Going Green while Keeping Your Green

Some people think “going green” means shelling a lot of green out of your wallet, but that’s not always the case.  I stumbled on a few great ideas to live a green life while keeping some money in your pocket.  I’ll share with you some ideas I found on Wisebread.com, as well as some of my own.  To narrow the tips, I’m picking and choosing the ideas I already use in my daily life.  Hey, you never know, maybe you’re already living green and don’t even know it.  I know I was.

The first tip I’ll share with you is something I already did and never considered being a green-thing: I don’t buy those disposable, plastic razors.  Unfortunately, my dad is guilty of this.  I have a more heavy-duty razor, and I just replace the razor head when it wears down.  Wisebread.com says this is a great way to keep those plastic disposable razor blades out of the landfills.  Sure, the metal razor is a little pricey at first, but it lasts forever and eventually pays off.  I’ve had mine for a couple years now (but that’s probably more than you wanted to know).

Another cheap, green tip is to reduce the amount of paper towels you use.  I was guilty of this when I first moved into my apartment, and did more cooking and cleaning than I ever did before.  It’s so easy to just grab a paper towel to wipe the counter, and dry the dishes, even the floor.  This really adds up price-wise – not to mention in the landfill.  I recently started hanging two small towels in my kitchen.  One towel is to wipe the counters and one is to wipe the dishes.  This is a huge help.   And it saves me from lugging a 12-pack, plastic-wrapped paper towel assortment every time I grocery shop.

The last little tip is courtesy of my own green thinking.  Or maybe it’s just because I can be extremely cheap at times.  I started reusing those little brown paper lunch bags.  You know, the ones that are probably for second-graders, but that I still find useful.  Yeah, those.  My rule is to keep using them until they tear.  Sometimes that’s sooner rather than later, but at least I’m staying green on the cheap.  Now, you can too.