Easy Tips for going green on a budget

A huge part of being green is those 3 tenets you hear repeated: reduce, reuse, recycle. Reducing your consumption (this saves us money), re-using (also saves money) and recycling (saves the city money, budget goes further).

Its not about buying new things--your carbon footprint is smaller repairing your old car versus the carbon that goes into a new car (if you compare a used late nineties honda to a brand new prius). Buying less gas improves your carbon footprint--learning to hypermile and maintaining your car (tune ups, oil changes, checking your emissions) go a long way. I'm up to about 45 mpg in a 04 Matrix, that by EPA should get 32 mpg. My budget loves that.

I cook (rice and beans, low carbon footprint compared to red meat). No paper towels; already bought wash clothes (saves on the budget). Switched all my bulbs to CFL--I pay about $20 in power bills. All the products that use standby power (computer, printer, speakers) are unplugged when not on. The computer monitor is a big power sucker, so I keep the lights on it dim enough that its comfortable to read.

Most of the steps to keep your bills down mean you are lowering your carbon footprint. Thrift stores, buying products with multiple types of use (buy pyrex storage instead of buying plastic tubs, you can cook and store in it). There are a million little differences you can make in your life, that save you money.

Conspicuous consumption is hardly attractive. Yankee thrift is patriotic.