Happy Earth Day!

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I have been trying my best to incorporate “Going Green” in my home. Some of these things are rather simple and easy, and actually not only helps the environment, but also helps save money as well!

Energy saving light bulbs – about a year ago, I replaced all of my light bulbs with energy saving light bulbs. Now my electric bill was never really high to begin with, but I did see a small decrease in my bill after the switch. Plus they last a really long time, so that keeps me from having to stand up on a ladder or chair to replace my ceiling lights =)

Turing off the lights – I am really good at turning off lights, but I do need to work on unplugging chargers. I have heard that this uses 5 watts of energy per hour when they aren’t recharging a battery.

Recycling – I have been recycling paper, plastic and glass for about a year now. It’s amazing how much this cuts down on my trash. I actually now have a little trash can under my sink for trash, and I only have to take it out a couple of times a week. I used to have a large trash can, but I found that the majority of my trash was recyclable, so now I just have a Rubbermaid bin that I use to hold my recycling. Luckily I don’t have to separate my recycling, so I just throw it all in together.

Water bottles – I installed a Brita water filter on my kitchen faucet, so I just keep filling up my water bottles instead of drinking bottled water. We also have water filters at work. This helps to save a TON of money on drinks throughout the day. I started buying those Crystal Light drink packets also to flavor my water. They are only about $2 or $3 for a pack of 12 and are very tasty.

Gardening – The last couple of years I have been growing my own tomatoes. Last year I attempted bell peppers and cucumbers, but they didn’t grow very well because I can only grow them in containers. This year I will try the tomatoes again for sure, and I am going to start my own herb garden as well. I love growing my own vegetables. It makes me feel proud that I can actually grow something that I can then eat!

Paying bills online – I no longer get any paper statements, which helps keeps the amount of mail I have to go through down as well. I actually pay everything online, and utilize http://www.mycheckfree.com/ to pay some of my bills. They have a wide variety of utility bills that you can pay online, and they email you when the bill is due. With only a few clicks, you can pay you bill easily each month.

I am sure there are a lot of other things that I can be doing to help the environment, but I feel that every little thing counts. If you have any "Go Green" tips, please share! I actually found even more tips on Southern Living's website.