Gifting Yourself some Green
Green has always been one of my favorite colors. Why you may ask? Maybe it is because I have always been complimented on my green eyes. Maybe it is because my mom always dressed me in green for special occasions and family photographs of which I have fond memories of. Perhaps it has do to with something in my subconscious mind and having the name of Shaun, which is an Irish name and Ireland is famous for being green. Or maybe it is because I was an art major in college and the color green was a pretty constant theme in most of my pieces. Hmm, maybe it is to do with the color of money being green and what money can represent: financial stability and the freedom to do what one wants. But, lately I am beginning to believe “green” has taken on another meaning to me. The definition of this “green” I am talking about is an environmental term. It means that the products and resources we have on planet Earth are being used in the best way possible. It means that we cut down on pollution and conserve what we have, reduce, reuse, and recycle. Being “green” affects everything and everyone from the global market to the supermarket.
Being a manny you play many different roles. Guardian, friend, teacher, plumber, cook, comedian, clown, etc. While playing these different there is ALWAYS an opportunity to teach the child right from wrong and this is where being “green” comes in handy. Below I have listed some easy ways to gift yourself some more “green” in your life, quite literally that will save the Earth and your hard earned $$$.
Placing a brick in the back of the toilet bowl, where the water is contained, will create less water being flushed down the toilet with each flush.
Instead of buying containers of plastic water bottels invest in a $15.00 water filter for your sink, thus leaving you with purified great tasting water.
* Use that great tasting purified water to fill up a reusable Klean Kanteen. They are stylish and durable enough to be used as a play toy.
http://www.kleankanteen.com/
Use those old paper or plastic bags from the grocery store as trash can liners. Who says nothing in life is free?!
Donate 10.4 square feet of rain forrest per day for FREE, sponsored by huge companies. All you have to do is visit the website once a day and click on the link. Easy enough! http://www.therainforestsite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=4
Unplug appliances when not in use- they still use up electricity that you have to pay for.
Next time you old light bulb burns out replace is with a longer lasting compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL). Did You Know?
If every American home replaced just one light with a light that’s earned the ENERGY STAR, we would save enough energy to light 3 million homes for a year, save about $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent 9 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year, equivalent to those from about 800,000 cars.
Ride your bike, or walk to a local library and rent movies from their movie selection for FREE. No more Blockbuster video membership for you and just as good a selection. If you don’t have cable, but have internet access try the www.hulu.com for thousands upon thousands of recent television shows to enjoy, no membership required.
If you don’t want to buy harmful and toxic cleaning supplies, try what our grandparents use to use. Vinegar and water- it really does the trick to clean those hard to clean surfaces.
These are just a few of the hundreds, if not thousands of ways to be more green in our daily living. Just realizing how everything action we do has either a postitve or negative reaction in some way. By gifting these simple habits into our life we will really be able to reap the rewards for generations to come. It looks like green really is one of my favorite colors of all time!
