Green Living Blog: Going green on a budget
After reading this post, don't forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes.
Today's winner is Stacey Airhart of Kingston, Ont.
Going green is not difficult when you realize that even small changes can contribute to improving our environment. Currently I'm attending graduate school which proves that even those on a budget can go green. Obviously, recycling is an easy essential element to going green. I am also fortunate enough to have a composter in my backyard therefore eliminating even more household waste. Another measure I have taken is replacing all lightbulbs in my house with energy-efficient bulbs. This not only assists the environment but cuts down on electricity costs. In the summertime, I hang my laundry out to dry, once again another energy-saving measure. In the winter I must admit I do use the dryer, but also use a drying rack to dry towels and other heavy items that take longer to dry.
I try to be conscious of turning off lights and turn down the heat at night. I use re-usable grocery bags when buying groceries, which creates less plastic waste. Attempting to carpool is another form of going green that I avidly try to partake in. I also aim to participate in physical activities that create little or no emissions, such as cross-country skiing in the winter and kayaking in the summer. Another green initiative I have partaken in is raising hens. I have five layers, which provide one egg each per day. Though the green impact of this project may be minimal, every little bit helps. This summer I hope to plant a vegetable garden and become a little more self-sustaining. All in all these initiatives can be implemented on a budget and without noticeably affecting your daily routine.
Thanks to Stacey for sending in her story – and don't forget, if you still haven't entered, there's still time to send your own story to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com.
Stacey wins a Jubilee Gift Set from Dr. Hauschka, which includes:• 1 Rose Day Cream
• 1 Cleansing Cream
• 1 Facial Toner
Today's code word: chickens
Read more:
• What you can do about rising food prices
• Excerpt: The 100-mile diet
• Make your grocery shopping greener
April 29th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
We have taken enormous steps to be green and energy efficient.It all started with our free composter (City of Sudbury).Every day we have at least two quarts of vegetable waste,eggshells & coffee grings.In the fall when we harvest our vegetables all garden waste is left in one pile and in spring it is worked into the soil.When winter approaches we place plastic sheets on our windows and have had an energy audit so that we have a written report on what can be done to increase our overall efficiency.To-day we had 30 more inches of insulation put in our attic.With this evaluation we recieve some money back from our provincial gov't and federal gov't for all the upgrades and even get back some money for athe initial audit,so it's a win win situation.What else could possibly more easy than that after the work is done the initial company will write up the upgrades and the governments will send us a cheque.
April 30th, 2008 at 10:54 am
we have i just could not have said it better irene