I came up with 48 ways I can personally work to conserve energy and the world's natural resources. What can you do?
Take cooler showers.
Take shorter showers.
Turn lights off when not in use.
Use compact fluorescent bulbs.
Recycle everything possible.
Water lawn and garden at night or in the early morning.
Drink water from the facet rather than water bottles.
Don't use the air-conditioning…since I don't have one! J
Don't rinse dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.
Teach my preschool students to use only one paper towel at hand-washing time because we want to use only as few trees as possible. When they wash their hands I always say, "Use one towel, save a tree."
I also teach them about throwing trash in the trash can and helping to pick up trash in our yards and parks.
I also teach them about pond pollution and how it kills fish. We have a fun little game we play!
Group errands together to cut down on amount of driving.
Use energy-saving appliances.
Keep tires properly inflated to save on gasoline.
Carry Canvas bags to purchase groceries instead of bags that throw away. Or at least use paper bags that can be recycled.
Unplug chargers when they are not being used.
Turn off computers or at least put them to sleep while not in use rather than using screen savers.
Turn water off while shaving.
Turn water off while brushing teeth.
Turn water off while scrubbing hands with soap.
Vote for political candidates that support environment protections.
Eat more locally grown food.
Don't have a lot of children, or adopt. I have 12 adopted brothers and sisters.
Get a bike and ride it rather than driving when possible.
Use public transportation.
Carpool to work.
Buy the things I need, not everything I want in order to cut down on stuff to throw away.
Do Christmas shopping online instead of driving all over town.
Hang dry laundry, especially when it is sunny and warm outside.
Dispose of things like batteries and paint properly.
Only run laundry and dishwasher with full loads.
Use cold water in washing machine.
Unplug appliances when not using them.
Collect rain water to water my garden and yard.
When washing my car, use a sprayer attached to the hose to keep water from draining out in between washing and rinsing.
Use natural lighting whenever possible instead of unnecessarily turning on lights.
Don't eat out all the time, cutting down on driving and other things.
Encourage recycling at my preschool. Right now people throw away a ton of paper and cardboard boxes every day. I plan to request a box in my classroom this year to recycle at least paper.
Rinse and re-use ziplock bags.
Drink less soda to cut down on cans and bottles being used.
Use biodegradable products.
Use towels for cleaning and regular mops rather than all the new use and throw away cleaning items.
Buy in bulk so there is less to throw away.
Use items like paper towel tubes, yogurt containers, and more to create recycled art with my preschoolers.
Crunch up clean but used foil to use as paint stamps for my preschoolers.
Sign up for paperless bills online.
Sign up for e-paperwork through usaa insurance company.
