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A lot of moms know that saving money is a great thing. But how about saving money and knowing you are helping the world? Even better? You don’t have to believe that our earth is in an environmental crisis in order to be wise stewards of the earth. As a parent, we should be teaching our children about moderation. Everything in moderation I always hear and it’s true; even in your household waste and in your household budget. Why not learn ways to minimize the human impact on the earth while saving some money to boot. What a win-win situation! Here is just the tip of the iceberg of ways you can save money while being a good steward.
Click on the money saving topic to take you to that section.
Save Energy Save Water Save Money on General Household Stuff
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What You Can Do
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Why It’s Green
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How It Saves You Money
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Insulate Your Water Heater
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Reduces Carbon Emissions
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Saves money on your electric bill. Putting insulation on your water heater can reduce standby heat losses by 25–45% which will save you around 4–9% in water heating costs.[1] You can buy an insulation kit at any home center. The insulation will start paying for itself after one year. Check out the U.S. Department of Energy’s website for more information and installation instructions.
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Turn Off and/or Unplug Your Electronics
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Reduces Energy Usage
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Saves money on your electric bill.
In the average home, 75% of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off. [2] Appliances that use electricity, such as I-Pod and phone chargers, VCRs, televisions, stereos, computers, and kitchen appliances are the usual suspects. Putting your computer on the “sleep” mode or just turning it off when you are not using it will save energy. Also, try putting all of your chargers for your fun devices on a power strip. When you are not charging any of them, turn off the power strip. Do this for your entertainment systems as well. |
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Install Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs
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Saves Green House Gases
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Saves money on the electric bill.
Changing one light bulb will save you $30 in electric bills over the bulb’s life. The Dept. of Energy states that you can save about 50% on your lighting costs. [3] On top of that, these bulbs are less hot and could possibly help you save money your cooling your home. Check out the Environmental Defense group website to learn more on how and where to use these bulbs in your home. [4] CFLs use only one-fourth the energy and last up to 10 times longer. |
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What You Can Do
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Why It’s Green
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How It Saves You Money
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Put a Few Bricks in Your Tank (your toilet tank that is)
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Preserve Water Supplies
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Saves money on the water bill.
The average older low-efficient toilet uses 4 gallons per flush. If you put a few bricks placed in a big zip lock bag in the tank of the old huge toilets, you could save about .8 gallons of water each time you flush. The average toilet is flushed 4 times per day, making the average daily savings 3.20 gallons per day. [5] |
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Turning Off Your Faucet When: brushing your teeth; shaving, washing your hands, hand washing dishes.
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Preserve Water Supplies
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Saves money on the water bill.
The average bathroom faucet flows at a rate of 2 gallons per minute. Turning off the tap while brushing your teeth twice a day can save up to 8 gallons of water per day, which equals 240 gallons a month! Just imagine if you turned off the water when you shaved, washed your hands and when you washed the dishes too! [6]
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What You Can Do
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Why It’s Green
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How It Saves You Money
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Use Reusable Canvas Shopping Bags.
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Save trees and spares land fills from plastic bags that take eternity to erode.
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Saves money at the grocery store.
Do you have the mound of brown paper bags in the garage? Do you have that big garbage bag full of plastic bags under your kitchen sink? Reusable canvas bags only cost about $1 and usually pay for themselves after 20 uses if you shop at a store that gives you a .05 cent credit for using them. After that its savings in the bag! If you bring 5 bags each time you shop you save .25 cents! It seems small but if you use them 4 times a month you will save $52 a year!
Take your mound of plastic bags to most major grocery stores and they’ll recycle them for you!
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Use Less Paper Towels
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Saves
Trees and Prevents Landfill Waste
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Saves money on your grocery bill.
If you use 1 paper towel roll a week, you are spending approximately $78 a year for your “clean” habit. Try using 1 roll a month and you could save about $60 a year. Why not try reusing the paper towel – like on those commercials! Think about how you use the paper towels and just substitute a clean kitchen towel when you can.
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Buy In Bulk
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Less Packaging Waste
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Saves you money per unit (most of the time).
Buy things in bulk such as laundry detergent, dish soap, shampoo and conditioner, tooth paste, toilet paper, and cereal you eat regularly. Check the price per unit to make sure you are getting a deal. Plus, who likes running out of toilet paper?
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Eat Less Take-Out
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Prevents Landfill Waste
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Saves you money on your household budget.
Buy frozen pizzas, or even fresh pizzas at the grocery store if you want a quick fix instead of ordering expensive pizza, waiting for it to be delivered and then throwing away the waste. Find other ways to reduce your take out on the next item.
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| Plan Your Meals in Advance |
Prevents Waste From Take-Out
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Plan your meals in advance and you’ll have less of an itch to go out. Also, try cooking or at least preparing 2 meals at least 2 nights a week. For example, if you are browning meat for chili, brown a bit more for tacos and freeze it for later. Cutting up veggies for tacos? Why not cut up some veggies to take with you to work? I like to buy a large amount of ground beef (in bulk to save money of course) and make meat loaf and let it cook while I’m cooking the meat on the stove top for tacos, chili, and enchiladas.
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The list of going green to save green goes on and on, but before we go into more, try to see if you can incorporate these tips into your life. Try making one change every few weeks, especially the habit forming ones like the cutting back on paper towels or planning your meals. That way they will have some time to "stick" before you go on to another change. Don’t forget to get your kids involved. The next article will be how to get your kids involved in saving money and the environment at the same time. Remember, you don’t have to believe that our earth is in an environmental crisis in order to be wise stewards of the earth.
[1] [2] [3] U.S. Department of Energy’s website.
[4] About.com Environmental Issues Section
[6]http://www.epa.gov/watersense
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Simple Tips to 'Green' Your Yard and Your Pocket
It's never too early to get a jumpstart on planning a more beautiful backyard. Maybe you are looking forward to inhaling the perfume of flowers wafting through the air, clipping buds from your prize-winning rose bushes, or simply enjoying the beauty of a lusher, more verdant backyard oasis this year.
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Low water flow leads to high satisfaction and savings
In the United States, Americans consume 3.7 billion gallons of water every year that are not replaced, leaving a huge water deficit - a result of growing demand on finite water supplies. In fact, at least 36 states are anticipating local, regional or statewide water shortages within the next five years. Everyone has the power to change the water equation in the United States and put more money in their own pockets, while helping hydrate the planet.
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Organic products: better for you and the earth
Protecting the earth means using it wisely, a concept that extends to virtually all aspects of life, from the emergence of renewable fuels to the conservation of plants and species.
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New moms working to save the environment and some money
Diapers. They are a way of life for new parents. But how many parents really think about their diapering decision? In these tough economic times, more budget-strapped parents are considering making the switch to cloth diapers to save money.
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Make Living Naturally Second Nature at Home
Many families are interested in adopting a more natural lifestyle, especially when they're met by life-changing moments, such as welcoming a new baby, adopting a pet, or buying a new home. Here are five tips to help families live more naturally.
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