paperboard tickets. This saves the airlines money, which saves you money, and saves paper too.

Use timers for your lights at home and shut lights off in your hotel. Don't leave lights constantly burning in your home while you're away. Use timers so your lights come on for a few hours each night and then shut off again. When you leave your hotel room, shut off the lights. It's just like a room in your home--if nobody is in the room, then turn the lights off. Seventy-five percent of energy used in a hotel is from the bathroom light being left on when nobody is in it.

Carry on your luggage. If you can, pack one carry-on bag rather than checking your bag. This not only saves you time waiting in line to check your bag and then waiting for your bag to come out in baggage claim, you'll also save 70% of the energy used to operate the luggage carousel. This also causes you to pack only what you need, which can save 350 million gallons of jet fuel for every passenger who packs ten pounds lighter.

You don't have to change your whole life to help make a difference. It's the small steps you take that add up to a big difference.

3 Ways to Green Your Furniture

It sits in every room of our house. We sit on it. We eat on it and we sleep on it. It's our furniture. Seventeen billions pounds of furniture ends up in landfills every year. This is waste that can and should be avoided Stop wasting and green your furniture now.

3 ways to green your furniture

Buy used: Never underestimate the charm of used furniture. Antique shops, ebay, and used furniture stores offer a treasure of furniture just waiting to be repurposed. You'll save moeny, save energy, and save materials by buying vintage or shabby chic.

Buy furniture made of sustainable materials: If used, vintage, or shabby chic isn't for you then buy furniture that is made of sustainable materials. Furniture made from harvested wood like plantation-grown lumber or woods that are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Refurbish what you have: Take a look at the furniture that you already own and think of ways you can turn it into what you want. Maybe stripping the paint off of an old dresser and returning it to its natural wood or reupholstering a chair with a new material will turn an old piece of furniture into a brand new piece.

You don't have to completely change the way that you furnish your home. But you owe it to yourself and to the environment to do what you can to save it. Maybe it's as simple as buying one new piece of furniture that you can't live without, while refurbishing and buying used for the rest of your house renovations.

5 Ways to Go Green at Work

Somebody, somewhere says we have to "go to work" to pay our bills and live. That's fine. But you don't have to kill the environment in the process-or at the very least put a major ding in a healthy environment. Whether you are the boss, a business owner or an employee, there are ways to green up the office and leave a smaller carbon footprint on the Earth.

1. Alternative transportation. Especially with gas prices going through the roof these days, people are looking for alternative ways to get to the office. Saving money isn't the only reason for alternative transportation methods. Saving the environment is just as good of a reason. Where you live and where you work will drive (no pun intended-okay, maybe a little) what options are available to you. Some cities have great mass transit options like city buses or subways. Set up a carpool with fellow co-workers that live near you or arrange to meet in a central location and drive the rest of the way together. If you are lucky to live close enough to your work, walk or ride your bike to the office-killing the exercise bird and the transportation bird with one stone. Many companies are also allowing their employees to telecommute-working from home-to save money on transportation, office space and more.
2. Break-time or lunchtime options. Buy a reusable lunch bag and pack your lunch in it everyday. Avoid using throwaway containers like sandwich bags and use reusable plasticware--Glad, Tupperware and Ziplock all offer plastic bowls and tubs with lids. You can also turn empty butter bowls and dip containers from the grocery store into your own set of reusable containers. Bring silverware from home instead of using plastic utensils. Also, use your own cup for water or coffee instead of having to use the Styrofoam® or paper ones your office provides.
3. Just say no to paper. Think before you hit the print button for anything-be it an email or a document. In this day and age almost everything we do is electronic, so do you really need to clutter up your office and the world with unnecessary paper? Store your files on your computer and only print what is absolutely necessary. You can also use free programs like Google docs or CDs to backup your electronic files.
4. Workspaces. Using recycled furniture and changing to low-use lighting are just two ways that you can turn your work area into an eco-friendly environment. Use natural sunlight instead of artificial lighting whenever possible. It's also important to make sure you have clean air to breathe and why not help your breathing and pretty up your environment at the same time with a plant for your desk.
5. Save electricity. Computers, printers, lights and more need electricity to work. But when these items are not in use, turn them off! When you go home for the day, make sure that all of the lights, computers, printers and other electrical items are turned off. It only takes a few minutes to do but can add up on savings of money and electricity over time.

At home, at work and when you play, you have to be kind to the environment. The environment will return the favor to you and your kids someday. Taking these five easy steps to go green at work is one of many things you can do to leave your positive mark on Earth.

