10 Ideas For Living Green, or Being Poor, or However You Want To Define It

Trying to think of ways to save a buck has become my job, and hopefully that job pays off. In my head is an overpopulation of ideas. Too many keywords; too much text. My dreams are defined by eBay ads and Google searches. My days are spent turning off lights and monitoring toilet paper usage. To sum it up, I have decided to make a list. I love lists. That's why I get along so well with Fly Lady.

10 Ideas For Living Green....or Being Poor....However You Want To Define It:

1.) Nix the papertowels. Use dishrags and leftover fastfood napkins.

2.) Open doors and windows. When weather permits, turn off the AC and heaters and let in some air.

3.) Unplug your appliances when not in use, including the car chargers, radios, coffeemakers and any other thing that does not need to run if you aren't around (pretty much everything but the fridge, stove, clocks, washer, and dryer), or use a power strip or surge protector to cut power to everything at once.

4.) Hang out the laundry. Let God bleach your whites instead of Clorox when possible and save $ on your electric and gas bill.


5.) Learn to sew. We have saved a ton by not buying a new pair when our son blows out the knees in his jeans (every other day, btw).

6.) Ask for paper at the grocery store and then use them as trash bags. Paper is biodegradable and the bags are free!

7.) Get a library card. This is usually free, and entertainment is just waiting for you. Books, movies and internet. Can't get much better than that!


8.) Get rid of Cable and get Netflix. If you do it right you could watch 10 movies a month for 10 bucks, but if you forget to mail it back after a day, they don't charge you extra like RedBox, which I suggest if you can't get online...but then how are you reading this? If you're really poor, try the library. They've got movies!


9.) Ditch your cell and get a house phone. We reduced our bill by $170 and now the bill collectors can't reach us at all hours!

10.) Reuse your paper. FlyLady.net suggests making master lists of things, like your grocery list, and keeping it in a plastic sheet protector. You can then cross off items with a dry erase marker.

In no way am I suggesting that anyone make a decision to lower their standard of living, or do anything that would hurt their circumstances. These are just things that we have tried and that work for us. When in doubt, use your common sense! And remember we love you!