Goal For The Green

It is time to spring clean once again, and what a wonderful time of year to make a commitment to a greener lifestyle. The following tips and tricks will help you clean up your home, conserve energy, and get in the habit of running a greener home.

De-Clutter

The first step in spring cleaning is to de-clutter the house. This means that you are getting rid of all types of items, but you don’t want to contribute to over filling the landfills. As you clean, sort what you don’t want into piles. Clothing can be donated to charity while metal pieces can be turned into cash at the recycling centers like Raimo Scrap Iron & Metal that even accept vehicles.

Clean Up

Once the clutter is out of the way, you can begin actually cleaning. Many home owners immediately reach for their chemical cleaning products at this point, but you do have greener options available to you. There are several commercial products on the market that use natural ingredients, or you can create your own with household things like white vinegar with its antiseptic properties or baking soda that is a gentle scouring agent as well as an odor eliminator.

Recycling

Spring cleaning is the perfect time to put a recycling system into use. It doesn’t cost anything to start, and you may actually get money back. Place bins in a convenient yet out of the way location where family members are most likely to use them. Clearly mark one for paper, one for cans, and one for plastic bottles. Cans are considered scrap metal and can be turned in for cash. Check the labels on your water bottles. Many states give you back a deposit for each bottle you turn in.

These tips will help you clean and organize your home this spring in a green way. Not only are these ideas helping the world for future generations, these techniques might even help put some money back in your pocket.

It’s always good to make your home more environmentally friendly and sound. Not only do green choices make the world a better place, they also help to save you money from day to day. You may be overwhelmed by all of the things that you could or should do to be more ecologically sound, but you don’t have to be perfect just to make a difference. Here are three simple things that you can do to make a difference today.

Ditch the Bottled Water

Drinking bottled water produces many tons of waste every year in the U.S. Instead of drinking out of a plastic bottle that may take thousands of years to degrade, drink the water that is already coming out of your tap. If you don’t like the taste of the water that you get from the tap, consider getting water softener installation Long Grove IL from a reputable company like Chicagoland Water. This will help to cut down the waste and it will also save you a lot of money in the long run.

Recycle Every Day

Recycling doesn’t have to be hard for you or for your family. Don’t take the time to separate your waste after you’ve already gotten rid of it. Instead, put your recycling right in the bin and don’t give it a second thought. Doing this can quickly become a habit that everyone in your family can get used to. Separate your paper, glass, cans, plastics, and more if necessary, or find out if you can combine them for municipal pick up. You should try to get your community to take care of recycling at a civic level, which will encourage it further.

Plant Native Species

One of the best things that you can do in your own backyard is to plant native species. This will attract and help bees, which are currently in decline across the world. It will also attract other beneficial insects, which help to create biodiversity and improve the state of wildlife all around you. Your home will be incredibly green.

These days, saving up is becoming the number one priority of many money-makers in the country. Not only do you want to have a good safety cushion in the case of an emergency, but you also want to be able to retire comfortably without having to worry about your funds drying up. Budgeting is one of the best ways to save money, but sticking with one can be a struggle. Keep reading to learn different tips and tricks to sticking with the budgets you create.

Wait To Make Purchases

Kneejerk purchases are a mistake everyone makes when it comes to sticking to a budget, and it’s only getting harder to control those impulses as online shopping makes buying things easier and easier. Many sites these days like Amazon have options now where you can save an item for later. If you see something you feel like you absolutely need to have, try sticking it in the “save for later” folder instead, or bookmark it and revisit it at a later point in time. After the initial urge to purchase something has faded, you’ll be more likely to pass on the chance to drop your money.

Keep Your Budget Flexible

Your financial situation won’t stay the same over time, so why should your budget? Instead of rigidly sticking to the same plan month after month, year after year, try to reevaluate your budget every so often to make sure it’s still working for you. If you’re really struggling to stick to yours, it might simply be a bad fit. Examine your expenses, determine how much money you’re taking in and letting go of, and design something new that works for you from there.

Note How Many Hours Of Work Something Costs

One great way to keep yourself from spending too much money is to reframe the way you think about the money you’re spending. That 20 dollar bill isn’t just 20 dollars. It represents hours of work that you’ve done. Is a movie really worth an hour of your working time? Do you really want to spend 3 hours at work to afford that new pair of shoes? If you start thinking about money in terms of how long it took you to earn it, you’ll likely find yourself naturally inclined to spend less.

Don’t Count Money You Don’t Have

This means after-tax income, bonuses you don’t have yet, or other potential sources of money that are just “maybes”. No one ever really knows if those bonuses will work out, or just how much you’ll be paying or getting back in taxes. Pretend like that money doesn’t exist at all until you actually have it in your hands or bank account, and adjust your budget accordingly. This will make it much easier to stick to, since you won’t have to readjust your estimates in a hurry.

Leave Room For Fun

Any budget should leave a little bit of wiggle room for fun spending. No one person is going to be perfect enough to stick to their budget to the tee every single month. Instead of letting yourself run wild, though, budget in your fun room! If you’re looking for more info on how much you should be tucking into savings and how much “free” money you should leave, there are plenty of online resources that delve into the subject. Generally speaking, the money you save for fun stuff should be what’s left over from your paycheck after you cover your necessary expenses and savings.

Budgets don’t have to be your enemy. In fact, they should be a good friend and an invaluable tool to you while you navigate through the tricky financial waters of adulthood. Try implementing some of these tactics and see what a difference they can make.