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Health & Fitness

Go Green in the New Year

Save money and our planet when you put "going green" on your New Year's to-do list!

 

Little things can make a difference.  Make it a New Year’s resolution to “green up” your home.

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Waterworks for Teeth

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Brush, brush, brush.  Instead of allowing the faucet to run while brushing your teeth, turn it off!  This simple act makes a huge impact.  By leaving the water running while brushing for the dentist recommended time of two minutes, twice a day, you use 12 gallons of water daily.  That’s 4,380 gallons per year literally going down the drain!  So turn the water off while brushing.

 

Flush and Conserve

Toilets can account for more than 40 percent of a household’s water usage.  Reduce water usage without even buying a new toilet.  Place a 1-liter plastic bottle full of water (smaller sizes can float) inside your toilet’s water tank.  Every time you flush, instead of using 6 liters of water, you will use 5 liters.

 

Plastic Bags are so Old School

Get reusable bags for the grocery store and the dry cleaner.  More than 100 billion plastic bags are thrown away each year.  A plastic bag, cap or lid takes decades to biodegrade.

 

Get Rid of the Paper Towels

Yep.  Next time your kitchen counter’s wet, reach for a cloth instead of a paper towel.  You’ll save a lot of paper – including the small, green kind that fits in your wallet.  If you use one roll of paper towels per week, you could save $100 per year by switching to dishcloths and tea towels.  And cotton tea towels are thicker and can hold more water than paper towels.  Or if you just can’t bear to get rid of paper towels altogether, go with recycled and non-chlorine bleached paper towels from companies like Seventh Generation.

 

Recycle that Aluminum

We know you know about recycling aluminum.  Make the process more efficient and crush the can before collection.  This takes up less space in the recycle bin and therefore fewer trips to the recycling plant.  And by the way, recycling just one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV set for three hours!

 

See more by Donna and Eve’s other Contributors.

 

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