From Guest Blogger Brooke Chaplain: Double Green–Ideas to Save Money and the Earth at Home

Our environment is a precious resource that we all know is being rapidly exhausted by conspicuous consumption, and dangerous fossil fuel use. Finding ways to circumvent the trappings created by society that often find us in an endless cycle of having to buy products and create waste is a challenge, but still possible. Here are a few wonderful ways to both cut your budget, and be kind to your planet.

Open a Window
It is undeniable that air conditioning feels nice on a hot day, but it’s also a luxury that can be forgone in favor of an open window. When your air conditioner uses electricity to power up, it both drives up your power bill, and consumes an excess of fossil fuels. While one home may not seem to make an impact, consider the number of people in your town that are also firing up those energy guzzling units on any given day. If you can deal with the breeze from your open window and fans, rather than an air conditioner, you will be reducing your carbon footprint and putting money back into your pocket. Of course, in desert towns, air conditioning may just be a fact of life. Luckily, if you use it wisely, and stop air from escaping, you can still save some money and the environment. Gilkey Windows offers ecofriendly options with air-tight seals that can help keep household temperatures stable naturally.

Re-bottle Your Water
It can be easy to fall into the trap of repeatedly buying cases of bottled water to stay hydrated and ready for any adventure. In order to consume the recommended 64 ounces of water a day, you’d have to consume eight 8 oz bottles or four 16 oz bottles- that’s a lot of plastic! Producing all that plastic has a nasty impact on the environment, and recycling, while great, doesn’t change the fact that the destructive cycle starts again when you pick up a new case. Instead, clean your used water bottles with a gentle dish-safe soap solution, and rinse thoroughly. Reusing existing plastic water bottles is ecofriendly and saves you the cost of buying water again and again.

Try Out Container Gardening
Simple and fun, container gardening has become a popular way for eco-conscious folks to grow their own food even without a patch of land. Many tutorials are available online that can show you how to easily upcycle plastic beverage bottles and other items into highly functional container gardens. By doing this, you are reusing plastic, preventing trips to the store to buy produce, and releasing healthy oxygen into your air thanks to your cultivation. Tomatoes, cucumbers, and herbs are some of the many plants that respond well to container gardens.

Trying to find ways to save money and help the planet thrive can be a challenge. By following these simple tips, you can reduce your carbon footprint and save some much needed pennies.