Greenmywallet.com Tips For The Fridge

Double side your documents
Easy things you can do to Go Green and Save Money!
American businesses throw away 21
Going green doesn't have to be hard. In fact-- why shouldn't going green million tons of paper every year,
equal to 175 pounds per office
be friendly on your bank account in addition to the planet? The planet worker. For a quick and easy way to
needs our help, but at the same time, you can put some green back in halve this, set your printer's default
option to print double-sided (duplex printing). And
your wallet as well. Here are a few things you can do to save money and when you're finished with your documents, don't
forget to take them to the recycling bin. You can also
go green. If you think of any more, visit GreenMyWallet.com and save even more money by using PDFs, scanners,
share them with friends and family! email, digital signatures, etc. (If you printed this, use
the back for scrap when you’re done with it!)

Kill the power Don’t rinse off your dishes Avoid pre-heating your oven

Things like computers, printers, and When you rinse your dishes before Ignore cookbooks! It is usually
even some appliances have a you put them in the (duh!) unnecessary to pre-heat your oven
constant, but small, draw of power dishwasher-- you can be wasting before cooking, except when
even when they are completely up to 20 gallons of water each baking bread or pastries. Just turn
turned off (or so you think...). load. Plus, you're saving time and the on the oven at the same time you put
Unplug, switch off, or reduce where possible, and energy used to heat the additional water. That can the dish in. During cooking, rather than opening the
you'll find your hydro bills on the decline. translate into about $1 a load or over $300 a year oven door to check on your food, just look at it
through the oven window. Why? Opening the oven
door results in a significant loss of energy.

Buy Local Invest in an insulated mug Turn off your computer at night

Consider the amount of pollution If you start every morning with a Your computer uses power whether
created to get your food from the steamy cup, a quick tabulation can you're using it or not. Instead of
farm to your table. Whenever show you that the waste is piling leaving it in standby or sleep mode,
possible, buy from local farmers or up. Invest in a reusable cup, which you can save 40 watt-hours per day
farmers' markets, supporting your not only cuts down on waste, but by turning it completely off. That
local economy and reducing the amount of keeps your beverage hot for a much longer time. adds up to 4 cents a day, or about $14 per year. If
greenhouse gas created when products are flown or Most coffee shops will happily fill your own cup, and you don't want to wait for your computer to start up,
trucked in. many even offer you a discount in exchange! set it to turn on automatically a few minutes before
you start to work, turn it on and then do something
else like tidy your desk.

Adjust your Thermostat seasonally Group your errands together Turn off the lights

Adjust your thermostat one degree Feel like you spend your whole week Always turn off incandescent bulbs
higher in the summer and one trying to catch up with the errands? when you leave a room.
degree cooler in the winter. Each Take a few moments once a week Fluorescent bulbs are more
degree Celsius less will save about to make a list of all the errands that affected by the number of times it
10% on your energy use! In addition, need to get done, and see if you can is switched on and off, so turn them
invest in a programmable thermostat which allows batch them into one trip. Not only will you be saving off when you leave a room for 15 minutes or more.
you to regulate temperature based on the times you gasoline, but you might find yourself with much You'll save energy on the bulb itself, but also on
are at home or away. better time-management skills. cooling costs, as lights contribute heat to a room.

Avoid the plastic diapers Install Solar Panels Use public transit

You can save thousands of dollars Solar panels are a great way to save One of the simple ways to save
using cloth diapers over the course money. Yes there is an upfront cost, money is to not spend money. The
of three years, and even more if and a small amount of regular cost of a transit pass compared to
you use the same cloth diapers for a maintenance that is required, but that of owning a car is drastically
second child. Plus, you won't be beyond that, the energy flows freely. smaller. When you include gas,
spending money on expensive diaper rash creams, Depending on your usage levels, you can actually sell insurance, the car itself (lease or finance),
diaper pail liners or wasting gas running to the store power back into the grid and MAKE money by having maintenance, car washes, (drive thru) -- it's a lot of
each week to buy diapers. The savings really add up! solar panels. money to own a car. Some don't have the luxury of a
great public transit system, but for those that do, this
is a big one. You could also be eligible for tax rebates
for the purchase of transit passes. Look into it.

The materials and information on this page are compiled from many different public sources. Visit GreenMyWallet.com for more information and even more tips!

