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General Water Conservation Tips: To Get You Started

Water Conservation Tips

There are hundreds of ways to conserve water. As we’ve mentioned in other posts, every little thing you can do to conserve your natural resources will make a difference. It’s all about having a big picture mentality. When people envision themselves cutting back or changing their ways, they imagine it being more difficult than it will be. Consider the following water conservation tips to get you started on more eco-friendly routines:

In the Kitchen

Believe it or not, dishwashers are more efficient when it comes to washing dishes than the sink is. These days with Energy Star and the like- these machines are designed to use less water and energy. Nevertheless, avoid running it when it’s not filled.
If you don’t own a dishwasher, you can conserve water by not leaving the faucet running. Make use of both sides of the sink, filling one side with soap water and the other for rinsing.

Collect the water you use to rinse fruits and vegetables and use it to water your house plants!

Soak pots and pans instead of trying to scrub them with running water.

Even keeping a pitcher of drinking water in the fridge will help ensure every drop gets drunk!

For the Bathroom

Set a timer to 5 minutes for your showers- it may not sound like it but that’s plenty of time! Doing so will save 1,000 gallons of water per month.

Test your toilet once a year to see if there are leaks. Simply put food coloring in the tank and watch to see if it comes into the bowl. As soon as you fix it you’ll save gallons and gallons of water.

Avoid baths as possible- some tubs take up to 70 gallons of water when full! That’s a lot of water!

Not everyone enjoys this motto but it is effective- “If it’s yellow, let it mellow…”

Did you know one second of dripping water amounts to five gallons a day? Check faucets and showerheads for any leaks.

Overall Lifestyle

Be observant! If you’re in a position where you cannot fix a leak you notice- reach out to someone who can- Whether it be at a friends house or in a school or business.

Play games and give rewards to your children/family as they learn and demonstrate their own water conservation efforts. Make it fun!

Monitor your water bill to make sure you are up to speed with your consumption trends. Make it a goal to see all the numbers go down while not compromising your wellbeing.

Consider speaking with the people you work with to see if you can put together company incentives to limit water waste.

Encourage your local community, schools and government to support, educate and practice water conscious routines.

We will have many more water conservation tips for you over the coming weeks, stay tuned! Do not let these changes intimidate you, they’re easier to implement than you think. Like anything worth doing, it just takes time to get adjusted. It’s amazing how a little goes such a long way when it comes to living more green. Soon you won’t remember it ever being any other way!

The Holiday Family Traditions You’ve Been Looking For

Holiday Family Traditions

It’s never too late to implement Holiday family traditions, especially during the winter season! You don’t even need to celebrate Christmas to enjoy quality family time that will leave pleasant, long lasting memories for years to come (though there are plenty of Christmas themes to take advantage of too!).

Watch Corny Movies

This particular idea isn’t exclusive to the holidays but you’re definitely more likely to find extremely corny movies! Few things feel as comfy as snuggling up with your loved ones under blankets while watching a laugh-inducing film. Besides, not every Christmas flick is pure trash- you may find yourself pleasantly surprised by the charming characters and warm storylines. Point is- if your couch is a predictable destination for you and your family this year- may as well share the screen with everyone else. My suggestion? Put all your devices in a nearby basket and set rules to prevent each other from being sucked into their feeds and timelines.

Exchange Christmas Pajamas

Every year my family looks forward to this. My mom is really great at sewing and years ago instilled the tradition of making each of us our own flannel pajamas. We always look forward to seeing what material design she chose for us- from flowers to cats- it’s always special. The best part is getting to open them on Christmas Eve so we can show off our new digs on Christmas morning as we enjoy the day.
While you don’t need to sew your own, you can certainly adapt this tradition for your own family. Maybe assign each member a person to buy PJ’s for- or put one person in charge and rotate every year. No matter which way you do it- everyone is sure to enjoy the extra festive touch to the holiday. Consider involving designs and styles that are not limited to Christmas so they can get year-round use of them (but always connecting them to the memories of your family and the traditions you all keep).

Hunt for Presents

You’re family probably enjoys a good Easter Egg hunt every year right? Why not bring some of that energy and spark to this holiday? If you have younger children, they will love the idea of hunting for their presents! Pick some clever hiding spots, incorporate ‘notes from Santa’ that have hints on them- and maybe save the biggest presents for the hardest locations. Instead of sitting by the tree all day- encourage some traditional game style activity.
Everyone will have a little bit more appreciation for their presents when they had to earn them!

