Going Green in 2013 Will Save You More Money

Going green is slowly but surely becoming second nature for the way many people live, saving the planet more each and every year. This will continue into 2013 and even if you havent been particularly environmentally conscious in your every day life, it is never too late to start. Below are a number of helpful suggestions for how you can go green in 2013, saving both the natural environment and money you would have otherwise carelessly thrown away.

Change Your Commute to Work

Most people get to and from work by car, often idling in traffic and just burning gas. This not only adds to global warming, but also cost you money, especially with gas prices fluctuating upward. So look into changing your commute to work. If you can ride a bike to work in a reasonable period of time, do itnot only will you be saving the environment and money, youll get a great workout every day. Consider riding public transportation if it makes sense, time wisea bus with a number of passengers burns much less fuel than a large number of cars on the road and is cheaper for everyone. Consider selling your car and buying a motorcycle, as these vehicles get much better gas mileage than cars and also will allow you to sneak through traffic, so youre not just idling away fuel costs. You can even get a used bike for cheap and keep your car! Fixing up an old street legal motorcycle by buying used Honda motorcycle parts can increase gas mileage and reduce emissions. This way youll save money on buying a brand new bike and use less gas on the motorcycle commutes.

Use Your Thermostat Sparingly

While you may have clicked that thermostat on whenever the house became too hot or too cold, have a little more patience with the weather outside and only start turning on the heat or air conditioner when really necessary. Invest in some sweaters and slippers for winter months, so you can live in slightly cooler house more comfortably; for the summer, seal your windows and buy fans, keeping the cool air inside for longer periods of time. This will save you money in the long run.

Eat Local and Organic

Believe it or not, but the type of food you eat also effects the environment. Large food manufacturers put a serious strain on the environment through their methods of cultivating food or slaughtering animals, so buying food from them or eating the food they sell to restaurants only contributes to the problem. Try to buy local and organic food as much as possible to curb these polluters and convince them to change their ways. It will also be helpful for you, in the long run.

Recycle Old Electronics

When old electronics were no longer useful or were broken, you probably just chucked them in the trash. Most electronics have a lot of awful chemicals inside of them that should not be exposed to the environment, yet many of these were simply being buried in landfills and poisoning the land. Stop throwing these items out and take the extra time to find ways to recycle them correctly. Most recycling companies have specific instructions for recycling old electronics and there are even companies in certain areas that will buy back these old electronics for other uses, putting a little money in your pocket you never knew you could have.

Bring a Water Bottle

A tremendous amount of waste is created by water bottles every year, as most people will drink out of them once and then throw them into a recycling bin. Even though they are being recycled, a lot of waste and energy is being expended to do so properly, which wouldnt be needed if you didnt use them in the first place. So if you bring your own reusable water bottle or thermos, you can have water on-hand to drink and refill without wasting plastic bottle after plastic bottle. This will also save you a ton of money buying bottles of water in the future.