Your Greeness

1.Make sure you have your coffee cup at work, so you don’t need to use up disposable cups. In fact, why not make disposable cups non-existent at work. Have everyone bring their own cup or else!

2.Schedule errands- Write down all the errands you need to accomplish in a week and do them in one big go. You’ll save trips to and from town, the grocery store, etc., etc.

3.When at the beach or a picnic, keep track of which cup belongs to who with a magic marker. It will save you from getting a new cup each time you need a drink!

4.Did you know that many old cellular phones end up in landfills? Do your share and recycle cellular phones when you can. Donate your old ones to people who wouldn’t mind using them!

5.Recycle Old Wire Hangers- If you don’t know what to do with these, why not give them to the dry cleaners?  Lot of recycling programs do not accept wire hangers because they’re made of steel, so the best option would be to donate them to your favorite dry cleaner!

1.    Use both sides of the paper. Teach kids to always use both sides!
2.    Recycling your newspaper can add up and can save about half a million trees per week!
3.    Reuse gift bags, wrapping paper, old maps, old cloth and utilize these as creative wrapping solutions.
4.Say No to bottled water!- Only 10% of these bottles are recycled, the 90% clog our landfills Jus use a reusable container instead.
5.Once a month have a no bath week, and just take showers instead. You will literally save barrels of water!

1.Read diaper labels carefully. Opt for biodegradable ones, or take a sacrifice and try using cloth ones!

2.A clothesline can save you so much energy. Put one up even in your shower!

3.Go vegetarian- even if it is only 1 time a week. It will help your diet too!

4.When washing clothes in the machine, use the warm to cold cyle instead if the hot-hot cycle!

5.Try to do with using less paper napkins. Using one less each time can really add up!

Going green can be a daunting task to many. Here at yourgreeness.com, we’re here to show you that it’s not at all! There are many simple ways to help! And we’ll be showing you how!

1.Turn off your computers at night. You’ll be sleeping anyway so it saves you a lot of energy.

2.Skip rinsing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. You’ll save water.

3. Do not pre-heat the oven  unless baking is involved. Just turn it on as you are about to use it.

4.When cooking things inside the oven, look through the window to see if it is ready. Avoid opening it up as heat escapes.

5.Very important: recycle glass! It can reduce air pollution and water pollution!

1.Aim to have your city join the cool city list of the US. Cool cities help prevent global warming by passing creative and innovative laws on transportation and legislation that aims to save up on energy.

2.Write to your congressman and encourage them to support the laws that limit carbon dioxide emissions.

3.Use email instead of paper for announcements, invites and for generally disseminating information.

4.Share this list with co-workers, family and friends!

1.    Why not look into community car sharing? You and a number of people can purchase a car together and contribute for fees.
2.    Fly less- try out local vacations!
3.    Encourage schools in your area to reduce emissions by maybe providing better and wider school bus routes
4.    Support charities that aim to protect and conserve our forests!
5.    Look into the environmental impact your investments make.

More simple tips for home, shopping and your general lifestyle that could really help combat global warming!

1.    Make it a habit to buy fresh food instead of frozen ones. Frozen food cots about 10 times more energy to make and produce.
2.    Seek out your local farmers and support them!
3.    Don’t leave an empty roof rack in your vehicle- the weight of the roof rack increases fuel consumption and co2 emissions by up to 10%
4.    Always make sure your vehicles are tuned up.
5.    Drive carefully and refrain from gas pedal abuse!

1.Take a shower instead of a bubble bath.

2.Try to use less hot water.

3.Weatherize your home with proper insulation.

4.Recycle organic waste.

5.Buy intelligently.

1.Remember to defrost your fridge and freezer regularly.

2.Don’t let heat escape from your house over long periods of time.

3.Replece windows from the single glazed kind to those double glazed ones.

4.Get your home energy audited.

5.Cover pots while cooking. Food cooks much faster so less energy and heat are consumed!

You really don’t have to wait for easter if you want to see if these organic des will work out!! Why not make a fun afternoon out of it! You can make your own organic dyes from the food and other products you may already have at home!

1. Use natural fruits and veggies to make the dyes that you want.

2.If you use the juice from canned produce, you will come out with paler shades

3.If you boil the eggs with the dye in vinegar, the colors will come out so much deeper.

4.You can use vegetable oil to polish the dyed eggs after.

Here’s an easy tutorial on the dyeing method:
This method involves boiling the eggs in the dye, which gives darker colors. Roll eggs around in the hot, dye water, they take on a uniform color. Place eggs in a single layer in a saucepan. Use this ratio for your mixture: one tablespoon white vinegar for each quart of water! Keep on adding liquid until the level is an inch or two above the eggs. Add dye ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Rinse with lukewarm water.

I will show you how to get natural dyes in the colors you want in a future post!