Frugal Tips/Earth Day Ideas
I know today is Earth Day and many websites are posting about the various freebies that are out there, but I wanted this post to be different. I wanted to look at what was already in our home or what we could do different to save money (a FEW of the many ideas out there).
Conserve water- I know it is soo easy for me to tell you to conserve water, but it is hard to do. Well my husband has come up with a little trick. We keep a 5 gallon paint bucket in our shower, when we start the shower we let the cold water run into the bucket while we are adjust the temperature of the water. After our showers we take the bucket outside and use that water that would have been wasted to water the trees and part of the lawn. It may not seem like much water but even 1/4 bucket a few times a week will help my lawn and trees. It does not cost me anything since I already had the bucket. It just takes a few extra minutes of my time (and the keeping of a bucket in my shower, but it is behind the curtain and no one can see it).
Stop using as much paper- My husband is very bad about grabbing a ton of paper towels to clean up a mess. I have hid the paper towels and started leaving towels adn rags in the areas he looks for paper towels in. I normally purchase towels on Black Friday and then I take the old towels and cut them down to use as rags. My 11 year old is recently learning how to sew, so I am going to have him help me finish the edges of these so they look more attractive.
Ceiling Fans- Your ceiling fan should spin counter-clockwise in the summer for you to feel cooler in your house. During the winter and colder months the fan can be used on a low setting, spinning clockwise to help distribute the warm air form the heater.
Junk Mail- I know many of us get a bunch of junk mail. You can get off the direct mail lists by registering online at https://www.dmachoice.org/dma/member/regist.action If you do get junk mail be sure to recycle it. My oldest son also likes to make paper airplanes. I let him use all the junk mail he wants to make the paper airplanes and after he is done with them we recycle them.
I know there are MANY ideas out there for frugal ways to help save the environment, tell me yours!
i plan to make a couple more container gardens… made from old storage totes, they work wonderfully and use so much less water as it is contained in the bottom and doesn’t evaporate as quickly. I have made 2 of these so far at a cost of about $10.00. 🙂