Going Green: 5 Ways to Go Paperless

If you are anything like me, you are bombarded with junk mail on almost a daily basis. I often wonder, "Where do these people get my name and address?" This is truly a rhetorical question because as a marketing professional, I know exactly where they get my name and address. And even when it isn't "junk mail" per se, I get envelope after envelope of bills and statements filled with even more paper, inserts, flyers and more. This paper just piles up to be filed away or gets immediately filed in the "round inbox," as I refer to my office garbage can.

If these feelings and conversations with yourself sound familiar, the good news is that there are ways to go paperless and get the clutter of paper out of your life. I made a commitment this year to go paperless-at least as paperless as I can go.

1. Stop the junk mail. I was perusing one of my green sites the other day and I came across a free service that allows you to put an end to your junk mail foes-at least 90% of it anyway. ProQuo is a free service that puts you in control of the mail you want to receive and the mail you don't. With a few clicks of your mouse, you can reduce the junk mail you receive-thus reducing your paper clutter. The irony here is that some of the companies require you to print out a form and mail it in to stop the junk mail, but besides that this is a service well worth checking into.
2. Get statements online. Almost every company you do business with these days gives you the option to receive your statements or other information online. From bank statements and credit card statements to the utility and credit card bill, all of this information can be accessed online, so why do you need it "snail mailed" to you? Go to each of your bill creditor's websites and choose the option to receive your statement online. Not only does this save paper, it saves gas and postage for mailing it USPS, and it saves you the time of having to open, read and file away a paper statement.
3. Electronic files. Paper files are a thing of the past. In many cases, there isn't a need for a file at all. Whether you save a file to the desktop of your computer or to a CD, this takes the place of a paper file. You're doing more than going paperless, you're also saving trees. Google docs is a new service that allows you to upload files to it so you have an online backup of your files. From Word docs to PDF files, this is a great way to have access to your "paper files" wherever you are, as long as you have access to the Internet.
4. Take electronic notes. At heart, I am a list maker. I make lists of the lists I need to make. At one time on my PDA and now on my iPhone, I have replaced these paper lists with electronic ones. It's a win-win because you can still make a note to yourself or create the grocery list, but you don't use and waste a piece of paper doing it.
5. Only print when necessary. It's a moot point to receive an email (an electronic file) and then print it. That defeats the whole purpose of electronic mail. While there are times when it may be necessary to print something out, think before you hit the print button. Only choose to print what is absolutely necessary.

By implementing these five ways to go green and go paperless, you are not only helping to save the environment, but you are also helping to de-clutter and de-paper your life.

Creating a Green Workspace

Toting your groceries home in reusable bags and buying produce from the local farmers market is not enough to provide a greener environment. Just like there are things we can do in our personal life to keep our carbon footprint at a minimum, there are things we can do with our work life as well. Creating a green space to work isn't as hard as it may sound. And many companies have stepped up to the plate by creating office products, furniture, and accessories that are eco-friendly options for the office.

Eco-friendly seating. Before you buy a host of new chairs for your office, be sure to check out Steelcase's Think Chair. It's made of 41% recycled materials and is 99% recyclable when it is old, worn out, and no longer in use. It's also ergonomic with its adjustable headrest, lumbar position, three reclining positions and adjustable arms.

It's gone to the desks. Companies like EcoWork and Dirtt offer organic shaped and durable surface office furniture and cubicle systems to choose from. EcoWork has over 240 products, allowing a company to create a customized workspace to fit its needs and the needs of its employees-all while being friendly to the Earth the key to these companies and their eco-friendly furniture is the fact its made from sustainable products like rubber, plastic or recycled newsprint, cardboard fiber or core.

Toners, clipboards and pens-oh my! One man's junk is another man's treasure definitely holds true today when old and unused products become new works of art. Motherboard, for example, is a company that turns old computer motherboards and circuit boards into usable products like clipboards, binders, mousepads and other office supplies. The Green Office is a supplier of green products for every aspect of the office from the toner that goes in the printer to the coffee that employees drink in the break room. And while you may have the preconceived notion that buying these Earth-friendly products are more expensive, it's not. The cost is comparable, but the eco-friendliness is priceless.

Recycle. Especially if you are a high paper producing company and you just can't seem to go electronic (law firms and doctor's offices are probably the most guilty culprits), then the very least you can do is recycle. Hire a recycle company who brings a paper recycle receptacle to your office and comes to empty it as often as you need. Send back your empty ink toner cartridges so they can be filled with new ink and resold. Buy re-filled ink toner cartridges instead of brand new ones.

Do your part. Contrary to belief, every little bit does count.

Happy New Year

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Wrapping up my pondering on business resolutions for 2009! I'll post the link when it's moved from mind to paper.

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