Go greener this summer with these eco-friendly tips and suggestions!
- Go Thrifting Instead of Shopping!
The United States is a country inundated with clothing. You can barely walk out of the door without seeing some sort of advertisement for a clothing store, like Forever 21 or H&M, boasting their newest $5 t-shirt sale.
While those prices may seem to die for, never forget why that clothing is at a price point as low as it is.
Cheap overseas labor.
Sweatshop working conditions.
Disregard, and absence of, child labor laws.
All of these despicable reasons, and more, are why so much clothing nowadays is not only dirt cheap, but constantly replenished by the truckload.
Choosing not to purchase clothing at such a high rate, opting instead to shop at goodwill, thrift shops,
places like Savers, lessens the ecological footprint you leave on this planet and lets those huge companies know that you are not in compliance with, and refuse to shut your eyes to, their inhumane business practices.
It takes a lot of time, effort, money and fuel to get your favorite fruits and veggies from the place they originated to your nearby grocery store. Instead of relying on them for your produce, why not start purchasing from local farms, fruit stands, etc! You'll be supporting local business, receiving the freshest produce possible and you may even learn a thing or two while you're there!
In addition, the summertime is ideal for picking your own produce! Make an afternoon of it and pick your own strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and more!
- Pay Attention To Energy Usage!
While mythical beings such as vampires do not exist, vampire power, which happens when you leave your devices plugged in (even if they're turned off), is a very real thing.
Sometimes referred to as standby power or phantom load, vampire power is the electricity many appliances and gadgets use, and waste, by simply being plugged in. Understandably some appliances and devices, like your refrigerator, cannot be unplugged all of the time but other things, like cell phone chargers, televisions and laptops, can be.
Tip: Investing in a power strip, plugging in there, then turning the switch off on the strip will make your life easier and have you spending less time unplugging!
You may even want to consider hooking your pad up with some
Smart Home gadgets. Products like the Nest Learning Thermostat allow you to control and monitor your energy use from anywhere in the world right from your smart phone. Turn your air conditioning off when you're gone from home, then remotely start it up again when you're on your way back. That way you save energy, save on your bills and still come home to a cool house.
During the summertime especially, since it is so hot and sweat-inducing out, it is easy to go through clothing quickly and not wear certain articles of clothing as many times as you normally would before washing. But there are still ways to make sure that when you are cleaning your clothing, you are doing so in the most environmentally friendly way.
First off, make sure you always do the laundry when you have a full load instead of doing two loads and using up the same amount of water all over again. Secondly, wash your clothing in a cold wash cycle! Heating up water to do laundry is one of the biggest energy wasters in a typical American household.
Every single day our landfills fill up with more and more garbage, some of which is 100% compostable. By beginning to compost food scraps and yard waste you'll be reducing the amount of garbage heading to the landfills, and hey, if you're into gardening that nutrient rich compost is basically super food for your growing plants!
For those unfamiliar with the term, upcycling is the process of transforming a discarded item into into a new and improved version of itself. Upcycling items brings them renewed beauty and removes them from the global garbage stream. You can upcycle old furniture, turn a stained t-shirt into a tote bag,
convert plastic bottles into hanging planters, and so much more. The possibilities are endless!
Don't be afraid to spread the environmental gospel! We only have one planet earth, and it is our responsibility to take care of it.
