Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 this year, and there’s no better occasion to show some love to the place we call home. It’s a great opportunity to take time to evaluate our daily practices and consider ways to reduce our individual carbon footprint. As responsible occupants to this wonderful planet we need to evaluate our lifestyles and find simple actions to conserve natural resources and help save the climate.
In addition to being better patrons to our planet, “going green” can also save you money. Andrea Woroch, a nationally-recognized consumer and money-saving expert, shared these seven easy earth friendly tricks to save money (over $2,000 per year) and to help you get on the road to being more eco-friendly not only on Earth Day, but every day!
7 Simple Earth Friendly Tricks To Save Money
1. Buy Refurbished Ink ($130 Annual Savings)
Though 97 percent of an ink cartridge is recyclable, 375 million cartridges end up in landfills each year. To cut down on this waste and to cut your costs by 70 percent, head online to InkjetWilly.com to find the cheapest replacement ink and remanufactured options for your specific printer.2. DIY Cleaning Products ($50 Annual Savings)
Manufacturer’s boasting “natural” toilet cleaners charge roughly $5 per bottle. You can save up to $50 a year using pantry goods like vinegar and baking soda to tackle common household chores!3. Use Mobile Coupons ($1,560 Annual Savings)
Last year, the average coupon user saved $1,560 a year spending just 20 minutes each week looking for deals. Avoid those paper circulars and download a free coupon app like Coupon Sherpa for savings at retailers, restaurants, service providers and more. Save paper, save money: boom!4. Don’t Buy Bottled Water ($100 Annual Savings)
The average American spends $100 each year on bottled water. What’s more, U.S. citizens discard 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour and contribute unnecessarily to landfills. Purchase inexpensive, BPA-free reusable water bottles and keep one at the office, in your gym bag and at home so you always have one to refill.5. Send E-Cards or Repurpose Greeting Cards ($40 Annual Savings)
From birthdays to holidays to other special occasions, Americans buy roughly 6.5 billion greeting cards annually. At an average of $4 a pop, this represents an enormous expenditure by consumers. Instead, send e-vites and other digital greetings, or reuse cards you received by cutting out the personal sentiment and creating a postcard.6. Kill Energy Vampires ($65 Annual Savings)
Gadgets and appliances like TVs, laptops, coffee makers, space heaters and cable boxes continue to suck energy even when turned off. Get in the habit of unplugging all these electronics and appliances when you aren’t using them. Considering that the average American home electricity costs are $1,300 a year, 5 percent savings can keep an extra $65 in your pocket.7. Swap Paper Towels for Cloth ($150 Annual Savings)
Americans use a staggering 13 billion pounds of paper towels every year, equating to over 50,000 trees and 60 million gallons of water. Swap these paper hogs for cloth alternatives like sponges and microfiber towels which you can toss in the dishwasher and washing machine for reuse.
How do yo plan on celebrating Earth Day this year? Do you have simple eco-friendly tricks to save money? Share them in the comment section below or email me with your earth friendly suggestions and I will feature them on ahappyhippymom.com!
these are great tips for earth day. i would love to save this much money every year for doing things that i should already be doing. they are so easy to follow. thanks.
Such great tips!
We try to save money by always unplugging electronics that we don’t use all the time every day. We also don’t buy bottled water.
Mobile coupons are so much better than having to cut up coupons! I am definitely going to try to use them more. We try not to buy bottled water for everyday use, just keep for emergencies. I always try to conserve energy by unplugging and turning off appliances when not in use. It’s great that the things that save us money can also be more better for the environment!
Great tips! I especially like the one about the bottled water – I ditched this already. All that plastic in the landfills, and the water is not even as well regulated as city tap water (which in my city tastes pretty good!). I do have several BPA-free bottles like you suggested. What we have done here, also, is to start to switch over to LED lighting. Such, good, clear light, and the LEDs seem to last forever!
I enjoyed these tips even learn some new things I try to do the best I can and really try keeping litter picked up around my apartments.
i love the swap paper towels for cloths idea. I always look for extra ways to save money!
These are all great tips! I do most of them. I really need to work on trying to make my own cleaning supplies. I have cut down on paper towels but just can stop using some. What we do use we compost though. We are big on recycling. We started recycling more and went to every other week trash pick up. It has saved us about $200 a year.
Great ideas! I always use cloth instead of paper towels, use a filtered water pitcher, and use mobile coupons, especially the target ones! Hope everyone takes just one simple action to help our earth.
I didn’t even know refurbished ink was a thing! Thats awesome, thanks for the heads up!
DIY Cleaning Products: yes, this is a good one. A little research and you will find great recipes out there to make your own cleaning solutions.
We stopped buying bottled water a few months ago and it saves money for sure!
Thanks for the tips. I am always looking for ways to save money and if I can help the planet in the process it’s even better.