Everywhere you turn these days, you hear about eco-friendly ways to live, but one thing you may not usually hear is how the “three Rs” not only save the planet, but also help save you money.
Buy in Bulk
In almost every situation, the more of a product you buy, the less cost you’ll endure per unit because the manufacturer or retailer will give you a bulk price rate.
Individual packaging (most likely a form of plastic) is either difficult to recycle or not recyclable.
Buying in bulk means less trips to the store or online orders, saving gas money and carbon emissions.
An experiment conducted by Real Simple magazine in 2003 found that purchasing 15 common items at a warehouse store in bulk as opposed to the supermarket saved $58.74 in Illinois and $109.72 in New York (including a membership fee). The major reason for the price discrepancy was the supermarket prices per state. It’s safe to assume that doing a majority of your shopping in bulk would save more than $200 on supplies and an estimated $20 per year on gas, regardless of where you live.
For goods that have a long shelf-life (i.e. anything that doesn’t need refrigeration), opt for a larger quantity and recycle as much of the packaging as possible.
Reduce Food Related Paper Use
Oil-based food stains are the easiest way to make your paper not recyclable. That’s why recycling locations for paper towels or paper napkins are unavailable.
Did you know–the average American family uses 1.5 rolls of paper towels each week.
Brown paper bags have just as high of an environmental footprint as plastic bags when considering manufacturing and disposal.
You’ll be lucky to find paper towels for less than 75 cents per roll. That means you’re paying at least $4.50 a month for disposable towels, so cutting your use to one roll a month would save $45 per year.
Paper bags are only about 2 cents per bag, but if you make two lunches every day, that’s $14.60 per year thrown into the trash after one use.
Use reusable cloth towels for cleaning the house and your spills, and throw them in the laundry instead of the garbage (the cost to wash towels will be negligible if it’s done with the rest of your laundry). Check into lunchboxes or plastic containers to carry your lunch, which will be a one-time investment instead of constantly funding your disposable habit.
Use Rechargeable Batteries
Rechargeable batteries can be charged hundreds of times without losing the ability to hold a charge, while single-use batteries are “one and done.”
It’s easier to find recycling locations for rechargeable batteries instead of single-use batteries.
In energy-draining devices, such as digital cameras, batteries may only hold a charge for a few hours of use.
Fact: The average family buys 32 batteries a year, and you may be able to find them for 50 cents apiece. You could probably get by on four rechargeables for the same purposes at $2.50 per battery, and the charger should be about $10. Tack on an extra $5 for energy costs to charge your batteries (assuming you unplug the charger when not in use). This means switching to rechargeables will actually cost you an extra $9 the first year, but you’re looking at potential savings of $11 per year for many years afterward, depending on your battery use.
Even though you might spend a little more in the beginning, rechargeable batteries are still the way to go when it comes to saving money and reducing waste in the long run. Shop around for deals on rechargeable batteries, so you don’t get stuck buying cheaper alkalines at the last minute. Consider an ENERGY STAR-qualified battery charger so you’ll use less energy charging batteries.
Install a Programmable thermostat
Programmable thermostats don’t require mercury to get a reading, unlike many analog thermostats.
These thermostats have settings to control your temperature based on time of day and season, lowering your energy bill.
ENERGY STAR estimates a yearly savings of $180 by installing a programmable thermostat. The unit will probably cost about $60, and you could spend $50 getting it installed, but that translates to a savings of $70 the first year and $180 each year after that.
Here are two things to consider once you’ve made the change:
- Properly dispose of your old thermostat if it contains mercury (see the eighth tip below about hazardous products to learn how).
- Check to see if your purchase will count as an energy-efficient home improvement for tax purposes to help justify the initial expense.
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