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Going green doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot of green. Here’s how to get started:

One simple tip to start off with is to get rid of one-time use items like plastic. When we pay attention to how much plastic and paper we use, we can easily see how much we waste. So here are some ways to cut plastic:

1. Purchase a lunch bag/box for you and your kids. Do not put your lunch in a bag you will throw away.

2. Buy small durable plastic containers. Don’t put food items for lunch in Ziploc bags. They are convenient but if you use multiple bags a day, they quickly begin to pose a problem.

3. Buy a water filtration pitcher or system and stop using bottled water. Water bottles are starting to clog up the landfills yet there is no evidence to support the quality of bottled water over filtered tap water. You can either get a simple Brita pitcher or go higher end and get a water filtration/treatment system like the one made by Lotus (I was personally a bottle water snob drinking only Aquafina water and now love the Tersano lotus Water Treatment System, I can taste the difference.)

For energy efficiency:

1. Buy a power strip for all your home electronics and turn it off at night. Today’s electronics can drain energy even when they are turned off or in Stand by mode. By turning off the electricity source you stop this drainage which can amount to about 10% of the usage over a year’s time.

2. Install a hot water recirculation system. It’s a relatively simple installation and costs around $200 but can save as much as 10,000 gallons a year in water for the typical family.