A Little "Efficient Living"

There is a lot of talk going on about "Green Living". For me, it's not so much about being "Green" as its about "Living Efficiently". In my opinion, "Going Green" is often impracticle and expensive. I think a lot of women feel like I do, we want to do our part for the environment and our economy; but in a practical way. For us, our families come before our environment. We aren't interested in spending money on "solutions" that don't fit into our day to day life. We want to do our part, SAVE money and live efficiently.

Here's a few practicle and cost effective options I found:

1. Switch to cloth grocery bags. Not only are they cheap and reusable, but you can find some really fun ones that can be used for more than just groceries. Many stores even take $0.05-$0.15 off your total for each reusable bag you use. It's not a lot, but every penny helps!

2. Lower the temperature on your water heater to 140 degrees or lower if you can stand it. I like my hot shower's so we had ours set to 160 degrees. I was a little concerned about this one, but found that 140 degrees still allows for a nice hot shower without using quite so much electricity.

3. Purchase reusable water bottles for you and your family. These can be as pricey as you want them to be. It depends on what your looking for and how flashy you want them. However, no matter which way you look at it they eventually pay for themselves. Not only that, you don't have to worry about that pesky BPA.

4. Shop at your local farmers markets. Not only does this give you a chance to get outta the house and spend some time with your family, but it gives you an opportunity to see what is readily available. This is a HUGE economy booster.

5. Consider using more natural cleaners. You can make your own out of vinegar and baking soda with a few drops of essential oil (extremely cost effective) or you can purchase natural cleaners with recyclable containers. Both are an effective way of cleaning your home and helping the environment.

6. Recycling. I just see no reason at all to throw something out that can be reused, so for those of you who live closer to a recycling post, this is rather easy and can actually bring in a bit of money. Most grocery stores will accept your metal and plastic recycling bags. An added bonus, kids tend to find this to be a really fun chore!


I hope you've found this helpful! I know there are many more ways to "Live Efficiently", but these are the ones I've been able to easily implement in my own home.

Bea*