7 Simple Ways to Save Money and the Environment Today

Many people feel that going green is simply too expensive to achieve overnight. Or, they feel that the process is simply too overwhelming, and don’t know where to start. And while I completely understand that buying an electric car, harvesting rain water and retrofitting your home with solar panels isn’t feasible for many of us – there are ways that you can start living green today. A lot of these tips take minimal effort, but have a huge impact on the environment, your health and your wallet, read on.

1. Unplug
If your home is like ours, you have several electronics that aren’t used on a consistent basis. When you aren’t using those electronics, unplug them. Even if they are turned off, they are still using energy, until you actually unplug them – that’s why they call them “energy vampires.”

2. Look for Local and Seasonal
We are lucky here in Florida – our farmer’s market is still going strong. However, if you live in an area of the world covered in snow or don’t have access to a farmer’s market, you can still eat local and seasonal. When you hit the grocery store, look for local and seasonal foods. For example, here in Florida I make sure to purchase produce that was grown locally, instead of those grown across the country or internationally.

3. Meatless Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday….
We all know that meat has a huge impact on the environment, so when possible skip it. On taco night, instead of filling your tortilla (or lettuce cup!) with meat and cheese – top it with organic beans and vegetables. This idea isn’t only good for the environment, your wallet and body will feel the impact too!

4. Plan Ahead
I can’t stress this tip enough and it is one that I live by, get organized and plan ahead. When we do our grocery shopping, we plan out the meals that we will be eating that week and make a list of any toiletries or household items that we need. This saves us from those last minute trips to the grocery store all week long. I also bundle all of our errands – once or twice a week I take Eben to the library, make all of my deposits at the bank, and hit our medical appointments.

5. Walk More
We live in a large family friendly community with an amazing clubhouse and pool. The clubhouse is centrally located, however there are homes that are about a mile away from the pool. This means that an insane amount of people actually drive to the pool everyday. Friends, let’s commit to walking more. We picked our new home, not only because of it’s tiny footprint, we can walk or bike to the grocery store, school, local restaurants and even the beach.

6. Ditch the Plastic Bottles
This is an easy one – simply do not buy drinks in plastic water bottles. Invest a few bucks in a great reusable one that you will be happy to use everyday. You can find my favorite resuable water bottles and coffee/tea mugs here.

7. Do You Need It?
There is a series of questions I ask myself every time I am considering making a purchase:

1. Do I really need it?
2. Do I have something like it at home that I can use instead?
3. Can I find it at the thrift shop?

Then, based on those answers I make my choice, many times I skip it, figure out something that I already own that I can use instead or I hit the thrift shop to see what I can find. Not only does this help the environment, it saves our family a lot of money and keeps me creative.

P.S. To go along with number 7, here are 8 eco-friendly living questions to ask yourself. 

YOUR TURN:What other tips do you have for living a green lifestyle starting today? Your comments support us all!