Do you wish you had a lower environmental impact (LEI)? This is the new word for being more green.
Do you feel if you were more organized you might in fact be more green?
What is the first thing that comes to your mind?
please watch this short video on how to be more green
Did you think of the most popular “going green” tactic?
Follow these simple Top Ten Tips on
how to be more green
by being more organized.
Tip #1 Cut out buying packaged foods. Think of how much less garbage you will have. Buying whole fresh foods is better for you and better for the environment. You will need to be more organized as whole fresh foods take a little longer to prepare.
Tip #2 Do full loads of laundry. You will save so much more water and less soap will be going into our environment. Have set laundry days. No more washing just the hockey uniform for tomorrow’s game.
Tip #3 Have all your errands planned and routed out. Think of how much gas and time you will save. This makes you SUPER green.
Tip #4 Be green by doing light coloured hand laundry first in a big bowl of water. Then wash your darks before tossing the water and doing a rinse. Hanging clothing items to dry also saves on our environment. You need to be organized and plan in advance if you need that specialty piece of clothing for a certain day.
Tip #5 Get the whole family hanging out in one room, reading, working on their computers, doing homework or watching TV. You will be so green because every light in the house will not be on. Turn lights off as you exit a room.
Tip #6 Use your oven for multiply cooking. For example if you are going to roast a beef for dinner use that oven energy to roast potatoes. Follow up with baking cookies, muffins or a quick bread. This saves on having the oven on one night for dinner and another night for baking.
Tip #7 Cooking in bulk saves on electricity. Not to mention your own energy. Be organized by planning ahead.
Tip #8 Hang your towels after each use. This way you can use them again. If they sit on the floor they usually end up in the laundry hamper. Get your whole family doing this tip. You will save on laundry, water, and the environment.
Tip #9 Take your own cloth bags grocery shopping. Once you have unpacked your groceries put your cloth bags right by the door. They will be ready to go back in your car. Be green and organized by taking your cloth bags even if you are going to the mall.
Tip #10 Use your own coffee cup. You can save a lot of paper cups just by simply bringing your own “to go” mug to a coffee shop, work or an event where you know they will have paper cups.
Do you have any other great “green” tips? Please share them below.
I use bins for shopping as they can be washed out as required and are more efficient for loading and unloading. Also less change of my items getting squished.
Hi Lisa, Thank you for sharing your tips. I like the idea of bins especially if you go to Costco. The boxes there never seem to be “just right”
I’ll bet it works well in your trunk. Sometimes bags can fall over and then you have your groceries all over the trunk.
Being organized allows you to be more green. If you are organized and know what you are cooking for the week you can soak the beans instead of buying canned which is healthier and no can for recycle. Also you make better use of the oven time by baking lots of items for the week and then you can freeze them and have instant home made meals. I always use my own bags and I have my husband trained to have a bag in his back pocket for the times I can’t find my bag in my deap hole of a bag.
Hi Sylvia,
Thank you for sharing your great green/organized tips. Now as for that deep hole in your bag…………are we needing to talk about organizing your purse? There is a blog about that.
🙂
What do these bins look like? What size are they? What are they made of? And do they fit inside of each other?
Hi Lilly,
The bins can be anything like your recycling blue box or the green bins they use at Superstore or even fold-able bins that can be purchased from Canadian Tire or London Drugs.Hope this helps. They really are useful bins to have in your car. I stand my grocery bags in them so they do not fall over. I also use a fold-able one to take dry goods up the Whistler when I am going away for the weekend.Beats using a cardboard box.
Thank you Rowena
Thanks for the tips Rowena. I haven’t a definite answer to the question which comes first – green or organized? I think they play on each other. I like to think of myself as green, maybe light green and I have noticed that when I’m less organized, I’m also less green.
If I’m running late, I’ll forget my shopping bags, or coffee cup and then have to accept the paper or plastic from the store. In balancing the Karma after something like that I’ll make a conscious effort to do something green, like picking up other people’s garbage of finding another use for a piece of paper or a bag.
I liked how you caught Sylvia’s ‘deep bag’ issue and offered a service. You’re obviously very good at what you do.
Hi Debra,
I like how you redeem yourself if you have forgotten a bag or coffee mug. I would like to see us all doing this.
Thank you for your kind words.
Rowena
For years I have had a plastic container in an upper cupboard in the laundry room for dead batteries. Our family didn’t use many (I thought…)but everyone was trained to put them there instead of the garbage. When it is full I put them in a clear plastic bag (from produce). Our local municipal hall here in Langley will take them for recycling.
Hi Shannon,
What a great idea. Thank you for sharing. London Drugs will take your batteries and any electronics for recycling as well.
Together we can make a difference for the future.
Rowena