Everyday living:
Measure your energy output: Awareness is important, and there are a variety of products showcased at http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2417973,00.asp to help you monitor how much energy you use in your home, which will give you a better idea of the changes you need to make in order to lower those numbers. Obviously, these products cost money, though many are quite cheap. I will definitely have my eye on a lot of these. (Now that the semester's over, I can actually work more often! Looking forward to buying the green products in my bookmarks bar.)
For pet owners, salt is your friend: If you've got a pet who occasionally doesn't quite make it outside, pour regular table salt on carpets or upholstery they've urinated on and let it sit for several hours. Then just vacuum up the salt, which will have absorbed both the stain and the odor.
Recycle freezers and refrigerators: And get paid to do it! For New Yorkers, ConEd will reimburse you $50 to come and remove and recycle old appliances. Read about it here: http://www.coned.com/energyefficiency/residential_bounty_program.asp.
Buy green cosmetics and toiletries: Head over to http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ for a huge database of cosmetics graded on their environmental friendliness. I know I'll be using this site before I buy anything ever again!
Use vodka for...everything, apparently: I mean, I understand if you want to save it for drinking, but if a memory of a particularly bad hangover has you eyeing your liquor cabinet with distaste, you can use your vodka for the following: polishing silverware, faucets, chandeliers, eyeglasses, as well as killing weeds without dousing the rest of your yard in soil-destroying chemicals. You can also use it to polish jewelry (but NOT pearls, opals, or porous stones) by letting jewelry soak for five to ten minutes.
Recycle your window blinds: I didn't know this one was possible, but I'm glad to hear it is! Go to http://www.treehugger.com/interior-design/you-can-recycle-window-blinds-yes-you-can.html to find out different options for blinds in various states of disrepair.
Dispose of medication safely: Look at http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/consumerupdates/ucm101653.htm to find the best way to get rid of expired items in your medicine cabinet.
Get kids involved: Each generation is going to have to be greener than the last in order to bring the world into a safe future; that's just a fact of our world at this point. So if you have or know any kids, start them off early! At http://www.youthbeat.com/blog/bid/83877/five-ways-to-make-earth-day-fun?source=Blog_Email_[Five%20Ways%20to%20Make%20Ea, you can find ways to bring children to an awareness of green living in a fun way. These tips certainly didn't expire by Earth Day!
Unsurprisingly, Leah is doing this with her adorable son! She says: "We use the nearby bike path all the time and I'm always exasperated that people just leave their trash everywhere. Well, my son has been asking if we could clean it up a bit, and Earth Day was just the kick we needed. When we arrived, I realized it's a very big task for two people, since many more than two people made all that mess to begin with. So we decided to focus on recyclable materials. Armed with grocery bags and winter mittens, we spent about 15 minutes combing the grass for cans, bottles, and other items; some of our finds included a 40 gallon bucket and an empty bleach bottle. Three bags were all I could safely carry while holding my son's hand on the way home, but I could tell even that much was very gratifying to him. We brought our booty home to our own recycling toter. If we all bring a bag on walks around the neighborhood, even just once in a while, and focus on cans and bottles, we'll be cleaning up our communities and perpetuating the cycle of sustainability by recycling."
If this story weren't already wonderful, Leah also generously provided pictures:
Behold our green future!
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