Who is ready for Four Easy Eco-Friendly Changes to Make Now?! When I first started to conceptualize this blog post… I just thought I was going to share a few products that have been helping us ease into a more eco-friendly lifestyle. Easy right?
Well, the nerd in me kicked in and 2 hours of reading later… I’m singing a different tune. The environmental and financial impact of some very simple decisions is absolutely staggering! Let’s dive in!
Four Easy Eco-Friendly Changes to Make Now
For many, making eco-friendly changes now may seem time-consuming, like it won’t be easy, and like it might be expensive. In some respects, you would be right. We are all busy. We are all trying to live on a $2 budget in a $3 world. While some “go green” tactics feel like they add time and pressure, we have found four that actually make our lives more efficient as well as save us money along the way.
To make this easier to absorb, I’ve broken down each of the four items into three sections; Nerd Time, Moneywise, and Show Me the Money. Nerd Time will hold all of the environmental facts. Moneywise talks dollars and cents. Show Me the Money is an item by item wrap up detailing the annual cost as well as a 60-year cost. Why 60 years? Because in 60 years I suspect I’ll be pulling up to the bacon filled table in the sky.
If you want to cut down on your carbon footprint, learn a little, and save money scroll on, let’ dive into the Four Easy Eco-Friendly Changes to Make Now!
Easy Eco-Friendly Changes #1: Wool Dryer Balls
Nerd Time?
Dryer sheets are pretty interesting when you start nerding out and doing research. They are 100% unnecessary (WHY ARE WE TAUGHT TO USE THEM?!), reduce the lifespan of your dryer exponentially (they are coated with fat which clogs up your lint filter), and can cause irritation in roughly 80% of the people who use them (because of the chemicals and toxins associated with them) just to name a few issues.
Money wise?
Well, they really aren’t that expensive in the grand scheme. If you use 5-7 per week (pre-kids of course) you’re looking at anywhere from $12-18/year for about 40 years. Let’s figure you’ll double that for about 18 years (10-14/week, $24-36/year). On the conservative side, you’re looking at $1,500.
My big concern is buying a new dryer more often than necessary. According to Consumer Reports the average lifespan of a dryer is 10 years. I have to wonder how much longer they would last if we all didn’t coat them with fat and subsequently wonder why they poop out on us…
I’m speculating that we could easily add five years of longevity. Over a 60 year adult lifespan, you could go from buying 6-7 dryers down to 4! In 2018, the average cost of a dyer was around $975. At most, you could spend just shy of $7,000 on dryers versus just shy of $4,000.
I don’t know about you, but $3,000 in dryer costs and $1,500 in dryer sheet costs sounds like a European vacation to me!
All of this nerding out is to say that we recently switched to Ecoigy Wool Dryer Balls and freaking love them! Check out the link above and give them a try. *Once you try them, let us know what you think!
Show Me the money!
Annual Savings? Roughly $20/year
60 Year Adult Lifetime Savings? Roughly $4,500
Easy Eco-Friendly Change #2 Microwave Covers
So, like many of you, I was trained by my mother to cover up anything and everything that goes in the microwave. As an adult, I do it because I hate (and I mean ABHORE) cleaning the microwave. I read that using saran wrap is super bad for you so I switched to paper towels. Either way, I usually feel pretty guilty because I know I’m creating more waste. One week my self-loathing got the best of me and I counted how many paper towels I used just to microwave leftovers… 33 paper towels later… ugh!
Moneywise?
A regular roll of Bounty has 52 sheets. I used 33 which is 64% of a roll (for one freakin’ week!). If my wife even does half of that we could easily use a roll a week together (52 rolls of paper towels in a calendar year? Just on food reheating?). Numbers-wise, a 12 pack of Bounty costs roughly $19 bucks and we would use 4.
