Raising A Family

There’s a lot talk lately about saving our resources and creating a world that our children will be able to grow old in. All this talk is a good thing because it’s making our society more aware of the way our world is heading, and it’s getting people motivated about making some changes in the way we live.

Most of us can’t afford to go out and change our homes and lifestyles drastically, but we can make a resolution to live more simple lives. When I refer to the word simple I don’t mean easier, rather living in a way that leaves less of a footprint on our earth. We live in a world where convenience is becoming a way of life. Unless we change that way of living we won’t be able to see improvements. Here are just a few ways we can learn to live more simple lives. Ways we can make changes in the way we run the household. They do take a little more effort but in my opinion it’s worth it.

• Change out the light bulbs. Changing your light bulbs is simple to do and will make a big difference. They aren’t always as bright as incandescent bulbs, and they do cost more to purchase but you will save in the long run and you’ll be preserving our precious natural resources.

If every American home replaced their 5 most frequently used light fixtures or the bulbs in them with ones that have earned the ENERGY STAR, we would save close to $8 billion each year in energy costs, and together we would prevent the greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions from nearly 10 million cars. (energystar.gov)

• Save water. There are so many ways to save water in the household. You can start by switching your shower head to a low flow one. This will save gallons of water every time you shower. You might also consider wearing your clothes more than once before washing. In most cases clothing, especially pajamas, can be worn more than once without getting dirty. If it bothers you as an adult to try this, let your kids do it. I’m sure they won’t mind. We have also installed rain barrels to collect runoff from the downspouts. This gives us plenty of water to use in the garden.

• Grow a garden. It’s very rewarding to eat food that has been homegrown. Not only is it helping the environment, but it builds family relationships too. You can even take this one step further and preserve the food you grow. There’s nothing better than a jar of home canned fruit or jam. Here’s an article about our home gardening experience.

• Recycle. Since we live in the Seattle area, recycling is pretty much a way of life. We have a can for recycling right next to the garbage can and even our toddler knows where things go. But if it doesn’t come natural to you, get another can and stick it right next to the garbage can. Check with your garbage company to find out how the recycling programs work in your area, and make a goal to start now. You’ll keep lots of unnecessary waste out of the landfills and save on your garbage bill too.

• Be conscious about using fuel. We as Americans spend way too much money on fuel. For most of us it seems like there is no way to get around the huge cost of it. There are lots of ways we can cut back, even if it’s just a little. If everyone does just a little it will make a big difference.

If you live a short distance from work or school try walking or biking. Make a list of things you need when shopping. This helps avoid unnecessary trips to the store. Carpool whenever possible. Save fuel by staying home. Make a point to stay home for a movie every once and a while. Watching a movie at home is a lot cheaper than paying for theater tickets too.

• Conserve wasted energy. In most cases even though things in our house are turned off they are still using energy. This is pretty much wasted energy. Did you know that even though your nice plasma TV is turned off it still requires energy? Energy is being consumed so that it will turn on immediately if you push the power button. If you kept that one item unplugged while not in use you could save 1452.4 kilowatt hours per year or $159.76. What if everyone who owned a plasma TV did that? The savings could be huge. Here are some other examples of common household electronics and their energy consumption while not in use.

Little by little we can make a difference. Make a resolution to help reduce the footprint we’re leaving by living a more simple life. Take some time today to sit down and write out 5 ways you can conserve this year.

Here are some other articles we’ve written on Green Living.