Blog Action Day - Being Frugal and the Environment

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This post was written for my other blog, beingfrugal.net. However, since it’s Blog Action Day, I think it’s also appropriate to post it here.

According to Dictionary.com, the definition of frugal is “economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful.” Here at beingfrugal.net I usually apply frugality to finances, but frugality is really much more than that. It’s making the best use of the resources around you. That includes taking good care of the environment.I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a hard core environmentalist. You’ll never find me lobbying to save the salmon when it means the farmers around the streams will starve. However, I also believe that God expects us to be good stewards of this earth. That means not being wasteful in our use of products and energy.How does this look in everyday life? I’ll tell you how this looks in my own life, and you can feel free to add your own thoughts and ideas in the comments.

• I recycle whenever possible. I’m fortunate to live in a city with curbside recycling. I keep a box for recyclable material right outside the kitchen door, and when I use something that can be recycled, I just toss it out the back door into the box. It doesn’t take very much effort at all, and it really helps the environment.
• I try to watch my energy usage. I turn off the lights when I leave a room. I use Compact Fluorescent Bulbs. I try not to have the TV, the radio, and the computer all on at once. I shut the doors and windows when I’m running the a/c or furnace. And I line dry clothes in the summer when it’s practical.
• I watch how much water I use. I try to take short showers, and I don’t bathe my kids in a tub full of water. I only put enough water in the tub to clean my children. When I wash the dishes, I try to only wash a sinkful of dishes at a time, so I’m not filling up the sink to wash 3 dishes.
• I buy from the bulk food bins. Not only is it less expensive than buying packaged food, less packaging means less waste.
• I don’t use my car when I don’t have to. Again, I’m fortunate to live in a small town, so when the weather is nice, I can walk my daughter to school, walk to the store, and walk to the library (I’m sure looking forward to the day our library re-opens, but I digress).

None of these things take very much time or effort, yet they do our environment a lot of good. What are you doing this week to take care of our environment?

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