Hang your clothes to dry Change your light bulbs to CFL or LED Second hand goods are still good

We all know that if we don’t dry our If every home in the North America Consider buying items from a
clothes in the dryer we save on replaced one regular light bulb with second-hand store or online
electricity, but many of us don’t one of those new compact auction. Toys, bicycles, roller
think about how the dryer reduces fluorescent bulbs, or even better, a blades, and other age and size-
the life of our clothes. The physicality Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulb, the specific items are quickly outgrown.
of the tumble dry actually wears out clothes faster, energy reduction would be equivalent to removing Second hand stores often sell these items in excellent
and requires you to replace clothes much more over one million cars from the road. These bulbs are condition since they are used for such a short period
frequently. available in many different 'temperatures' from cool of time, and will generally buy them back when you
blue white to warm yellow and orange whites. You no longer need them.
can save about $600 a year in energy costs by making
the switch

Use cruise control in the car Recycle all your glass bottles and jars Be a vegetarian once a week

You paid for those extra buttons in The average household is estimated Staples such as rice, corn and beans
your car, so put them to work! to use around 330 glass bottles and can make trips to a grocery store
When using cruise control your jars annually but only around 30% less expensive. But the biggest
vehicle could get up to 15% better of these are currently recycled. savings may come in health-care
mileage. Considering today's gasoline Collecting and recycling all your costs years later. In a world of $1
prices, this is a boon not only for the environment bottles and jars used around the home can make a double cheeseburgers, it's no wonder that many
but your budget as well. big impact on reducing this huge volume of waste. people suspect that a vegetarian diet is more
Make sure all your bottles and jars are empty, have expensive than one that includes meat. But that's
their tops removed and are washed, sorted and sent generally not true. And though it's difficult to tally
to the curb. To save money, try saving the 'good' jars the savings of illnesses or diseases avoided with a
for stuff like soups, left-overs and other things that plant-based diet, the financial worth of good health is
you would use plastic for. unquestionable.

Wash your clothes in cold water Use fewer paper towels and napkins at home Recycle your magazines and newspapers

How do you easily save 1% on There’s no need to grab a huge Every day in the United States,
national CO2 emissions as well as stack of napkins from the about 65 million newspapers are
over $3 billion in energy costs? concession stand when you know printed. Of the newspapers printed
According to some studies, this you’ll only use one or two. Each and distributed (trucked, shipped,
could happen if we all simply wash North American consumes an etc), 45 million, or about 70%, of
our clothes in cold water. Most of us are unaware of average of 2,200 standard two-ply napkins per year, them will be thrown in the garbage instead of the
the full extent of energy required to wash our or the equivalent of just over six of these napkins per recycling bin. Recycling just the Sunday papers would
clothes. A staggering 85-90% of this energy is used by day. If everyone used an average of one fewer napkin save more than half a million trees every week. Also--
the water heater. Only 10-15% actually goes to per day, more than a billion pounds of napkins could all of the best papers have an online edition that is
running the washing machine. A switch of all washers be saved from landfills each year. A stack of napkins more current, and less 'made of trees'. Plus, much of
to cold water would mean a savings of about 30 this size could fill the entire Empire State Building. the content is FREE.
million tons of CO2 per year and a bundle of cash. Use this philosophy for your home and use cloth over
paper to save money.

Wrap your gifts without wrapping paper Avoid buying bottled water Have a shower instead of a bath

You can reuse gift bags, bows and Nearly 90% of plastic water bottles Take short showers instead of baths.
event paper, but you can also make are not recycled, instead taking If you take hot showers, lower the
something unique by using old thousands of years to decompose. temperature a little and take
maps, cloth or even a newspaper. Buy a reusable container and fill it quicker showers. Don't forget -
Flip a paper grocery bag inside out with tap water, a great choice for the sometimes a cool or cold shower
and give your child stamps or markers to create their environment, your wallet, and possibly your health. feels a lot better than a hot shower so don't get stuck
own wrapping paper that's environmentally friendly The EPA and other international governments' in a routine and always take a hot shower. Families
and extra special for the recipient. Admit it- we standards for tap water are always more stringent can save big bucks by limiting the length of the
mostly just rip it off and throw it away anyway? than the FDA's standards for bottled water. Hard to shower too. Put a timer in the bathroom for the kids.
believe, but Water is still more expensive that
gasoline when bought by the litre. Go jump in the
lake.


