Earth Challenge to ALL MFPers'!!!

jbdowns35

So, hopefully we all do some things that are environmentall friendly. I propose we all take a minute to list a few of the things we do every day to make our earth a prettier place. How do you reduce waste, conserve energy? Do you recycle? Use cloth bags at the grocery store? The goal here is each one of us will take atleast one idea from another member and apply it to our everyday lives in addition to the things we do already. All of us could make a big impact by just adding one more simple activity to our lives to improve the quality of our Earth.

I know I could stand to be a little more earth frindly, & save some money in the process! Here are a few of the things I do:

Compost my food scraps for my garden
Recycle, but currently just paper
I bring home shredded paper from work & use it as mulch in my garden
I don't let the water run when I brush my teeth
I find ways to use up my food before it spoils & I throw very little away
I have a programable thermostat
I use news paper to wrap my christmas gifts, it looks nice, honestly, I re-use pretty bows & ribbons from year to year

That's all I can think or right now, I can't wait to hear other's ideas so I can improve!!

Contrarian

I recycle
I use cloth bags when I shop
I use public transportation
I try to buy local produce when possible

annabellj

we have chickens and they eat all the food scraps and whatever is leftover i put in the compost bin. try to walk to the store instead of driving. make trips ina loop so we dont go out more than once a wkend. plant water conserving plants. stopped getting my nails done, that was a hard one! only color my hair if absolutely necessary. shop at goodwill to recycle clothing as i take in our old stuff when i go shopping to find new. one new pair of jeans takes over 2000 gal of water to produce, i did not know that before. and we shop at garage sales also. and we started vacationing in our home state and never fly anywhere as there is more carbon footprint in that than anything else.

annabellj

of and of course we get eggs from the chicks so dont have to buy them and we plant a garden so we dont have to buy veggies

splashwags

Some of mine:

Recycle paper, bottles, cans, cardboard, toner cartridges
Carry a camel back water bottle at all times. Rarely buy bottle water
Use my re-usable grocery bags
I too have a programmable thermostat, and in the winter, generally keep it on the cool side
Need to get better at the running water thing
Need to find ways from a car perspective.
Do most of my produce shopping at farmers markets (gets tougher in the winter obviously), and try to eat organic, look for "recycled" packaing.

I am a card freak, but I have started giving my cards with personalized post -its so my friends can re-cycle and give to someone else, kinda like pay it forward.

bevsdietfor2011

I use cloth bags when I shop
I recycle: Paper, plastic, cans and cardboard
I don't let the water run when brushing my teeth
I save gas by doing all my errands at one time
I turn out lights as I leave the room
I have a programmable thermostat

I cannot think of anything else that I do for now.

FaugHorn

I recycle (almost everything the town picks up at the front of the driveway, so convenient!)
I take a bus instead of drive the hour to work (that has GOT to cut down on green house gasses!)
I use reusable containers for my lunch and coffee cups so I cut down on trash
I have a programmable thermostat
I try to purchase locally grown products and locally raised meat as often as I can
I have cloth bags for the grocery store

Tori_356

I recycle...something I never did until February of this year (never lived anywhere that did it)...pretty good feeling!

splashwags

Oh and I use cloth napkins, and bring real silverware to work for lunch, and try and use glass containers instead of plastic.

_GlaDOS_

I like this a lot. I'm always looking for new ideas as well.

I recycle pretty much everything
I compost (my city picks it up - I don't have a garden, yet!)
I use biodegradable garbage bags
I receive a CSA box of produce every 2 weeks, all with local organic produce
If I buy meat, fish, or seafood, I always get some from local farms or fisheries
I use cloth snack bags
I use cloth grocery bags when I can
I take the bus every day to work. I bought gas for my car only 4 times this year.

