Saturday, January 3, 2009

Exist Eco-Friendly, Exist Cleverer

By Simon M Skinner

It seems all you hear today is about living a greener lifestyle. You need to reduce your carbon footprint and your environmental impact. We all know that this is important, but it can feel like being lectured at times.

However, there are some easy ways to live a greener life. Curbside recycling is in place in most cities, where you can simply place your recyclables out with your trash for pickup (in a separate container, of course). It's easy to separate your plastic, aluminum and other recyclable materials. The recycling pickup service takes care of the rest ? all you have to do is to take it outside!

Joining your local Freecycle list is another great way to live greener. Don't throw things away ? put them on the list and look there for things you need instead of buying new items. Odds are, someone will want what you've got to give away. By the same token, if there's something you need, it is more than likely to be found for the taking there as well. This keeps these items out of landfills and saves everyone money.

There are also plenty of green products which you can use around the house. These are inexpensive and can end up saving you a lot of money ? for instance, compact fluorescent bulbs. These are a great improvement over regular incandescent light bulbs and cost about the same while using far less energy and lasting a lot longer.

You can use solar lights in your yard ? these lights work just as well as electric lights, but cost nothing to operate and conserve the use of electricity. There are many appealing designs available and they can fit into anyone's budget. You don't need to have an electrician install them and the lights are quite bright enough to illuminate your yard. You can even get solar holiday lights, adding a cheerful seasonal touch without adding a thing to your electric bill.

Small things like recycling cans, bottles and plastic packaging helps lower your garbage bills and helps reduce your carbon footprint. Use cloth bags when you shop instead of taking their paper or plastic bags. Some stores even knock off a few cents when you use your own bags. All of this will help reduce pollution, which is healthier for you because you'll be breathing cleaner air.

Once you get started, you'll be amazed at how easy it is to live greener. You'll be amazed at how much better you feel? both physically and mentally. Plus, you'll feel better knowing you're doing your part to have a healthier planet to live on. So go ahead? live greener and live longer. You'll be happy you gave it a try. - 15266

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