Turn off the tap while you brush Shower with a friend Plant a tree

There are so many ways to save This doesn't always lead to being It's good for the air, the land, can
water in and around your home, clean, but it almost always results shade your house and save on
and some simply require a change in less water used. Sneak in a cooling (plant on the west side of
of habit – like not running the tap shower with your loved one to your home), and they can also
while brushing your teeth and start the day with some pizzazz. Not improve the value of your property.
running the dishwasher only when it is full. Energy only have you made a wise choice for the Make it meaningful for the whole family and plant a
Star appliances are designed to be not only energy environment, but you may notice some financial tree every year for each member. Also- when you
efficient but also water efficient. benefits. The average family of four can save about need to buy a gift for someone, get them a tree.
$500 a year by limiting showers to 5 minutes each.

Make time for greener lawn care Picnic with a marker Recycle your old cell phone

If you must water your lawn, do it Some time in between the artichoke Typically, when it's time to renew
early in the morning before any dip and the coleslaw, you lost track your cell phone plan, your phone is
moisture is lost to evaporation. of your cup, and now there are a already out of date. Get an energy
Have a few weeds? Spot treat them sea of matching cups on the table, efficient phone, but also consider
with vinegar. Not sure if you should one of which might be yours. The switching plans. With number
rake? Normal clippings act as a natural fertilizer, let next time you picnic, set out permanent marker next portability, you can take your number with you, and
them be. If you've waited too long, rake by hand — to disposable dinnerware so guests can mark their leverage great deals on getting the best plan to save
it's excellent exercise. cup and everyone will only use one. some money. If possible, try not to commit to more
than 1 year, because there's always a better deal
around the corner.

Maintain your vehicles Recycle.your.wire. coat.hangers Return.your.bottles .for.a.refund

Not only are you extending the life Wire hangers are generally made of In most countries, the returning of
of your vehicle, but you are steel, which is often not accepted glass bottles encourages a refund
creating less pollution and saving by some recycling programs. So of 5 or 10 cents. This is bound to be
gas. A properly maintained vehicle, what do you do with them? Most different all around the world, but
clean air filters, and inflated tires dry cleaners will accept them back to I'm sure there's some kind of
can greatly improve your vehicle's performance. And reuse or recycle. Some cleaners will even give you a equivalent. In Canada, the bottles to return are Beer
it might not hurt to clean out the trunk—all that discount for returned hangers. [More about this] and Liquor bottles. They get you the deposit you paid
extra weight could be costing you at the pump. in the first place AND encourage recycling.

Buy a hybrid or a USED car Keep your fireplace damper closed Cut out the junk mail

Some people think that hybrids are Keeping the damper open (when Feel like you need to lose a few
more expensive than other cars. you're not using your fireplace) is pounds? It might be your junk mail
There are a lot of incentives to save. like keeping a 48-inch window wide that's weighing you down. The
You can save $2000+ in incentives open during the winter; it allows average American receives 40
and rebates from the government warm air to go right up the chimney. pounds of junk mail each year,
(depending on your government). Buy used if you This can add up to hundreds of dollars each winter in destroying 100 million trees. There are many services
can. It takes a lot of energy to make a new car, even energy loss. that can help reduce the clutter in your mailbox,
if it’s a hybrid. saving trees and the precious space on your
countertops. Some companies will now give an
incentive to switch to e-billing, as it saves operational
costs for them.

Use matches instead of lighters Let your fingers do the walking Give it away to someone else

Most lighters are made out of plastic Instead of a paper phone-book, Before you throw something away,
and filled with butane fuel, both which becomes out of date the think about if someone else might
petroleum products. Since most second it's printed, opt out and need it. You can either donate it to
lighters are considered choose to do your number finding a charitable organization or post it
quot;disposable,quot; over 1.5 billion end up online with Google or a local listings on a web site designed to connect
in landfills each year. When choosing matches, pick service like Canada411.com. people and things, such as Freecycle.org or Craigslist
cardboard over wood. Wood matches come from
trees, whereas most cardboard matches are made
from recycled paper.


