Earth-friendly Money-savers

• Dry your clothes on a line outside.
• Drive less. (for us lately, this has not been hard, since I don't feel up to going anywhere!)
• Have a compost pile.
• Recycle as much as you can.
• Use cloth diapers. (I know this is debatable whether it saves money, but if you do a lot of laundry like I do, it's not going to put a big dent in your energy or water bill.)
• Grow your own veggies and/or herbs.
• Wait until clothes are really dirty to wash them.
• Spend more time outside (then you can turn your lights and TV/computer off!)
• Buy clothes at a thrift or consignment store when possible.
• Buy other items at a thrift or consignment store when possible.
  
• Make your own household cleaners using vinegar, borax, essential oils, etc. (recipes online are easy to find.)
• Use energy star appliances (as long as you can afford the initial cost)
• Ride a bike to work (if it's close enough)
• Use cloth grocery bags. (Here, you get 5 cents credit per bag per use...20 uses, and it's paid off! Beyond that you actually "make" money.)
  

I thought this would be appropriate for Earth Day...I also wanted to show myself a list of ways we can be eco-friendly that actually save money too. There are some things out there that cost more, and if you have the ability, I think many are worth doing (or cutting some non-essential out of your budget so you can do it). I was just thinking about this recently while listening to a radio show on KMBI, where they were asking people "what do you do to save money in these harder economic times?" I noticed that several things people were saying--the majority, in fact--were either better for the environment, better for personal health, or both.

I was also thinking about the fact that while the global warming advocates say that overpopulation is a big, bad deal, it's ironic that in the U.S., the average children per family is not even 2. And, I know this is a very blanket statement to which there are plenty of exceptions, but isn't it much more likely that families with two or less children will buy their children and themselves more non-essentials, rather than doing several of the things on the above list? Families with more children are probably more likely to have a garden, buy clothes and other things from thrift stores, and do several other things to save money. Besides that, they are probably more likely to teach their children a better work ethic--in a bigger family you have to do your part. I know this is all just my own opinion and speculation. What do you all think?

Oh, and I found it quite ironic that Wal-Mart is selling lots of new t-shirts for Earth Day. Like, if you care about Earth Day and what it's about, why would you buy a new shirt that you really don't need anyway in order to show it? Anyway, maybe that's just me.