Become a green family with my kids.

1. Don’t drive as much.
2. Don’t leave lights on when they’re unnecessary. Maybe set all lights to a timer so they go off, say, fifteen minutes after we leave the house? Also, use dimmers? I don’t think they’d make a difference in energy output, though.
3. Water yards and plants at night; don’t water outside plants right after a rainy spell. Harvest rainwater when it does rain, and use that to water plants and grass.
4. Use curtains, not too thick but not too thin, to help keep out heat and still let in light.
5. Start using fabric napkins instead of disposable ones.
6. Don’t buy plastic cups, plates or silverware.
7. Use energy-saving light bulbs in all light fixtures. Also, keep light bulbs dust-free.
8. Don’t leave DVD players, TVs, stereos, computers, etc. etc. on continually.
9. Plug in little-used items (night lights, appliances, hair dryers, etc. etc.) only when they’re needed/in use.
10. Use Freecyle (freecycle.org) to discard unwanted items that people could still use.
11. Recycle trash (newspapers, other paper, plastic, etc. etc.).
12. Stop buying bottled water; get a home water filtering system like Brita.
13. Turn off water while brushing teeth; take more showers and less baths; don’t turn water on full blast when washing hands or dishes; only use dishwasher and washer when they are full; install a low-flush toilet.
14. Use reusable fabric bags for groceries and such instead of using paper or plastic bags.
15. Plant trees; a single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide. Ten trees will offset the carbon dioxide that one US citizen generates in four months.
16. Instead of using Ziploc baggies and saran wrap, use reusable tupperware.
17. Plug cell phone, personal digital assistant, camera, etc. etc. chargers into one surge protector. Turn the surge protector off when nothing is being charged.
18. Use rechargeable batteries instead of disposable ones.
19. Line dry clothes and linens when possible, instead of using the dryer.
20. Put the air conditioner and heater on a timer; set it to go off right after we leave the house, and turn back on thirty minutes before we arrive home.
21. Instead of turning the ac down when it’s too hot, use ceiling fans to cool off.
22. Instead of turning the heat higher when it’s too cold, layer clothing.
23. When out of the house during the hottest part of the day, make sure all blinds are down and curtains are closed.
24. Take good care of clothes to make them last as long as possible. Then give them to people to turn into craft projects, or donate them to charity or sell them to second-hand stores. For clothing items that I or the kids want to keep, employ a tailor to turn them into something else – say, a sweater into a cardigan, or a dress into a skirt. The same goes for fabric napkins, towels, bed linens, and curtains.
25. Instead of buying the cheapest dishes and utensils, choose the higher-priced ones. They last longer, which means less waste in landfills.
26. Don’t cook one oven-cooked item at a time; cook as many as you can at once to save the amount of time the stove will be on.
27. Buy in bulk and cook in bulk. Purchasing from the bulk bins mean less packaging, and fewer trips to the store, and can also mean financial savings. It’s not just for groceries, either: for example, you can buy bulk packages of towels intended for cleaning and detailing cars, and use them in the kitchen. Bulk cooking is a more efficient use of appliance energy and your time, so cook up a nice big pot of soup and anticipate saving lots of leftovers. And plan ahead; planning meals that can feed you and your family for a few days is a great way to shop efficiently and free up your precious leisure time.
28. Don’t throw out food; place leftovers in tupperware containers and save. Eat before it spoils.
29. Upgrade appliances and windows to energy-saving items.