Go to a car wash Try a reusable shopping bag When you have to fly—use an e-ticket

Professional car washes are often Each year the U.S. uses 84 billion The cost of processing a paper ticket
more efficient with water plastic bags, a significant portion of is approximately $10, while
consumption. If everyone in the the 500 billion used worldwide. processing an e-ticket costs only $1.
U.S. who washes their car They are not biodegradable, and In the near future, e-tickets will be
themselves took just one visit to the are making their way into our oceans, the only option, saving the airline
car wash we could save nearly 8.7 billion gallons of and subsequently, the food chain. Stronger, reusable industry $3 billion a year. In addition to financial
water. bags are an inexpensive and readily available option. savings, the sheer amount of paper eliminated by this
process is commendable.

Download your software and music Unplug your rarely used electronics Use a spoon when you need to stir

Most software comes on a compact Answering machines use energy 24 Each year, Americans throw away
disc, and more than thirty billion hours a day, seven days a week. 138 billion straws and stirrers. But
compact discs of all types are sold And when they break, they're just skipping the stirrer doesn't mean
annually. That's a huge amount of one more thing that goes into the drinking your coffee black. Simply
waste, not to mention the associated landfill. If all answering machines in put your sugar and cream in first, and
packaging. Another bonus to downloading your U.S. homes were eventually replaced then pour in the coffee, and it should be well mixed.
software is that it's often available for download at a by voice mail services, the annual energy savings Determined to stir? Break off a piece of pasta from
later date when you upgrade to a new computer or would total nearly two billion kilowatt-hours. the cupboard. You can nibble after using it, compost,
are attempting to recover from a crash. With regards or throw away with less guilt.
to Music, sites like itunes and puretracks allow you to
get your music AND avoid the disc.

Make your own cleaning products Pay your bills online Stop the paper bank statements

Most modern synthetic cleaning By some estimates, if all households Some banks will pay you a dollar or
products are based on age-old in the U.S. paid their bills online and donate money on your behalf when
formulas using natural ingredients received electronic statements you cancel the monthly paper
that were passed down through the instead of paper, we'd save 18.5 statements you get in the mail. If
generations because the chemistry million trees every year, 2.2 billion every household took advantage of
was right. Going back to the original naturally derived tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, online bank statements, the money saved could send
ingredients is a way to make cleaning products that and 1.7 billion pounds of solid waste. In addition, as more than seventeen thousand recent high school
work, don’t pollute and save you money. Mix and mentioned above, many companies will give you an graduates to a public university for a year.
match with well-chosen and environmentally friendly incentive to switch, because it actually saves THEM
green cleaning products found in health food stores, money to send you an e-bill, and have you pay
and you can easily and simply transform your home electronically.
into a non-toxic and healthy haven.

Use rechargeable batteries Plant your own garden Can, Freeze, and dehydrate

Each year 15 billion batteries If you have the room to do it, there Anything that you grow in your
produced and sold and most of are many free resources that can garden, or cook in your kitchen for
them are disposable alkaline help you plant your own veggie that matter, should be able to last.
batteries. Only a fraction of those garden. This can save you money You can save money by extending
are recycled. Buy a charger and a few on groceries, but it also great for the the life of certain foods, especially
sets of rechargeable batteries. Although it requires planet. Less gas to get to the store for that tomato or the ones you grew yourself. It can be as easy as
an upfront investment, it is one that should pay off in cuke. getting some glass jars for a big pot of soup, but
no time. And on Christmas morning when all the there are many little things you can do to save the
stores are closed? You'll be fully stocked. cash.

Install a digital thermostat Share a ride to work
Spread the word!
Saving energy means saving money. The easiest way to save money while
In addition to adjusting your travelling is to carpool or ride-share The thing with good news is-- you
thermostat a little cooler in the whenever you can. For the morning want to share it. Tell your friends,
winter and a little warmer in the commute, it basically halves the per your family, your colleagues, and
summer, consider installing a digital capita fuel charge with two people in contacts about Green My Wallet.
thermostat with timers and time-of-day functionality. a car, and as long as you buy the driver their coffee, Send it in an email, tell them in a
You can drop the temperature of the house a few you can save money and the planet at the same time. birthday card or shout it from the rooftops!
degrees while nobody is home, and bring it back up
right before everyone gets back.


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Greenmywallet.com Tips For The Fridge