It’s Tuesday again, and that means we are going green. Just a reminder that this series has been inspired by David Bach’s latest book, Go Green, Live Rich. And you can enter to win this book by leaving a comment on Green Living days.

Reusable Shopping Bags: The first time I ever heard about reusable shopping bags I was not impressed. I thought “There’s no way I’m paying for shopping bags, first off. Secondly, it seems like such a hassle to have to bring bags with me when I go shopping.” But I have to admit, the kinda is starting to grow on me.

Environmentally, bringing your own shopping bags is huge. 30 billion plastic shopping bags make their way to the trash every year. And we’ve all heard that they aren’t biodegradable, which means they just keep piling up and up and up. But even worse is that they do photodegrade, which means they break down into tiny pieces and get eaten by animals looking for food. And believe it or not, paper bags aren’t any better. Paper bags take more energy and create more waste than plastic bags.

My husband bought an insulated shopping bag to put the cold foods in at the store and I’ve been using it. It does work to keep the ice cream from getting soft on the way home. And honestly, it’s not that much of a hassle. I just throw it in the cart when we get to the store, and give it to the cashier when we check out. It really isn’t a big deal. And I get to feel good about keeping one or two plastic bags out of the landfill every week.

Paper Products: Another change I’ve been thinking about making is switching to cloth napkins, rather than paper towels. I’ve been trying to use a dish towel when I wipe the kitchen down after dinner, rather than 4 or 5 paper towels. It’s actually easier because I don’t have to stop, throw away the dirty towel, and grab a new one. A dish towel just keeps on cleaning. But even so, I will still use paper towels. So a change we can all make is to buy recycled paper products. Seventh Generation says that if everyone in America replaced one 4 pack of toilet paper with 100% recycled toilet paper we would save 1,450,000 trees and 5,500 garbage trucks full of trash. Wow. Plus, recycled toilet paper is cheaper. So why wouldn’t you want to make the change?

Cleaning Supplies: I’ve always been intrigued by people who make their own cleaning supplies and I would like to give it a shot. David Bach states that the average household spends $600 a year on cleaning supplies and that for $20 you can make your own. Cheaper and better for the environment, how can you turn that down? Here are some recipes for making your own cleaning supplies.

So, do you have reusable shopping bags? Do you use cloth napkins? Do you make your own cleaning supplies? Do you think that stuff is just for crazy people? Leave a comment and get an entry to win David Bach’s latest book! ***Contest has ended***

Other posts in this series:

Bottled Water

Green Credit Cards

Drive Smart

Solar Power

Energy Smart

Babies

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