How to Go Green This Summer

How to Go Green This Summer Without Killing Your Budget

When Summer comes around, it is a time to enjoy nature. The flowers are in full bloom, the trees are tall and strong, and usually that means people take to their gardens, among other eco-friendly activities. Usually, going green means it is also going to cost you some green (i.e. cash,) but there are some basic things you can do to be green during the summer without killing your budget in the process.

Summer Cleaning

We have all heard of Spring cleaning, but there can be such a thing as Summer cleaning as well- especially if you never got around to Spring cleaning in the first place. The Summer is a good time to shed all that clutter that you will not need. Here are some quick facts in regards to clothing and other household items:

• People only use about 20% of all of the items in their house
• People only wear about 20% of their clothing, 80% of the time
• Getting rid of clutter tends to wipe out about 40% of a person’s daily household cleaning

Judging from these simple stats, it seems rather obvious that you can afford to get rid of some things in your house, especially when it comes to clothing. Not only that, but getting rid of stuff is free and will actually save you a lot of time, so you can focus on doing fun activities during the Summer. A good option to get rid of those things, rather than just tossing them out, is to have a garage/ yard sale, which is a Summer staple.

Managing water in the garden

Having a garden can be a very non-green thing, when it comes to water use. Things like sprinklers should be managed properly, because many times a garden does not need nearly as much water as it receives from sprinklers. The better option is to just take a few minutes out of your day and do the watering yourself. A person can manage and distribute water more evenly than a sprinkler system. Over-watering can actually kill plants, or at the very least, make the plants more susceptible to pests and insect damage.

Use your own bag

With all the outdoor activities that go on during the summer (trips to the beach, camping, etc.) it is important to use paper products as much as possible, and limit your intake of plastic materials to a minimum. But, in the end, neither of these are that green- since paper destroys forests and plastic destroys other parts of the environment. So, if you need to use one, use paper, and make sure it is recycled paper. But, whenever possible use a reusable bag from home, as it is the best option.

Use your own bottle

Summer is also a time for drinking water, as the sweltering heat and being outdoors tends to make a person thirsty. Instead of always buying plastic water bottles, why not start using your own water bottle, that is reusable? This is by far the best option, and it will save you quite a bit of cash in the process.

Jennifer is fortunate enough to be a stay at home mom and part-time freelance writer. She's currently enrolled in one of those online criminal justice programs and she is also looking into getting her paralegal degree online as well.