Earth Day 2009! Go Green Without Spending a Penny

Today is Earth Day, and there are so many ways to love our planet and your wallet at the same time. If you can’t afford pricey solar panels on the roof of your house this year (who can?), and you're not quite ready to trade in your morning car ride for a morning bike ride to work, why not opt to make some free, easy changes? Show the Earth some love and commit to taking just a few green baby steps.

Going green does not have to be time consuming, and all-encompassing. Without making any major adjustments to your life, you can reduce your carbon footprint immediately. All you need is a little consciousness and dedication. Think of Earth Day as the first day of the rest of your green life. Commit to green habits and greener living. I surveyed the staff here at Blinds.com, and together we compiled a list of the 13 things we do that might help you too. Here’s how:

1. What to do: "Replace your dish and clothing detergent with eco-friendly brands."

Why they help: Okay, I can’t promise that the eco-friendly brands will be the exact same price, but I will promise that by making the switch, you’ll be releasing a lot less toxic, harmful chemical into our water systems. Check out this great review of eco-friendly detergents to help you pick the best one for you.

2. What to do: "Reuse your water bottles."

Why this helps: There are literally thousands and thousands of water bottles sitting in landfills. Where do you think they’re going? Nowhere. In fact, the chemicals in them will melt into the soil which grows our food. Lovely. Either stop drinking from water bottles and use your own cups (more on that below) or use no more than one a week. Keep refilling it and washing it yourself. Do not put it in the dishwasher, plastic water bottles are not dishwasher safe.Have you seen the island of trash, TWICE the size of Texas?

3. What to do: "Start a mini-recycling program. Focus on recycling only paper products."

Why this helps: People often have good intentions when starting recycling programs, but they think too big. They don’t realize the amount of garbage they accumulate, and how many carloads a week they’ll be taking the recycling center in the absence of curbside recycling. Why not start with one project? Paper. If you’re used to throwing away newspapers, try first recycling those, along with old magazines, paper cups, junk mail, and other paper goods you’d normally toss. By starting small, you’ll get yourself into the habit of recycling without feeling overwhelmed. Check out this guide to easy recycling! It tells you what to recycle and how to prepare it for recycling.

4. What to do: "Shut the doors to your home quickly."

Why this helps: Every time you open the doors to your home, cool air escapes and your home must work extra hard (read: use more energy) to overcompensate, since you have that thermostat set at 68 degrees. Hurry up, get in the house! Only bring in as many bags of groceries at a time as you can carry while you shut the door after yourself. It’s tempting to leave the door open while your kids play outside, but instead, why don’t you join them?

5. What to do: "Reuse containers bought for other items (deli meat) and wash them and bring my leftovers for lunch the next day in that all the time. Bring your lunch in the plastic bags you carry your groceries home in."

Why this helps: We have a tendency to throw out old Tupperware and plastic containers when we aren’t sure what to do with them. Food packagers are notorious for using way to much material to wrap and contain way too little product, so you end up with an overabundance of plastic cartons and tin foil wrappers. Use them again! Grow an herb garden in your old egg carton or keep receipts in an old cracker box. Before you throw that container away, make sure you have absolutely no use for it. You never know, that piece of trash might be the canvas for your child’s next masterpiece.

6. What to do:" Paint with “green” paint."

Why this helps: Contrary to popular belief, “green” paint is not more expensive than other name-brand options. Oil-based paints contain high levels of VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) which you and your family inhale when you paint your home with them. They are highly toxic. Milk-based paint is much more eco-friendly and safe for the home. 

7. What to do: "Bring your own cup to work."

Why this helps: Styrofoam is so out of style. Seriously, who still uses and throws away Styrofoam cups each day? If your office still has this nasty habit, it’s time to call it quits. Stop usage immediately. Some forward thinking companies, like Shell, have started requiring that employees bring a non-disposable cup from home to drink from. Imagine if every office in the world switched to non-disposable cups! Let’s start with you, though. Maybe you work for a huge corporation and you don’t even know your CEO’s name to go to him with a complaint. Go to your direct supervisor. See if he will allow you to make this small change within your department. You’ll all benefit from it by not being so wasteful and you’ll save the company money because they won’t have to buy you and your co-workers cups anymore.

8. What to do: "Don’t turn lights on during the day. Raise the blinds a little bit for daylighting."

Why this helps: The concept of Daylighting is as old as man itself, we just have a fancier word for it. What do you think ancient man did to light his cave? He utilized the sun to the best of his abilities. He hung wet cloth on the outside of his dwelling so that when wind blew, cool air came in. Let’s pretend we’re cavemen (or cavewomen) and use the sun to the best of our abilities. Raise your blind a little bit and let just enough light in without letting in too much head. Significantly reduce your energy costs this way.

9. What to do: "Turn the lights off in your home for one hour every evening."

Why this helps: when darkness falls, we have a tendency to turn on every light in the house. For one hour every evening, try lighting your home with candlelight, or turning on as few lights as possible. You might even be pleasantly surprised by the romantic mood you’ve accidentally created.

10. What to do: Switch to fluorescent light bulbs. 

Why this helps: Yes, these are more expensive, but they last twice as long. By switching to longer lasting, more energy efficient lightbulbs you’ll save money over time AND reduce your energy bills. 

11. What to do: Combine your errands so you drive less.

Why this helps: It’s no secret that we, as a society, are dependent on oil. Reduce that dependency by choosing Super Target or Super Walmart instead of three different stores to run your errands. Shop at a strip center that contains all the places you might want to go, then walk from store to store. All your errands will be done in one trip, and you’ll save dozens of gallons of gas over the course of a year.

12. What to do: Shave two minutes off your shower.

Why this helps: Seen your water bill lately? Between the laundry, the dishes, and your showers, it’s probably pretty high. If you showered for two less minutes each morning, you’d save tons.

13. What to do: Ask your bank and utilities companies to stop sending you paper statements.

Why this helps: Every month, you receive pages and pages of statements and bills, and what do you often do with them? Throw them in the trash (or if you’re smart, you shred them). Join the 21^st century by receiving your bank statements electronically and paying your bills online. You’ll save pounds of paper each year.

For Earth Day ONLY, Blinds.com will take 15% off the most popular and top rated bamboo shade. Enter code Green1Day at checkout. It's our gift to you and Mother Earth.

Happy decorating and happy Earth Day,