An environmentally-friendly August

A friend posted this link on facebook yesterday and ... I was horrified. "American shoppers use an estimated 102 billion plastic shopping bags each year — more than 500 per consumer."

I try and recycle the bags when I can, but apparently they aren't all being recycled. "Because most recycling plants can't handle the ultrathin trash, fewer than nine percent of plastic bags in the U.S. are recycled in any form." Yikes!

We usually bring our canvas grocery bags to Trader Joe's (probably because everyone else does! peer pressure to be green!) but never seem to remember them when we go to Jewel (Chicago's version of Kroger or Publix) or Target.

August is a new month, so I'm going to try to incorporate a few more environmentally-friendly habits into my lifestyle... Hopefully after doing these 10 things on a regular basis for a month, they will become routine. And maybe even rub off on a few other people in my circle! 

1. Bring canvas bags to the grocery store. Duh - see above.

2. Use a plastic cup for water at work instead of the disposable paper cups by the water cooler. I have already been good about bringing my own coffee mug every day, but it's time to extend that conscientiousness to the water cooler!

3. Turn off the lights! As Jason knows, I'm bad about this. I like the condo to be bright, but really need to make sure the lights are OFF in the bedrooms when we are hanging out in the kitchen or living room.

4. Air dry my clothes. I remember when I visited my friend Natalie in Australia, she and her roommates had racks of clothes all over the place. No one used the dryer. Similarly, she kept about 20 canvas bags in the trunk of her car and never brought home groceries in plastic bags. Nice work Nat!

5. Unplug my phone charger. I try to do this, but am not vigilant about it.

6. Turn off the water when brushing my teeth. Again, I don't do this consistently.

7. Stop the dishwasher before the dry cycle. There's no reason why our dishes can't air dry overnight or while we're at work.

8. No more printing of unnecessary documents at work. This might be a tough one for me because I typically like to do my editing and rewriting/revising in pen. But there's no reason I can't do this onscreen. It may just take me a few days to adjust :) I will probably still continue to doodle my headlines on scratch paper, but scratch paper is ok, yes?

9. Turn off my computer screen! I came across this one when searching online for good tips. Apparently leaving your screen on 24 hours a day costs hundreds of dollars per year and dumps approximately 1,000 pounds of CO2 in the air. By turning off the screen manually, instead of letting it sleep, can really make a difference. Point taken.

10. Have a Meatless Monday (or Meatless MTWTh). Jason and I went through a phase where we were veg during the week and then ate whatever on the weekends. I know I can do it for breakfast and lunch easy. Dinners may take some extra work, but as long as we plan the recipes, and get to the farmers market on Sundays, we should be able to do this.

What else can I do? Send me ideas!! I already use public transportation and the special lightbulbs, and am good about recycling all of our glass, plastic, and paper, so skip those suggestions :)