How do I change my family's poor habits?

I never recycled before I met my girlfriend. I threw away a bottle one day in my room and she got mad at me, took it out of the trash, got a recycling bag (each room has one on campus) and told me that I had to start using it. She has since converted me to a big time recycler, and trying to live more green altogether.

Sometimes you learn to care about something just because someone you care about does. Hopefully your family will learn and follow in your example. Keep trying and even if they never follow, at least you are doing your part and sat least you tried.

Trying have a family movie night and watch "An Inconvenient Truth" its a great movie and conversation starter. It might get them to green up!

Everyone has given you really good idea's so far. It's good to bring it up slowly in conversation in the car or at dinner. They are usually good places to have conversations because people can focus on them more. Another good thing might be do some green based research that could spark your parents interest. For instance, I am sure they would not mind saving money on their electric or water bills. So some facts that could get them interested . ."taking a 10 minute vs 15 minute shower save x gallons water a month and x amount of dollars or unplugging appliances and watching 1 hour less of tv per day can save you x amount of money on the electricity bill"

The key is to get them interested and then bring them in. However, you do want to become more eco-conscious and knowledgeable first because chances are if you are one the that tries to educate and reform them, they are going to come to you about anything green related. So get yourself started first before you try to reel in your parents. Do lots of research and start recycling, changing light bulbs, taking shorter showers etc on your own. Your parents will notice that as well!!

Hope this helps!

I say the place to start is at the dinner table. Just bring up the topic of being green with your family. Listen to what they have to say and then encourage them to take a look around this site. There are plenty of ideas flowing everyday in the blogs or forums that can help drive home the point. Or even in the car with you mom just mention that you think the family should start recycling. Recycling is a pretty easy task if you set up bins to throw things in. Leading by example is perfect because they will start to catch on not long after.
Best of luck Ali!!!

I was about your age when the first Earth Day happened. At that time my parents drove a big Cadillac, created tons of trash, and used electricity like there was no tomorrow. And now my folks live in a solar powered home, drive a Prius and recycle like fiends. It took a long time but they finally got it. Continually show them the value of these actions and consequences of inaction. and like they say below--lead by example. Also, give them concrete and translatable examples such as the power bill where you can push them to conserve and they will see a tangible difference. Good luck, there are a lot of us in this same boat.

Bob Ferris
Executive Director
Yestermorrow Design/Build School

Actions will always speak louder than words. Do what you can, when you can, and know that your example will encourage others to follow your lead. I wish you the best of luck! Let us know how it goes.

Hey Ali,

The first step to take to help your family go green is to go as green as you can without their help. When they see you doing things and how easy it is overall to make small changes, they will be more apt to do it too.

Set up your own recycling bins somewhere in the home that they won't mind seeing, leave a bin that they can just toss their recyclables into without them doing the "work" such as rinsing things out, removing labels, etc. Take the responsibility to do these things yourself...they'll follow suit eventually when they see your willingness to do this. Then make sure you get the stuff to your recycling center.

If you do your own laundry, set yourself up with a location outside that you can hang your clothes to dry. You can get clothesline and pins from the dollar store to hang from tree to tree or across a porch. There are also inexpensive wooden clothes drying racks that you can use inside on rainy days. Buy your own detergents (Purex has an all natural formula for less than most regular detergents and it smells great...especially coming off the clothesline. Vinegar and/or lemon juice act as bleaches...baking soda in the final rinse acts as a fabric softener and all three of these act as deoderizers.) The dryer is the second biggest energy hog in most homes. By doing this you save energy as well as money on your parents electric bill!

When you clean your room (and bathroom) and also if you help your mom in the rest of the house, use natural cleaners. Vinegar, baking soda and water can be your best friends around the house and they cost next to nothing. Vinegar is the best thing you can buy for windows mixed half and half with water and use old newspaper instead of paper towels. (Clorox makes some earth-friendly cleaners called Green Works that are cheap and easy to use as well. They have toilet cleaner, surface cleaners, etc. I just buy the bottle of dilutable multi-purpose cleaner and add it to a spray bottle with some water and use it for practically everything but windows.)

Join a group like freecycle or post items here that your family is getting rid of. You take the responsibility of getting rid of these items and keeping them out of the landfill. If someone is getting rid of clothes, tell them you'll take them to goodwill or somewhere where someone can get some good use out of them. If they're not worth handing down, use them as cleaning rags or cut them up and make a quilt (or something else that is functional such as reusable grocery bags).

Either make or buy cheap, reusable grocery bags (Wal-Mart has some great black ones for a buck a piece) and use them every where you go. Most places will give you a "bag allowance" of a few cents when you bring your own, so you're saving money and the environment at the same time. Either go to the grocery with your mom and take them or ask her to. She may find she appreciates them more than the plastic kind because they hold more and are easier to carry when loading and unloading the groceries.

Be willing to buy secondhand clothing at places like Goodwill or consignment shops. You can find some great stuff and save alot of cash at the same time. Or when you do buy new items, try to make sure they are from natural, sustainable materials.

If you drive, make sure you are frugal about it. Don't just go for long drives or hanging out. Use your excursions from home as opportunities to complete all of your tasks in one trip so you don't make multiple ones for needless things. When you do plan to go out for your errands, see if anyone else in the household needs anything while you're out and you can save them trips too!

Overall, when they see your dedication and willingness to achieve your goal, they will be more willing to participate. When they see that "going green" doesn't cost alot of money (in many areas it actually saves it!) or take alot of effort, they will slowly change. It also doesn't hurt to mention what you're doing and why you're doing it every once in a while so it will sink into them too!

Sorry this was so long, but I hope some of this helps!
Deaematres

"Your life is an occasion. Rise to it." - Mr. Magorium