Collectively, small lifestyle changes can make a huge impact on the environment-and your life. Looking for happiness and health? What’s good for the environment is also, it turns out, great for you. Here’s a collection of tips from the No Impact community.
Do you have a video story from your No Impact Experiment? Share your story below:
I turn off my appliances after I use them (e.g computer, printer, radio, tv, etc) by flicking the cut switch on the wall socket or extension lead. I try to use the washing machine fewer times by carefully selecting which clothes I wear and alternating between them until the machine is full. I wash my dishes by hand in a basin and rinse in another basin. I put on another jumper instead of turning up the heat. I use energy saving lamps almost everywhere. I take short showers most days and only take a longer one once every week. I walk, take the bus, take the train and try to limit my car use (only for work or heavy shopping. I bake two cakes in the oven instead of one, saving preheating it a second time. I boil only the quantity of water I need and when I have a pan on the fire, I use the lid to reduce the quantity of gas I need. I cook pasta for a minute or two only with the gas on and then turn it off and put the lid on for another 5 to 10 minutes depending on the type of pasta. It works a treat! There are so many things you can do! And I live just as comfortably now that I’ve gotten used to it.
This post was submitted by elisabeth.
I just bought this eco-friendly razor at my local Whole Foods store. These razors are made from recycled yogurt cups and are quite durable. If you’re worried about quality, I just used mine for the first time and they’re exactly like other razors I’ve used before. You can buy replacement blades for it, and if you’re razor handle ever breaks, you can send it in using a pre-paid mailer downloaded from their site, and they then recycle it into material used to build things like porch decks, benches, picnictables, and children’s playground equipment. You can even use the plastic box it comes in as a travel container instead of packing it up in a plastic bag you’ll throw out after.
This post was submitted by Elizabeth.
We bought an older house that had a very old central air conditioner. When it broke, I bought a 4000 btu and a 5000 btu window air conditioner. These were floor samples and I got both for a total of about $120.00. They are energy efficient and I put one at one end of the house and the other at the other end. At the hottest times of the year (about 90-95 degrees our power bill only gets to a maximum of $68.00. That beats central air any day. Both units have a power save feature that cuts them off completely when the set temp is reached. This works fine and has saved about $3,000.00 for a new central unit and much lower monthly bill.
This post was submitted by Robert.
My husband and I have a VERY small T.V. at home attached to a hand-me-down DVD player. We don’t pay for cable, therefore, we don’t watch T.V. We are movie people still but, we have so much more time in the evenings when we get home because the T.V. can’t just be turned on. Also, because we buy our movies (in bulk it seems like) from second hand stores or used copies (even hand-me-downs!), we don’t use the gas of driving the 30 minutes to the closest movie theater AND we save a TON of money by A) Not paying for cable B) Not paying for the gas to the theater C) Not paying for the $11 a person movie when we get to the theater D) Not paying for the snacks at the theater (we eat whatever we have at home now) E) Not being tempted to buy things we don’t necessarily need at the mall where the theater is located has saved us a bundle.
WE LOVE NOT HAVING T.V.
This post was submitted by Emily Ranch.
I keep a basin under the tap, so when water is running for tooth brushing, washing hands or washing vegetables, I save the water; the washed vegetable’s water, since I use an all natural veggie wash, goes to the plants. The upstairs basin’s water, if it’s clear or only slightly soapy (and no toothpaste has been spit out into it!) gets used for washing hand-washable clothing, or soaking very dirty clothes. Then it gets used to…flush the toilet. Yep, it goes right in there, and we do wait til we need it to use it. If it’s already dirty we just skip the first step and use it directly for flushing. Note: we don’t put the water in the reservoir on top of the toilet, we just dump the basin’s water directly in, and it works fine. We do flush once or twice a day the regular way, but the amount is drastically reduced.
I also do not give my daughter daily baths (as many do in France)- her immune system is, I believe, much the better for it, too! She doesn’t get sick half as often as some of her classmates. I’d say we bathe her about two to three times a week, more in summer due to outdoor activites. “Bird baths” with a washcloth do very well for other days! The same goes for us. I heard Meryl Streep in an interview once; when asked how on earth did she stay looking so young, she replied that unless she’s working on a film she only washes her hair about once a week- and that helps her face stay so young!
Et voilà our little impact reducing action.
This post was submitted by Barbara Weber.