We moved from our 4 bedroom home to a 550 sq. foot condo walking distance from work.
We sold our 1996 4 cylinder car and bought a Honda Civic hybrid.
We became vegan after watching the movie “Meat the Truth”. We have both lost weight and feel great.
We disabled our 10 mpg motorhome and permanently parked it and use it as a cottage 15 miles from town. This is saving us lots of money in insurance and gasoline.
We are avoiding plastic where possible in packaging and purchases. This is difficult.
We eat local organic when available.
We shop at the farmers market.
We shop for clothes at second hand shops first and buy new only if we can’t find what we want second hand. This does not include underwear.
We plan to only buy fabrics that will compost. Organic cotton still uses lots of water so hemp is the first choice.
We carefully buy shampoo, laundry detergent and cleaning products that do not contain phosphates or petrochemical products.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7530701744597358451#
We travel more by train and less by plane. Trains are much nicer than airports and planes but don’t go everywhere we need to go.
This has improved our marriage and our quality of life. It is fun to be a team and work towards a goal of leaving a good space for the children of the planet to grow and thrive. It has also been good for our finances and we have made very good like minded friends.
This post was submitted by Erin and Bill.
My partner and I ride our bikes to work or walk, and never use our car for trips less than 5 miles. We purchased a second hand child carrier to attach to the bikes for grocery shopping. We use a reusable bag or an old large Rubbermaid container for our groceries so as not to accumulate plastic bags. We have eliminated paper towels and napkins and tissues, use stainless steel water bottles and reusable sandwich covers for taking lunches to work and school. We are a vegetarian family who has NEVER purchased bottled water, wear our clothes at least twice (if not 3 x) before laundering with phosphate free soap. We use baking soda for teeth brushing and cleaning toilets and scrubbing sinks. We patronize our local farmer’s markets when in season.
We both work for the village at our local library. I am a children’s librarian and my partner the head of the IT department. He has reduced the library’s use of electricity and uses second hand equipment instead of purchasing new. I try to educate families on the importance of respecting our planet and through storytimes and family programming try to educate families about our impact on the earth and how to conserve her precious resources.
I have made a commitment to purchase nothing new this year and am utilizing our local thrift shops when necessary. As a family we are constantly trying to find new ways to lessen our impact. Thank you for your dedication to this cause. People are paying attention.
This post was submitted by Danusia Hnatkiewicz Norris.
I am 31 years old and have never nor ever aspire to drive a vehicle, I have no intention of ever obtaining a drivers license. I use my own two legs, like a natural human.
This post was submitted by Rebecca.
reading many tips but have two I haven’t seen yet.
Use the local shoe repair man to refurbish shoes rather than buying new. The shoes look new again with far fewer materials, and employ the local person.
Also, I don’t allow my neutered dog to stay out in the yard barking, thereby not discouraging people from opening their windows for cool night air in the summer.
This post was submitted by Christopher.
buying brand new cloth diapers is not bad; but how about buying second hand cloth diapers? after use, from your baby or someone else’s, these diapers are ‘used’ – with a good wash (in a washing machine, with hot water!), they come out perfectly clean and sanitary.
This post was submitted by Anne.
Hi! I just wanted to say WOW – I am super inspired but what you have done and are continuing to do. I recently embarked on a 365-Day ‘Living With Less’ Challenge and I am also blogging about it. I can totally identify with all of the changes that you have identified as being side ‘benefits’ from such an undertaking. I am going to try to ‘rally’ some of my followers to subscribe to your one-week challenge and post their entries on my blog as well. BRAVO and keep up the amazing work!
This post was submitted by Maren Hasse.
Hello Fellow No-Impacters!
Recent events have compelled me to attempt to produce no more than 100 gallons of garbage over the coming year. You can read the full story here: http://open.salon.com/blog/the_almighty_beckster/2010/01/01/the_great_garbage_challenge_of_2010
Would anyone care to join me in this little undertaking? I could use some moral support!
This post was submitted by Rebecca.
Besides the elimination of all the toxic chemicals required of a swimming pool, there is also the lowering of electric bills where the constant running of the filters and auto-vacuums are concerned. I turned the gas-heated spa into a bio-filter and disconnected the gas line.
Not only has this saved time, effort and money, it has created a wonderful backyard habitat! The owls, herons, hawks, multiple small birds, raccoons, frogs, possum and other visitors (even a duck once!) are all so much happier with my pond that the chlorinated toxic dump we used to call a swimming pool.
One benefit I was surprised by was/is the more moderate temperatures in the back yard. On those 90+ degree FL days, my back yard is 5 degrees cool than the street! And when we get our rare freezes (as we will tonight) my yard will most likely remain warmer.
In short, more wildlife, no chemicals, more fun just watching the antics of birds and frogs, less money spent on electrical, gas heating and chemicals and way less back-breaking work! And yes, the water is crystal clear and safe for swimming!
This post was submitted by Heidi Marsh.
I have lived in collective housing situations for the last few years. This has saved me a boat load of money because collective housing is generally much cheaper. But it is also a way of conserving: the amount of energy used to heat a home is good for as many people as can fit!
It is also is really nice to have a lot of cool people around all the time and makes things fun. I learn something from my housemates everyday. And it saves me time when we organize cooking calendars because I’ll only have to cook once a week.
This post was submitted by Ethan.
I always wear aprons to protect my clothes from stains when I’m cooking, gardening,and cleaning. I buy them at our local second hand shop and pay as little as 99 cents each. I like to add my personal touches to them such as quotes, applique designs, etc. Saves wear and tear on my clothes, they don’t need to be washed as often, and it’s a fun way to make an eco-friendly fashion statement.
This post was submitted by Joeann.