Going lazy green May 26, 2008

While we do believe in conserving resources and look up to people who truly do go “green” in large ways…  The fact is that going “green” is most of the time expensive.  Expensive in either time and/or money and/or effort.  We’ve recently made some changes in our lifestyle that have made our lives greener… and more convenient.

Ditch the paper towels

We actually did this on accident.  We normally notice when we’re about to run out of paper towels and make sure to pick up another giant cube of them before that happens.  The last time we had them though, I think the kids got to them or something, they went down fast.  So there we were with stuff to clean and no paper towels…  We had two babies with reflux, so we have collected an unhealthy number of cheap burp cloths.  Problem solved.  We haven’t bought paper towels in about 2 months now.  We were lucky though and already had invested in an alternate for other reasons.  But cheap burp cloths are easy to find in the baby section of Target or Walmart.

Remove light bulbs

This we also did on accident.  For some reason our entire kitchen is wired with about 25 lightbulbs in various spots.  Turns out we only need about 6.  Seriously, I see no difference in the amount of light in our kitchen with only 6 vs the 25.  We used all the lights for a while, but then they started to burn out.  I’m not sure when they did, because it was hard to notice.  So out of laziness and forgetfulness (too lazy to make a special trip to buy bulbs, too forgetful to remember to buy bulbs while out) we have reduced the amount of light bulbs in our kitchen by over 50%.  I’ve actually read tips about unscrewing every other bulb on the bathrom vanity if you have a line of them.

Reusable shopping bags

This one actually took some minimal effort.  But in the long run it still saves us time and effort.   Most grocery stores sell them at the checkouts now for 99 cents or less.  We found them only and I think got 15 of them for something around 80 cents a piece.

And they rock.

Take the amount of groceries you can fit in paper/plastic bags… and you’ll need half the number of reusable bags for it.  They’re just so much sturdier and spacious.  Just today I bought a 6 pack of pop, a watermelon, a honeydew, grapes, hummus, pita, peanut butter and a pineapple.  TWO BAGS.  Everything was bagged and easy to carry.  Why haven’t these been available all along?  They are FAR superior to paper/plastic!

Paperless billing

I hate sending mail.  I hate buying stamps, keeping stamps, finding stamps, realizing they’re too old and not worth enough, adding extra stamps, making a trip to a mailbox, etc.  So when all of a sudden all the places that want my money either offered online bill pay or over the phone bill pay… I was very happy.  There’s not a single bill that I pay through mail anymore.  All the bills are handled either online or over the phone.  So incredibly easy.  Some companies even offer “paperless” billing options where you get an email bill instead of a snail mail bill.  So then it’s wins all around!

So… while we are far from hippie green.  We have found some ways to be more green.  Ways that are easy for us to follow, with our laziness and short attention spans.  We also try to use public transportation/walk to places when possible.  The kids love public transportaion for some reason.  And here in Colorado it’s easy to heat/cool your home just by opening/closing your windows (at least for us… I’ve heard other people in CO have other experiences).

Going green in some areas has made our lives easier, cheaper, and more pleasant.   Never would have thought that possible.