Cookie Swap and/or Yankee Swap

If you have older children, perhaps in lieu of some of the more ‘childish’ traditions out there you could start something new! A family favorite on the farm is our annual Yankee Swap- where we invite our closest family and friends over for a night of fun. Everyone not only brings a present under $15 but also partakes in a pot luck dinner. After we eat we all pick a number (1 – however many are there) and start opening presents in numeric order. It’s always fun to see what people get, and how hardcore people are when they see something they want.
Want something a little less potentially barbaric? Go with the cookie swap! Everybody bakes (or buys) their favorite holiday cookies and brings enough so everyone can go home with some of each kind. Even younger families can enjoy this one- plenty of sweets to go around leading up to Christmas!

Pick out and Decorate the Christmas Tree

Holiday Family Traditions

When you have older children it can be hard to keep up with some of the traditions you may have had when they were younger. One way to keep some of the magic alive is by making a point of getting together every year to pick out the family Christmas tree and spend a few hours decorating it together. It’s a great way to go through all the old ornaments made as children and collected through life. Nothing is more symbolic than gathering around as a family with a mission to celebrate life, nature and beauty.

Pick a Favorite Dessert or Meal and Serve it Every Year

Some families scramble every year to decide what to have for their family dinner on Christmas. This year, sit down with everyone and talk about the meals they’ve most enjoyed over the years. From appetizers, main courses to desserts- have everyone contribute and then set the plan in motion!
Our family always has the same meals every holiday- but we often switch it up by assigning different people to make different things. That way there is always some variety in presentation and recipe. By instilling this tradition, mouths will start watering for next year even just a few hours after eating dinner! This is also a guaranteed way to ensure everyone gets something they will enjoy. Don’t let any one member of the family struggle with the meal planning anymore and everyone will benefit! Eating is one of the biggest holiday family traditions, might as well get the most out of it 🙂

5 Myths About Living Green

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Myths about Living Green

Whenever you see or hear something that discourages your desire to live more efficiently and with a mind to the environment, don’t listen. If you get the feeling that there’s nothing YOU can do to help take care of our planet, change your attitude! You have more power than you think! There are many myths about living green out there designed to make you believe you could never make a difference.

1. You could never make a difference

Don’t you love it when people say ‘their vote doesn’t matter’? I have the same reaction to that statement as I do to the claim that a single individual could never make a different when it comes to eco-friendly living. I get frustrated. Something as simple as choosing to spend your money (which in this world, is your power) on products that were made with the planet’s interests in mind. Make an effort to look for products that use a high percentage of recycled materials. The more people who band together in movements like this the greater the chance we have against inconsiderate manufacturers and corporations.

2. Eco-friendly groceries are more expensive

Did you know most food travels anywhere between 1,500 and 2,500 miles to get to your grocery store? (*NRD Council) So when they say buying eco-friendly food is more expensive, they must not be factoring in the transportation and fuel costs alongside all that carbon! Shop for locally grown groceries, ideally from farms that grow on-site. Not only will you help stop enable these irresponsible cross-country transport methods but you won’t be supporting the commercial use of all the (or at least, as many) pesticides or artificial ripening agents. You’ll keep petrochemicals out of the ground, and further help reduce crude-oil usage. Every little bit counts!

3. An appliance switched ‘off’ is not using any power

You are probably already aware of this but it’s always worth repeating. Your electronic devices, be it your computer or TV- are always costing you energy unless they are unplugged. This is because of something called vampire power, a function designed to assist electronics to turn on faster. Invest in a couple powerstrips (don’t overload them!) and click them off when you’re not utilizing any of the appliances. Remember, every little bit helps! It certainly doesn’t pay to buy into the myths about living green.

4. There is no eco-friendly way to bring your groceries home

This one cracks me up. There has long been a debate among environmental enthusiasts about whether paper or plastic is better for the planet. Here’s the thing, they’re both horrible. The production of them alone is questionable and harmful. While you could argue both can serve new purposes upon returning from the store- we can all agree in most cases they end up in the trash. Bring your own cloth bags each time you go to the store and help end the debate. Save the bags for a last minute resort if you undergo a big shopping trip.

5. The need to commute will always cost the planet something

I wouldn’t consider this entirely false- but it is definitely incredibly misleading. While it is true that we will always require some form of fuel or energy to get ourselves to work there are steps you can take to make sure you are reducing your carbon footprint. The most obvious (and most unrealistic) option is to adopt biking as your leading means of transport. Hey, if you’re eating local, shopping local, you can’t have too far to go right? More doable ways to be effective include keeping up with replacing your air filter (can get up to 10 more miles per gallon), get regular tuneups (to keep miles per gallon at its most efficient), and keeping an eye out on your tire air pressure. That’s just the beginning.

We will occasionally tackle more myths about living green because it’s important you know what’s what!