A Year of Simple Green Ideas

It seems like year after year flies by and you are constantly striving to better yourself and how you interact with the world. The transition from 2009 to 2010 is no different –it has become crucial to look at your environmental impact and some people look to New Year’s Resolutions as their motivators. While some Resolutions, like giving up chocolate, are just crazy talk that usually is forgotten around the second week of February resolving to make a smaller footprint on our planet is a no-brainer smart decision.

Here are some great suggestions on simple ways to green up your lifestyle a bit without feeling as if you’re really sacrificing:

Recycle Everything You Can – Yes, yes…recycling is still as important as ever and chances are it will be for the rest of our lives. Studies show that 60% to 75% of garbage in landfills can be recycled. That means that if everybody recycled, we’d have 60% to 75% less garbage in our landfills, and we’d need at least that much less land for garbage disposal.

Ditch the Plastic Water Bottles – People in the U.S. throw away 2.5 million plastic water bottles in a hour. Now that’s embarrassing! With so many options of reusable water bottles out there, it’s not difficult to find one that works for your lifestyle – get two and rotate them.  It’s a piece of cake to walk down the hall to the drinking fountain at work and fill it up.

Bring Your Own Bags – Many stores even offer discounts when you bring your bags! That’s even easier than clipping coupons and there are many great reusable tote options to choose from. Consider not only having grocery bags on hand but also bags for when your clothes, home, or pet shopping and even reusable produce bags. Leave a couple in your car for whenever you might need them and feel good by cutting down on your plastic (aka oil) use.

Keep the Washer on Cold – According to the U.S. Department of Energy, “about 90% of the energy used for washing clothes is for heating the water.” That’s no joke. Additionally, washing your clothes in cold water can be better for the fabric too! It’s a simple switch.

Buy Smart, Buy Local – How was that TV made? Where does that potato come from?  Through purchasing items that are made with sound, fair trade, eco-friendly manufacturing practices you are supporting the companies that are supporting change in a real way. Also, whenever possible choose local products – it stimulates your local economy, builds relationships in the community and as an added bonus, if you’re purchasing food you’re going to be getting the freshest stuff out there!

Power Strips For the Win – Chances are many of your electronics around the home and office are already plugged into power strips – good thinking. Turn the whole strip off when you’re not using the devices connected to it to avoid phantom energy use. Just remember to group items on the strips in a way that makes sense for how you use them.

Even if each person made a solid effort to do just one or two of these ideas a difference can be made. Living a more eco-friendly lifestyle doesn’t mean you have to be a hippie, rich or Al Gore – you can choose simple modifications to your lifestyle that are kind to the environment without feeling like you’re sacrificing anything. You may also notice that your bank account feels a little fluffier since things like bottled water and energy bills can really add up! Try it – you might just like it and when you do, tell your friends!

Guffly is a one product per day online store featuring eco friendly products and fair trade lifestyle goods like home, pet, clothing, office and personal accessories. We know that people aren’t interested in ugly stuff, so you can bet Guffly’s green products are stylish, fun and attractive – eco stylish if you will. Shop the Daily Guff at http://www.guffly.com

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