Getting Started Going Green

Going Green has been somewhat of a hot topic the last few years with various special interest groups and politicians telling us how we have to do more and give more or else. Of course the or else you hear about will depend on the sources particular need as well as what is popular in the media at the moment, but rarely does any of them talk about doing something that makes a difference on the individual here and now.

Instead of focusing on what the talking heads are saying to try and scare you into action, try to think about what you can do now that can impact your own life. To help you with some ideas, let me explain to you what going green means to me.

First, going green to me is more of a lifestyle. A lifestyle that is focused on improving quality of life for my family and I while reducing our impact on the environment around us. After all, what average person is going to make changes in their habits if it means their day to day life is going to be less enjoyable?

For our family, this means putting a focus on things that help us to reduce our expenses and allow us to spend more time together. For example, cutting out non essential items that carry monthly bills so we can spend less time at work and more time doing things we enjoy. It also means changing habits that reduce our need for stuff which translates into lower expenses as well as reducing resources used by our family. This is different for everyone so the things you do may be very different from what we do.

The first thing we did was get rid of our cell phones. This cut out a huge monthly expense without reducing our quality of life. In fact I would say not being tied to a phone all day has dramatically improved my quality of life. The convenience of being able to screen and ignore calls all day is not worth the monthly fee, so why commit to working several hours each month to pay for it?

The next thing we did was get rid of our regular phone. Now most would say this is plain crazy I am sure, but in todays world a landline phone is just not necessary for everyone. Instead, we have a voip phone through Skype and pay approximately $50-$60 a year for unlimited calls and a local phone number that is routed through our computer. All that is required is an internet connection and a headset or microphone and you are ready to go. That is yet another monthly bill we do not pay any longer.

We have begun gardening on a small scale which saves us money while teaching our children about where their food comes from. It also allows us to provide them with fresh vegetables that are chemical free by growing them organically. This will improve their health by reducing the intake of pesticides they eat too.

Our laundry is washed in cold water which reduces our heating bill and also increases the life of the fabric. We use half of the amount of detergent recommended and offset that by adding baking soda which means no fabric softeners needed and less impact on the local water supply when it eventually gets washed down the drain. This summer we will also begin air drying our clothes eliminating the dryer as much as possible.

Replaced all our lights with CFL's. I know some are worried about the mercury in the bulbs, but studies show the amount of mercury in a bulb is much lower then what is pumped into the atmosphere when producing the power needed for a regular bulb. I imagine it won't be long before better recycling options for CFL's will be in place dramatically reducing that potential impact as well.

Set our thermostat on a schedule so we are not heating the whole house when it isn't needed and lowered the temp. a bit as well.

Drink water instead of soda and get our water from the tap instead of small bottles. I know not everyone can drink water from the tap where they live, but studies have shown that the average bottled water is just the same and in some cases actually worse then tap water. This reduces the amount of plastic waste we have at home and drinking water is much better for our health then soda anyway.

By the way, I am an ex Pepsi holic and can tell you from experience that the withdrawals go away in just a few days. An added benefit for people who have regular headaches is that once you ween yourself from all that caffeine, chances are your headaches will mostly go away too. Many headaches are caused by dehydration which is caused by the caffeine and sugar in the soda.

Now these are basic things anyone can do, and are not by any means the only things that can be done. The idea though, is to look at the things you do that can be changed in ways that will not be too painful to you while at the same time reducing the impact you make around you.

If you will notice, each of the things I have listed not only reduce our need for stuff, but they directly impact our monthly expenses by lowering them. Why work to pay for things that add no real honest value to your life just because the commercials say they do?

Stop worrying about the scare tactics of the talking heads and look at what you can do to improve your own quality of life. Chances are, if you are doing things that make your life simpler and healthier then you will not only save money but resources as well.