August 27, 2008
· Filed under environment, green, life, living, recycle · Tagged Add new tag, blogging, business, energy, energy use, environment, green, how to, life, living, office, recycling, styrofoam, tips, work
There are some personal things you can do to reduce your impact on the environment at work.
Bring a refillable water bottle. Fill up the bottle with a water from the water cooler or the tap. They even sell water bottles with filters so if you really do not want to drink the tap water at your office you can still drink it.
Leave a coffee mug at work. Stop using the Styrofoam or paper cups that your office supplies. You can easily clean the mug out each day and store it in a drawer.
Bring a full set of utensils, plate and bowl. Rather than using paper plates and plastic utensils use your own and just wash it after each use.
Use the back of paper. We all print stuff out that we do not really need, accidentally print it twice, print the whole document rather than the one page you needed… I could go on… just put it back in the printer to use again when you want to review a draft of something or print anything that is not the “official” version.
Recycle. Most offices are recycling paper and plastic but most do not have a receptical in every office so make sure that you bring your recycling to the appropriate bin in your office.
Shut off your computer. If you are not going to use your computer over night shut it off. Plain and simple.
Shut off your lights when you leave. Even if the cleaning people are going to come in and turn it on again they may not be coming for hours so shut it off.
Unplug all your un-used chargers and other unused devices. This needlessly uses energy… maybe you will save enough energy that the bills go down and you get a raise 
Do you have any good office tips?
August 18, 2008
· Filed under environment, green, life, living, recycle · Tagged Discovery Channel, education, entertainment, environment, green, life, news, planet green, producers, reviews, television, tv, wasted
Many people have been reading my post on the Planet Green TV show Wasted. In my post I talked about the need to put people on who are trying live a greener life and help them take it to the next level. I want to tell everyone I am more than willing to volunteer!! I searched the Planet Green, Discovery Channel, and Wasted websites and I could not find a page that let you contact anyone about the show, sign-up/request to be on the show, or leave feedback.
I would love to be on this show and I am 100% sure it will be entertaining to “catch” someone who blogs about the environment doing wrong. Here are some of the things you can help me with:
- I don’t have a digital thermostat
- Always forget to unplug and shut off my computer (as well as other items that should be unplugged)
- Windows leak air (in the winter you can almost feel the breeze)
- I have oil heat (maybe to big to tackle in the show but a real problem)
- I do not have rain barrels
I could go on but I do not want to say that much more! There are obviously items that I listed above that are more than the show probably wants to tackle but for alot of people interested in things “green” and watch the show probably want to see more than the typical wasters. I do want to say that these “waster” families should still be on the show because they provide a reminder of why the rest of us need to change because there are more “wasters” than those trying to live “green” right now.
So please if anyone who works for the show or knows someone who does tell them I am more than willing to be put on the show and expose my green shortcomings especially in the name of education.
Note: if someone actually wants to contact me from the show just post a comment to this blog… I moderate them so I will see it and no one else will… you never know
August 7, 2008
· Filed under Weekly Tip, environment, green, life, living, recycle · Tagged envelopes, environment, glass jars, green, life, living, plastic bottles, plastic jugs, re-use, recycle, reduce, reuse, wire hangers
There are so many things in your house that you can re-use instead of throwing them away. Look at every item before you throw it in your garbage can and think “how can I use this again?” If you re-use the items before you throw away or recycle them they do even less harm to the environment.
Here are a few of the millions of examples:
Baby food jars- votive candle holders, containers for small items in your desk (or other places), way to take salad dressing in your lunch
Jelly or pasta sauce jars- put drinks in them for a picnic, use them the way you would use a plastic “tupperware” container, use them to organize your basement or garage (nails, screws,… you can even attach them to a peg board)
Plastic jugs- cut out part of the bottome use it as kitty litter, bird seed, grass seed, cereal scooper. Depending on what was in it fill it with water (from your rain barrel ) to water the plants
Yogurt containers (or takeout food or soup containers)- start seedlings in them or again use them to store food like you would any other plastic container
Wire hangers from the cleaners- Un-twist the hangers and put your ribbons on them and re-twist then all your ribbons are in one place.
Envelopes- This one is extreme… I use the back of envelopes for my grocery list and put the coupons I need in the envelope!!
What other ideas do you have for re-using common things in your house?? Post a comment.
