I rarely describe myself as an environmentalist, although I am. You see, because of my passion for the environment, I graduated with a degree in environmental science and worked in the field. Later, I became a Regional Customer Service Manager.
Now, you may wonder why I don’t call myself an environmentalist.
Because to me…
Environmentalism is synonymous to simple living!
I prefer calling my ideas on environmentalism – simple living. When I write about simple living, I am truly talking about saving the environmentalism. When I talk about frugality, I am professing ways of saving the environment – one person at a time beginning with me.
Environmental, I mean, Simple living ideas (that I put into practice this year).
1. Turn off Power to your computer – Attach all computer components to a power outlet and power it off when not using the computer.
2. Unplug appliances – Did you know? When you leave an item plugged in, it continues to use a small amount of energy to identify when you turn the item back on. Yes, I unplug the toaster and coffee maker when I am not using them. In my office, I unplug my paper shredder when it’s not in use. I find this easy because when I was a kid, a malfunctioning toaster oven almost started my parent’s house on fire. (It burned a hole halfway through our kitchen table) So, I do it for safety too.
3. Ride a bike or walk – Get some exercise, get outside. With gas prices going up, this is a no-brainer. Decide to walk or ride a bike instead of driving whenever possible.
4. Start a vegetable garden – Do you want locally grown food. There’s nothing more local than growing it in your backyard. It’s organic too! Because you don’t need to use pesticides. Don’t think you have room. Check out Square Foot Gardening
. It even fits on a patio and the roof of an apartment building (bribe your landlord with some fresh organic tomatoes).
5. Reusable Grocery Bags – I keep some available in the truck of my car so I never have worry about forgetting.
6. Gasless Lawn Mower – We have a 1/2-acre lot. I mow it with a reel push mower. No engine, no gas, low maintenance. I know for bigger lawns this may not be practical but if you have a start lawn, you should consider it.
7. Cooking from scratch – Cooking from scratch not only will save you money but you will eat healthier too. Since cooking from scratch requires bulk food items, you reduced the amount of packaging (read as trash) tremendously.
8. Composting – I started a compost pile. I love things with multiple benefits. First, you produce less trash. Second, I have a constant flow of high quality soil for my gardens.
9. Carry a Water Bottle – I have a squeezable water bottle that I fill with filter water. I carry it with me everywhere. This reduces the temptation of buying a plastic throw away bottle when you get thirst. It also helps keep you hydrated.
10. Junk Mail – I already subscribe to the Do Not Send Junk Mail lists. They greatly reduced my junk mail at home. My business still receives plenty of it. I take it home and print on the backside of it. FREE PAPER! I recently read an article about shredding it and using it as mulch for flowerbeds. I am going to look into this a little more. Read the article here.
One of my goals for 2008 was to put into action 10environmental simple living ideas. Well, there you have it. Goal achieved!
Now, you may wonder why I don’t call myself an environmentalist.
Because to me…
Environmentalism is synonymous to simple living!
I prefer calling my ideas on environmentalism – simple living. When I write about simple living, I am truly talking about saving the environmentalism. When I talk about frugality, I am professing ways of saving the environment – one person at a time beginning with me.
1. Turn off Power to your computer – Attach all computer components to a power outlet and power it off when not using the computer.
2. Unplug appliances – Did you know? When you leave an item plugged in, it continues to use a small amount of energy to identify when you turn the item back on. Yes, I unplug the toaster and coffee maker when I am not using them. In my office, I unplug my paper shredder when it’s not in use. I find this easy because when I was a kid, a malfunctioning toaster oven almost started my parent’s house on fire. (It burned a hole halfway through our kitchen table) So, I do it for safety too.
3. Ride a bike or walk – Get some exercise, get outside. With gas prices going up, this is a no-brainer. Decide to walk or ride a bike instead of driving whenever possible.
4. Start a vegetable garden – Do you want locally grown food. There’s nothing more local than growing it in your backyard. It’s organic too! Because you don’t need to use pesticides. Don’t think you have room. Check out Square Foot Gardening
. It even fits on a patio and the roof of an apartment building (bribe your landlord with some fresh organic tomatoes).5. Reusable Grocery Bags – I keep some available in the truck of my car so I never have worry about forgetting.
6. Gasless Lawn Mower – We have a 1/2-acre lot. I mow it with a reel push mower. No engine, no gas, low maintenance. I know for bigger lawns this may not be practical but if you have a start lawn, you should consider it.
7. Cooking from scratch – Cooking from scratch not only will save you money but you will eat healthier too. Since cooking from scratch requires bulk food items, you reduced the amount of packaging (read as trash) tremendously.
8. Composting – I started a compost pile. I love things with multiple benefits. First, you produce less trash. Second, I have a constant flow of high quality soil for my gardens.
9. Carry a Water Bottle – I have a squeezable water bottle that I fill with filter water. I carry it with me everywhere. This reduces the temptation of buying a plastic throw away bottle when you get thirst. It also helps keep you hydrated.
10. Junk Mail – I already subscribe to the Do Not Send Junk Mail lists. They greatly reduced my junk mail at home. My business still receives plenty of it. I take it home and print on the backside of it. FREE PAPER! I recently read an article about shredding it and using it as mulch for flowerbeds. I am going to look into this a little more. Read the article here.
One of my goals for 2008 was to put into action 10
Sensei Tim Rosanelli
Maximum Impact Karate
(215) 249-3532
www.maximpactkarate.com
timrosanelli.blogspot.com
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