Watch the Expiration Dates
Those silly dates on our food are the cause of a great deal of waste because people toss perfectly fine products just because of the date. Within reason, those dates are just guides. Most food products are good for many days if not weeks longer. Keep an eye on the dates, and plan to use food that is expiring soon.
Use Your Freezer
If you are getting worried that something in your fridge may not get used in time, it might be smarter to toss it in the freezer before it’s too late. Meats and many vegetables can be frozen for several months.
Don’t Shun Leftovers
Leftover food shouldn’t be tossed or ignored until it’s no good. Make it part of your routine to serve leftovers during the week or use them in other dishes. Leftover vegetables or pasta can be added to soup, and leftover meats can jazz up a stir fry. Get creative and you’ll save money and trash at dinnertime.
Now, this tip is about buying bulk foods (the kind where you bag your own) and not just buying large quantities at Costco. Most people know this can be a way to save money with grocery staples like sugar, flour or beans, but there is a great environmental aspect to bulk food too. It’s all about the packaging or, really, the lack of packaging.
The specifics vary by the type of food. Some foods are already sold in recyclable packages anyway, so the bigger benefit lies in products that are sold in non-recyclable materials. Things that come in foil-based packages, some types of paper packaging, or all those types of plastic you can’t put in your blue bin are examples where bulk is better.
Using non-packaged bulk food in your home can save thousands of pounds of garbage each year. Another benefit to buying food at a bulk store is that you can control your quantities better, which can mean less waste if you only need a small amount. Why buy a package that has more than you need?
| If you haven’t spent any time in a bulk food store recently, the variety of foods available is surprising. Larger stores will carry all your usual baking ingredients, as well as bins of dried fruit, pet food, pasta, candy, coffee, spices, trail mixes, dry cereal, and a lot more. Really good bulk food chains are also carrying plenty of organic options. | |
| Get a collection of containers to keep your bulk goodies in. The bags you get at the store are fine for some things, but a sturdier tub or jar would be better for most stuff. Save your old spaghetti sauce or peanut butter jars for free containers. | |
| Start shopping at your bulk store next time you need a few things, and see how much money and garbage you can save. |
Turn off your tap when you’re not actually using it. Most people let it run for several reasons, and every one equals a sizable waste in water.
The biggest culprit is running water while you brush your teeth. Just shut off the water while you scrub your teeth. It’s a very simple tip that won’t disrupt your life though it may seem awkward at first to keep turning the tap on and off as you rinse off your brush. You’ll get the hang of it.
That’s not the only time people tend to let the faucet flow. Are you letting the water run to get it nice and cold for a drink? Keep a jug of tap water in the fridge instead, so you can get a cold glass of water without the waste. It’s quicker, too.
If you wash your dishes by hand, running the tap until the water is hot is another problem. Depending on how quickly your water heats up, you can waste up to a gallon each time you run it. Since you can’t easily keep hot water sitting around for instant use, you have to keep the water from being wasted.
Keep a jug near the sink, and when you run the tap for hot water, just hold on to the water. Then use that supply next time you need water.
And while we’re talking about running taps, you should take care not to let any dripping ones go untended. A dripping faucet can waste hundreds (if not thousands) of gallons every year. A wrench and a new washer is probably all you need to green up your taps.
One last tip: if you tend to run a lot of water when rinsing things off, add an aerator to your faucet. You’ll get more spray but use less water. They’re easy to install, and typically just screw on to the end of your faucet.
This might not be the most appealing tip on Monday morning, but cutting back on your shower time can help save water. Quite a bit of water, actually.
You are likely using around 2 ½ gallons of water for every minute you are in the shower. If you want to save water, time your showers. If you shorten your shower by 2 minutes, that adds up to about 150 gallons of water saved each month. Shaving off just a minute or two will make a difference.
The main environmental savings is reduced water usage, but don’t forget that you will also use less hot water which means less wasted power.
Shorter showers aren’t your only option. A low-flow shower head can help you cut back on the gallons without actually getting less shower time. The average model will reduce your water consumption to around 1 ½ gallons per minute. They’re not that expensive and just screw on in place of the old head. You won’t even need a plumber.
You might try showering a little less often as well. The cultural norm in North America is to shower daily. That’s 25 gallons of water gone each day. Maybe you can change your thinking a bit and cut that down. Unless you a doing a lot of physical (i.e sweaty) labor, most people can stay perfectly clean with an every-other-day shower.
Any combination of these ideas will improve the environmental impact of your shower, and save hundreds (if not thousands) of gallons of water in the process.
Turn Off the Computer at Night
Older folks in the 1990s will remember hearing the standard tip that you should leave your computer running through the night. The problem was that the powering up sequence would surge a large amount of energy through the components, actually causing more