You don’t have to change your whole life to live more sustainably — it can be just a matter of thinking a little differently or knowing which choices to make. Follow the simple suggestions below to save money and lessen your impact.

Water

Avoid plastic bottles. For a dollar’s worth of tap water, you could fill 4,000 16 oz. plastic water bottles. [1] If you’re at home, use a glass instead of a bottle. If you’re on the go, instead of (re)using plastic bottles, buy a stainless steel water bottle (such as those offered by Klean Kanteen and New Wave Enviro), preferably without a potentially toxic plastic lining, and fill it from your own tap (the EPA sets strict standards for tap water).

Turn off the water when brushing your teeth. There is no benefit to leaving the water running while you brush, and you waste up to five gallons every time. [8]

Take shorter showers. By taking a 5-minute shower instead of an 8-minute shower, you could save enough water to fill 140 glasses. [1]

Electricity

Unplug electronics at night or when you’re not using them, and turn off computers when you’re not using them. Many devices continue to drain power even when they’re off, and chargers can use electricity even when the things they power aren’t plugged in. Pull them out from the wall when they’re not needed to save your electric bill, avoid wasting energy, and keep hundreds of pounds of carbon dioxide from the air. The average desktop computer alone is responsible for over 500 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. [1]

Use a power strip. Plug your electronics into it, and when you won’t be using them for a few hours, flip the switch off. You’ll save money on your electric bill and avoid using power unnecessarily.

Use CFL or LED lights. Unlike traditional incandescent lights, which are hot and waste electricity, compact fluorescents (CFLs) last 10 times longer, use 75% less energy, save $30 over the lifetime of the bulb, and keep tons of pollutants out of the air. If every American household replaced just one incandescent lightbulb with a CFL, we would save $600,000,000 and keep greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to that of more than 800,000 cars out of the air. [6] Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights go even farther, using 75% less energy and lasting 25 times longer than incandescent lights. [7]

Consumption and Waste

Avoid disposable products and excess packaging. The average American throws away almost 15 tons of packaging in his/her lifetime. [1] Instead of buying disposable products (e.g., disposable mops, paper towels, paper napkins, paper plates, non-rechargeable batteries) consider sustainable alternatives (e.g., washable mops, cotton towels, cloth napkins, metal, plastic, or ceramic plates, rechargeable batteries). If you have a choice between products with excess packaging or minimal packaging, choose the latter.

Use reusable bags. The U.S. consumes 100 billion plastic bags per year, and less than 1% are recycled. [1] You might save a few bucks in the long run too: Many supermarkets offer a small discount to customers supplying their own bags.

In order: reduce, reuse, and then recycle. If you don’t need it, don’t get it. By reducing what you consume, you’ll immediately cut the waste you generate as well. If you can use it again, do it. Once you can’t use it any more, recycle it if you can.

Whenever possible, buy locally-made products. Just as with foods, locally-made goods not only support your local economy, but they carry less environmental impact as well, since they don’t need to be transported as much.

Health

Don’t overuse antibacterial soaps. Antibacterial soaps usually contain triclosan to kill the bacteria. Overusing triclosan, as any antibiotic, can cause the development of antibacterial-immune organisms, which can then be very difficult to eradicate when antibiotics are genuinely needed. Furthermore, triclosan can create dioxins, 2,4-dichlorophenol, chloroform gas, and other dangerous carcinogens in your water, which are highly toxic to humans.

Clean your air with indoor plants. It’s well known that plants trap carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. Now, NASA research has now shown that some plants can help reduce the levels of pollutants like benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene by as much as 87% in 24 hours. Add one potted plant per 100 square feet of space to improve your air quality and add some green to your rooms. English Ivies, Peace Lilies, Chrysanthemums, Gerbera Daisies, Azaleas, Spider plants, Bamboo palms, and Mother-in-Law’s Tongues are just a few of the plants that are great for cleaning up your air. [5]

Know your plastics, and know which to avoid. [2]

• #1 (PET/PETE), used in most bottled water, is generally safe (although it does leach small levels of antimony), although bottles are often difficult to clean and so are at risk for bacterial contamination.
• #2 (HDPE), #4 (LDPE), and #5 (polypropylene) are also safe.
• #3 (PVC) and #6 (styrene) are used in some food and beverage containers, and are considered a health hazard.
• #7 (polycarbonate) is used for other plastics, usually containing those containing BPA, and should not be considered safe without knowing more.

When in doubt, avoid plastics altogether!

Transportation

Travel smart. Walk or ride a bike if you can (it’s healthier and completely green). If you must go by motor, use mass transit if you can (bus, train), or carpool if you can’t. If you can afford it, consider a hybrid car, which will use dramatically less gas and get better fuel economy when it does.

If you drive a car, keep it in shape. Keeping your engine tuned, tires properly inflated, and correct motor oil not only saves you money and maintenance costs, but burns up to 4% less fuel, saving the environment as well. [3]

Drive more efficiently. Combine trips to save gas, and drive more sustainably on the road. Less aggressive driving (avoiding rapid acceleration/braking) can save up to 33% more fuel, going the speed limit can save up to 23%, and removing excess weight from your car can shave off another 2%. Better yet, don’t idle excessively, and use your cruise control and overdrive gear if you have them. [3]

Food

Buy local foods. Locally-produced food is transported shorter distances, using less fuel and polluting less in the process, and you’ll be helping your local economy and local businesses at the same time.

Eat organic foods whenever possible. Foods produced without pesticides and harmful chemicals are healthier for your body since they do not contain unnatural growth hormones and antibiotics, and do not contribute to air and water pollution, algae blooms, and pesticide pollution.

Cut your meat intake. The meat industry contributes enormously to global warming. Half of human greenhouse gas emissions are from meat, even though beef, pork, and chicken make up less than 15% of most people’s diets. The pollution created in producing one kilogram of beef is about 19 kilograms of atmospheric carbon dioxide, almost 68 times the impact of the same amount of potatoes. Cutting your meat intake can help reduce your carbon footprint considerably, as well as improve your health. For an even bigger reduction, consider becoming vegetarian or vegan. [4]

Activism

Lobby your congresspersons. Actions speak louder than words, but words speak plenty loudly to politicians. If there is an environmental issue you feel strongly about, call or write your senators or representatives — their contact information is easily located on the Senate and House websites. Remember: they are elected to represent you, so make sure they know what you think, and if they don’t act environmentally friendly, vote in people who are.

Contact your favorite companies. Love a particular brand or product but it isn’t environmentally friendly? Contact the company and let them know. Better yet, if a competitor offers a sustainable alternative, mention it and tell them that you’ll support whichever company is greener. Then put your dollars to action.

Ask your local shops to carry sustainable alternatives. Plenty of stores are willing to carry green products if they know there is a market for it. If there is a particular environmentally friendly product you want, ask to talk to the manager and have him or her order it, then go out of your way to buy it so they continue to restock. Encourage your friends to shop there and purchase the same product, and ask the store to carry more things like it.

Sources

1: Green Guide (National Geographic).

2: Plastic Water Bottles (Natural Resources Defense Council).

3: Tips to improve your Gas Milage (Environmental Protection Agency).

4: AAAS: Climate-Friendly Dining … Meats (ScienceNews).

5: Plants “Clean” Air Inside Our Homes (Colorado State University).

6: Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (Energy Star).

7: Residential LED Lighting (Energy Star).

8: Water Pollution Prevention and Conservation (Environmental Protection Agency).