Eat locally, eat organic, eat vegan.
Hang dry clothes.
Wash clothes in cold water.
Take own bags when shopping.
Buy less stuff.
Eat organic.
Converted backyard to a big vegetable garden.
Reduce size of lawn.
Ride bike or walk more often.
Use a reusable water bottle (absolutely no plastic water bottles!)
Recycle everything that is recyclable.
Reuse stuff that is not recyclable as much as possible.
Buy whole unprocessed foods as opposed to packaged processed foods.
Use CFLs.
Use thermostat.
Quick 2-4 minute showers.
Don’t pre-rinse dishes before loading dishwasher.
Use a reel lawn mower.
Buy eco friendly laundry detergent, cleaning products and personal care products.
This post was submitted by Anu Kamath.
It took 12 years but I am finally car-free and loving it! I started by commuting one, then two days a week by bicycle from Hayward to Redwood City across the Dumbarton Bridge on San Francisco Bay. You’ll need wicking clothes (ski underwear is good and cheap, and looks pretty cool actually if you layer them aesthetically); rack & panniers for long commutes like mine; drink lots of water 24 hours before the ride; 75 - 100lb armadillo tires inflating them every 5-7 days; and “crystal stick” mineral deodorant if there are no showers at your worksite. When I moved to Oakland and recalled a fellow bike commuter who rode 5 days a week from Alameda to Palo Alto (BART to Union City), I said “I can do that”. So I slowly increased to 3 and 4 days/week and by 2005 I was my doing my 4days/10hr. work schedule all by bike and train in a loop around the Bay. About 30 miles of bike riding and 45 miles of train. I was able to read everyday for an 1-2 hours and get much better information than via TV, was physically fit and relaxed at work, and eating and sleeping like-lovin-life.
Then last year my car was stolen. I had tried to share it with folks in my area, but seems folks are addicted to 24hr access and haven’t learned to decouple from car tyranny, so I just let it go. No more $600/yr auto insurance for a car I never used. No waiting in traffic, no gas stations or repair nightmares. I figure now that I have taken an early retirement and live locally my car-free live-local lifestyle is saving me about $3000/year in car costs and about $200/month in groceries and meals. I shop at the market, go to movies and meals and travel anyway in the Bay Area on bike and train. I even commute to see a girl friend in Portland, bringing my bike with me on Amtrak. It’s so much fun and stress free, I wish I had been doing this my entire life.
Here’s a link to Carbusters Magazine so you can keep up with the latest in Car-Free developments across the globe…
http://www.carbusters.org/index.php
Happy Trails!
Sandy Sanders
This post was submitted by sandy sanders.
I work on a university campus. In the last few years it has become a practice to provide meeting participants with a bottle of water. I decided last year-no more water bottles would be offered at meetings. We have a drinking fountain in the hall and we ordered stainless steel reuseable bottles with our logo greeningthearts@illinois.
This post was submitted by mary ellen oshaughnessey.
Tuned out years ago from the media hype about what I “want/need”; got in touch with my own value system. Learned how little I need to feel comfortable/satisfied. Gave up beef years ago. Eat fresh foods mostly; do our own cooking. Not a major consumer; shop thrift stores when I really need something. Recycle. Seldom watch television (it’s basically a wasteland and a product delivery system-do not have cable! Do not own a cell phone. Live in a fourth-floor walk-up.
I think the first important thing I learned was to unplug from the media hype; when I did that, my life slowed down and I had more time for creative thinking and learning what really interested and satisfied me. Pulling back from the cultural value system really opens up your eyes.
This post was submitted by Patricia Morimando.
We use a pitcher to collect the cold water that comes out of the faucet while waiting for it to turn hot to take a shower. At our house, it’s about a full pitcher every time. We use this perfectly clean water for watering plants, boiling pasta, and even drinking after putting it through our filter pitcher.
When I started doing this after seeing it online, I thought it was way “out there,” but then I spent the summer in rural Guatemala where there is no such thing as safe tap water (or even constant tap water) and I would have killed for those pitchers of American treated water!
This post was submitted by Karen.
Eating vegan/organic and local foods and dumpsterdiving for Foods. Not buying clothes, shoes, accesories, etc . Using my bike, walking and taking public transportation 95% of the time instead of driving a car. The extra 5% I carpool with friends and family. No drinking bottled water. Using recicled and used stuff instead of buying new. Not using AC at home, watching 0 TV. I have been shopping for food and medicines mainly and want to reduce every day the number of things I buy that aren’t food or medicines; right now the number of things I buy dayly is almost cero so I am almost there!
This post was submitted by Gerardo Tristan.
One of the hardest things for me to give up in my eco-concious lifestyle is long hot baths. So I’ve found a way to justify my luxury.
In the winter time, when I indulge in a bath I leave the hot water in the tub when I’m finished. The heat from the water dissipates into the house and it also helps to humidify that super dry winter air. I also use some of the “grey water” for cleaning and for watering house plants once it cools.
The way I figure it, for the same amount of hot water, I can indulge in an hour long bath instead of a 10 minute shower. And I’m not just letting all of that heat go down the drain. It’s even better if you turn off all of the lights and bathe by candle light. That’s an hour spent in complete self-indulgence with no TV, computer, stereo or lights burning electricity!
This post was submitted by Rebecca Miklich.
every holiday season, my boyfriend’s mom gives us holiday stockings filled with toiletries.
we have so much that our linen closet is packed with extra shampoos etc.
but since we use shampoo bars, i dont want to just put this stuff down the drain.
so i hand wash my delicates in it.
the chemicals in shampoo are just as strong as those in laundry detergent (thats why conditioners are often made so thick to moisturize the damage caused by the shampoo)
i rather use it in some form than to just pour it down the drain.
that or you can donate it to local shelters.
This post was submitted by mabel.
I sold my car a few years ago and rely on my bike, public transportation AND City Carshare, a car sharing service where you pay a membership fee and rent cars by 15 minute increments. Save on parking, on insurance and ONLY use a car when you really need it. Good weening strategy for those extremely attached to vehicles plush they have a variety of cars in their fleet, including Prius’s. http://www.citycarshare.org.
This post was submitted by Deborah Crooks.
Sign up for Online Banking and Bill Pay, or use vendors’ websites to receive and pay bills electronically. Use a debit card instead of checks. Sign up for eStatements, or electronic statements, that you can save on a computer.
I work as a graphic designer. One of my clients is a community banking group that serves outstate Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota.
There are two levels of ecological benefit to using electronic banking services.
Banks promote electronic banking services because it saves paper costs, heated/cooled building space for storing checks and statements; it eliminates check scanning time (and scanner costs and space), mail transportation costs, and reduces staff time.
Customers see that it reduces paper use, saves time used for balancing accounts and processing bills, and helps people monitor spending better. It also allows users to create easily portable computer files of banking records, and preserves a backup accessible online.
This post was submitted by Val Escher.