Posted by Snow in 
Summer sustainability means living smarter than ever before. Check out some recycling tips and re-use savvy and set some household and family sustainability goals for the summer. Summer has an amazing potential for re-use and energy savings for environmental benefit. Your bills and carbon footprint could be lower by the Fourth of July!
1. Hit the Recycler
Make sure no trash day comes without leaching money earning recyclables from the right bin. Have a family day trip to the recycling center. Walk the garbage cans at the park the morning after and clean up on the laziness of others. Use the cash for movie tickets, road trip gasoline, or lemonade!
2. Re-Use containers
Everything from glass to plastics can be used for home, kitchen, bathroom or garage. If it has a cap, top, lid, or nozzle, it must be right for something. Mix your own detergents and green friendly cleaners and never buy another container again. If you can’t use them find the garage monkey on the block and let them have the stuff.
3. Live by the Clock
Early to rise and early to rest means lower energy bills. Rise earlier with the summer sunrise and get to bed for a full eight hours more often this summer. Do heavy machine chores early or late to keep the house cool. Keep energy usage low at peak hours. Use dawn light for gardening and dusk for evening meals. Dine with low light anti insect candles and enjoy the night air.
4. Crank it up
Summer is the season of storms, brown outs and lightning flashes. Don’t get put in the dark. Keep a crankable hand powered radio and/or cellphone recharger handy. Investigate solar powered mobile phone chargers and USB related devices. Get a cranking flashlight so in the worst case scenario your family is neither powerless nor in the dark.
5. Mulch Much
Mulch keeps soil moist and several degrees cooler, a boon in hot summer weather when the slightest breeze can be a Godsend. Shredded paper or wood chips laid down on exposed soil also cut down on those awful seasonal weeding days. Weeds aren’t strong enough to push aside physical matter and stay rooted and minimal with mulch.
6. Road Trip
One road trip a month saves an entire day of running the air conditioner, cooking, appliances and utilities. Turn the circuit breaker off when you leave. Note the number settings. Camp green. Plan a day trip or overnight that spares the generator or circuit box one day a week or weekend a month. Pack fruit and leftovers for low-cost dining and contribute recycling earnings to the gas tank.
7. Potluck Pairings
Send the kids down the block with some almost expired stuff and a remainder six pack of that drink the kids like. Some stuff in cans or Tupperware wil enrich their feast and you’ll host their kids one day a week. A few boxes of this and that goes far and only one household powers the kitchen that night. Child labor washes the dishes in a communal rinse bucket that turns to gray water.
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