#astepgreener – a step greener

april eco-fool

Food waste is a huge problem. The average American tosses out around a pound of food every day. I like to think I do better than that.

But not always. Working at home earlier this week I got leftover oatmeal out for breakfast (if it’s not instant it keeps well). I poured in milk, heated it up and added an aging banana (no waste!) and raisins. Yum…but no. It tasted wrong. Salty. I realized this was not oatmeal, but rice. Rice-a-Roni broccoli and cheese flavor to be specific. (I wish they were a paying sponsor, but they aren’t.) Don’t judge- my kids can kind of make it themselves and I did recycle the box.

This flavor combo, folks, cannot be salvaged. Suffice to say we all throw food away, as did I that morning. Sometimes it can’t be helped. And actually, go ahead and judge me. It’s ok. Now look in your fridge or cupboard and tell me what you’re going to eat next instead of tossing!

electrical outlets

after a new coat of paint and before the plastic cover goes back on

Looking for something to do right now? I just painted my bedroom, so I checked the electric sockets to see if I felt a draft. These holes let in outdoor air, particularly in older homes. Outlets and light switches are usually ignored when it comes to insulation, but can be a source of heat loss.

Foam outlet covers block the air trying to get in, and take minutes to install if you have a screwdriver- they go under the plastic cover you already have. Also, you really only need them on external walls. You might not see immediate savings on your power bill, but little easy steps like this eventually add up!

paper(less) towels

We keep paper towels in a cabinet for certain messy situations, but not within easy reach. Paper towels are one-use, bleached products that are not recyclable (except for the brown paper core). We use cloth instead- one for dishes and one for hands.

If you can’t pry the paper out of your hand right away, look for half or quarter sizes and unbleached versions. If every US home used 3 less rolls a year, we’d reduce paper waste by 120,00 tons. One less roll a year would save over half a million trees. You use cloth towels in the bathroom- why not in the kitchen as well?