Hmm there might be others but that’s what I can think of for now!

koosdel

I use unleaded gasoline.

cardbucfan

Recycle paper, bottles, cans, cardboard, glass, egg cartons and junk mail.
I do still occasionally buy water bottles (I like the ones with the flip top lid for working out) but I hand wash them and re-use them until they can't be used anymore.
Use my re-usable grocery bags .
use plastic newspaper bags for my dogs presents.
I have a programmable thermostat, and in the winter, generally keep it on the cool side and in summer, keep it on the warmer side and use ceiling fans.
Don't run the water when I brush my teeth except at night when I need the water to warm up so I can wash my face (need a tankless hot water heater but that's pricey!)
Use re-claimed water in my irrigation system.
Try and plan my errands so I start the farthest away from home and get closer and closer to home and try and limit them to one or two days a week or at least do them on my way to some place I'm already going.
Re-use gift bags and gift boxes over and over (we are still using gift boxes from the Disney store at Christmas from when my boys were babies and they are in high school now!)
Have a lot of fluorescent bulbs but not all-don't like the light they produce so I'll never switch all of our bulbs.

hbart500

I recycle
I use cloth bags at the grocery store
I use my tupperware for all my lunches
I use reuseable cups for my waters throughout the day.
I turn out lights as I leave the room
I dont let the water run when brushing my teeth (or my kids)

ahedrick99

-I recycle at home and work-I teach so it is a requirement in my class, I am trying to impress the importance of it on my students
-I use reusable bags at the grocery store
-I have a programable thermostat
-I need to work on water conservation
-I buy almost all of my produce and bread from bountiful baskets, it is a wonderful co-op that cuts out the middle man. You get two baskets-one with fruit and one with vegetables, it varies each week what you get and you can get organic and it is available in many states. I love this, here is a link if you would like to check it out, I highly recommend it!!!
http://bountifulbaskets.org/
-I freecycle, it is a yahoo group available in most communities. You can post items to be given away that you no longer want or use but could be used by someone else, plus you can also snag up some pretty great stuff that people are getting rid of! Here is a link if you would like to check it out!
freecycle.org

I hope this is helpful! Thanks for the awesome topic! Lexie

I also reuse gift bags and bows.
Almost always have my own water bottle and coffee mug.
Bring my own lunch to work and bring my own dishes.
Try to minimize driving as my vehicle isn't the most fuel efficient.

jbdowns35

-I recycle at home and work-I teach so it is a requirement in my class, I am trying to impress the importance of it on my students
-I use reusable bags at the grocery store
-I have a programable thermostat
-I need to work on water conservation
-I buy almost all of my produce and bread from bountiful baskets, it is a wonderful co-op that cuts out the middle man. You get two baskets-one with fruit and one with vegetables, it varies each week what you get and you can get organic and it is available in many states. I love this, here is a link if you would like to check it out, I highly recommend it!!!
http://bountifulbaskets.org/
-I freecycle, it is a yahoo group available in most communities. You can post items to be given away that you no longer want or use but could be used by someone else, plus you can also snag up some pretty great stuff that people are getting rid of! Here is a link if you would like to check it out!
freecycle.org

I hope this is helpful! Thanks for the awesome topic! Lexie

I also reuse gift bags and bows.
Almost always have my own water bottle and coffee mug.
Bring my own lunch to work and bring my own dishes.
Try to minimize driving as my vehicle isn't the most fuel efficient.

Loved your post & I am definately going to check out the two links you posted. I have stuff I would like to give away & don't know anyone to give it to, but don't want to throw it out!!! I've always wanted to participate in one of those co-ops, I think it is a wonderful idea. I visit a local flea market that has fruit & veggy stand thats indoors & open all year round. I purchase fresh fruits & veggies VERY cheap & base my weekly menu on the produce I "score" there. Of course, in the summer I get a ton of produce from my garden.
Unfortunately my township doesn't provide recycling with the trash service, but my work place does, so currently I take my papers in & recycle those, haven't done it with plastics yet, I think that'll be my next move. My work place has an industrial sized shredder & they fill huge bags of shredded paper to ship off for recycling. I bring some home & use it as mulch in my garden. It works beautifully.

mellonyann

Our family does most of this things. One thing that I have not read is recycle crafts!! We make gifts and crafts out of most about anything you can think of!!!

GCPgirl

We have a compost in our backyard and in the spring we use the nutrient rich soil for our garden along with organic soil and organic seeds.
We also buy organic milk and eggs. I'd like to eat more organic food but it is so expensive.
I take mass transit to work.
I use reusable water bottles and coffee mugs
I recycle all cans and bottles
I have even used old scratched CDs as picture frames (glue the picture to the shiny back of the CD)
And I send back my used printer cartridge for recycling at work.