Living Green

Over the past year, I've really made an effort to live more "green." In many cases, it's not only great for the environment, but it's good for my health and pocketbook.

Here are some changes I've made:

• Recycling plastic, aluminum, magazines and newspapers. Kansas is pretty sucky when it comes to recycling, so I'm only able to recycle #1 and #2 plastic.
• Washing our clothes in cold water.
• Using reusable canvas bags at the grocery store instead of plastic bags. Any plastic bags I do have, I use as trash bags.
  
• Recycling yogurt, butter and Cool Whip tubs for Tupperware use.
• Using earth and human friendly household cleaners from Method. I used to use Swiffer floor wet sheets, but now I use a washable microfiber sheet (also from Method).
  
• Using dish towels to dry my hands in the kitchen instead of paper towels.
  
• Unplugging appliances and turning off power cords when they're not in use.
• Using only CFL light bulbs.
  
• Reusing glass jars from spaghetti sauce and jam. I've used one as a vase and another as a button jar. I plan to use a lot of them to put nuts in as Christmas gifts.
• Re-purposing old furniture.

My office is trying to go green, too, but most people don't care and continue to throw their recyclables in the trash can even though there's a recycling bin... RIGHT THERE!

Savings Galore

At first, the thought of having to spend less was a little disappointing, but now it's become quite exciting.

Some things I've been doing to save:

• Using coupons. I almost always get a coupon with my receipt at Target and it's usually for a product I buy regularly. Just today I was able to save $6.53 on my groceries.
  
• Switching to private-label brands. On items like bread and pasta, I buy Market Pantry, Target's house brand.
• Buying fewer organic items. I'm trying to only buy organic meat, produce, and dairy.
  
• Selling old books. In the past week, I've made $11.50 off some old paperbacks. Book-A-Holics at 21st and Tyler will give you 10% of the publisher's price if you sell and 20% if you trade.
  
• Combing my laundry with Seth's. We used to wash separately, but now I wash our clothes together and in cold water. We've definitely seen a difference in our water bill.
• Unplugging appliances when they're not in use. Most electronics suck electrons from the outlet even when they're not in use. I unplug the microwave, toaster and cell-phone chargers and turn off my power strips when I'm not using them. This, on top of not running the AC for the past month has decreased our electric bill by $22.
• Unexpected income goes straight to my savings account. I've also set up for a portion of each paycheck to be directly deposited in my savings account instead of the entire balance going straight to checking.

I've been doing all of this for a few months now and I'm really starting to see the benefits. My bank statement is shorter due to less frivolous spending, my checking account cushion is growing and the bills are going down.

I'll continue to update on my savings as I come up with more creative ideas.