$80/year and 52 rolls of paper towels to avoid cleaning the microwave? Yeah, that made me feel like a crap human! So, I started researching different sustainable options. The one we both ended up liking is pictured to the left. These microwave covers are dishwasher safe covers too! They come with a variety of sizes, are easy to clean, and can be hung together (we put up a command hook inside the cupboard next to the microwave).
Show me the money!
Annual Savings? $52/person
60 Year Adult Lifetime Savings? Roughly $3,120
Easy Eco-Friendly Change #3 Reusable Bags
We take lunch with us constantly, are the queens of leftovers, and generally lead a very full life. Easy is the name of the game. We also wanted to feel good about the easy things too.
Nerd Time?
After doing a little digging the number 500 kept popping up. That is the number of single-use, ziplock style bags that the average American uses each year. WOW! Knowing that we are trying to do our part to reduce the number of single-use bags we utilize. See below for the two different reusable bags that have captured our hearts.
I use the above option primarily for whole veggies, whole fruit, trail mix, chips, etc. They are cloth, machine washable, and have a zipper versus a clip or sliding bar. The one con is that they do not keep moisture 100% in or 100% out. I wouldn’t suggest using them for any pre-cut veggies and fruit or if you intend for crispy carb items to be in them longterm (they loose their crisp after a few days).
These Homelux Theory silicone bags may be the winer so far. They are pretty heavy duty and have changed how we store certain leftovers and easy grab items (think Pizza, bread, sandwiches, etc.). The bags themselves are also dishwasher safe (the sliding clip isn’t, but it rarely needs to be washed anyway).
Show me the money!
Annual Savings? Roughly $15-20 dollars/person
60 Year Adult Lifetime? Roughly $900-$,1200
Easy Eco-Friendly Change #4 Hydro Flasks
*steel, vacuum insulated bottle
Alas, our one true love; the Hydro Flask. Is it even possible to be from the Pacific Northwest and not have a small obsession? We think not!
For real, this may be the most impactful choice you ever make and you will continue to make it every day for the rest of your life. Ditch plastic bottles for good… PLEASE!
Nerd Time?
Here are a few facts to help you wrap your head around the impact. Globally, 1 million plastic bottles are purchased every minute. Let that sink in. Every. MF-ing. Minute. (Side note: if you want to see some really frighteningly cool representations to help this take scale, click here.)
The average American will consume 167 bottles of water/year. This doesn’t even include soda, juice, and other bottles. At that rate, over an 80 year lifespan, each person could contribute just shy of 14,000 bottles of water to global waste. DAMN!
We have each been using our Hydro Flasks for four years as of this fall. Isn’t that crazy?! Think of all of the water bottles, plastic cups for water, and paper cups for water we have saved. What’s your favorite brand? More importantly, stickers or no stickers? That is the question!
Money Wise?
Annual Savings? $200 (assuming most bottles cost $1-2 each and we aren’t talking fancy bottles)
60 Year Adult Lifetime? Roughly $12,000
How much would I save if I switched today?
The old idiom, “every little bit helps” is spot on in this instance! Sometimes it can be hard to wrap our heads on seemingly inconsequential purchases, but they usually aren’t when you add them up over the course of one year, or even a lifetime.
Annually? Roughly $300
60 Year Adult Lifetime? Roughly $21,100
What would you do with an extra $300 every year?
If you found value in these Four Easy Ways to Start Living a Greener Life and want more, please check out our new blog post: 3 Best Eco-Friendly Changes to Make Right Now!
Affiliate Disclosure
As you may have noticed, we have included product links. But why? If you click and purchase Two of a Tribe will receive a small percentage of money because we are Amazon affiliates. “But wait does this increase the cost to me?!” Nope! The cost of whatever product you buy would be the same using our link or not, it just helps offset the cost of the time and energy we put into this blog. We use any small percentage we receive to help us try out new recipes, research eco-friendly/easy to use products and to better our blog. If you have more questions, please visit our affiliate disclosure page by clicking here.
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