I’m always looking for simple ways to cut down on the non-green things that send me for a little guilt trip now and then. I’ve listed ten things I do during the week that help cut down on car trips or reduce my carbon footprint in various ways. They’re easy enough for anyone to do, so I thought I’d share:

1. Take a walk or jog around the neighborhood
   instead of driving to the gym.
   
2. Plan recipes with ingredients that are in-season
   (cuts down on the need to ship food far distances).
   
3. Tune up the car, fill the tires with air (eliminate
   excess forces working against your engine’s fuel
   efficiency).
   
4. Open the windows and shut off the a/c when
   bearable, like early morning and later in the
   evening. Or keep the temp at something more
   moderate, like 70 degrees, and wear less
   clothing. On the other hand, if it’s cold outside,
   bulk up on the sweaters and fleece pants/socks
   and set your thermostat to 65.
5. Buy a Brita filter pitcher or screw-on tap filter
   to reduce the amount of water bottle containers
   you throw away.

   

6. Buy cereal in bags not boxes (further reduce
   packaging waste).
   
7. Keep a few extra canvas grocery shopping
   bags tucked away in your car for unexpected
   trips to the market.

   

8. Time your showers and try to spend less
   time in there (minimize the time you leave
   it running to heat up).

   

9. Extra room in your freezer/fridge?
   (Especially an extra freezer - those are
   sometimes pretty empty.) Fill the excess
   room with old milk jugs filled with water.
   This helps keep the fridge a constant
   temperature and will minimize the demand
   for electricity to continuouslykeep it cold.
10. Turn off your computer at night! I know,
    it’s hard to remember. It’s hard for me. At the
    very least, you can assure you are saving
    energy every time you leave your computer
    running by downloading Verdiem’s free
    PC energy-saving software. It tells you
    how much money you save relevant to the
    time settings you choose to put your
    screen and hard drive to sleep.

    Reader comment: Damjan suggests using
    Green Pulse instead of Verdiem’s Edison
    because it “doesn’t just set your computer’s
    power schemes”. Thanks!

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