Ways I Can Reduce My Carbon Footprint
I found an excellent article on Kyero called 20 Simple Tips for Lowering Your Home’s Carbon Footprint. I was eager to read the suggestions since I’m always open to tips I can use to improve my carbon footprint.
I’ve listed a few things I do below.
Reused products
1. Buying Used Books
Whenever possible I purchase used book. There are quite a few places that offer used items. The two I use are Amazon and Abebooks. I search for books in like new condition. I end up paying the fraction of the cost as the new item.
2. Buying Hi-tech (refurbished) Products
My most recent purchases were the Hp Pavillion dv6000t and the PowerMac G5. They both came with warranties. They arrived in like new condition. I was impressed.
3. Buying Reusable Baby Products
A. Baby Wipes
I used cloth baby wipes instead of the paper wipes.
B. Cloth Diapers
-I didn’t want to use standard pampers based on the chemicals that are used to
make them. In the long run it was a lot cheaper.
4. Reusable Bags
-I usually take my own cloth bags to the grocery store but occasionally I forget. When I do receive a bag. I reuse them. I use them to line my trash cans. It’s cheaper than buying trash bags and is cutting down on my plastic consumption.
Those are the few things I’ve done to cut down on my consumption. In the end I’ve saved a lot of money in the process. 
on May 6th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Do you buy your refurb products direct from the dealers?
on May 6th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
The PowerMac G5 I purchased that direct from Apple. They treat their refurbished like a new product so I got a three year warranty for that.
In regards to the HP I bought that on http://www.ubid.com and received their warranty. It’s at least a two year warranty.
I would have picked up a refurbished Epson Stylus Photo R2400 but they do not offer a warranty on their refurbished products. There was no way I was going to drop that type of money without a warranty so I purchased the new version.
on May 6th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Great idea about buying refurbed electronics. That saves money up front and helps things environmentally as well.
I buy used books myself. Especially used books when they are on sale at the local library!
on May 6th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
brettbum,
Yep! I love it. I would have bought a refurbished 17″ MacBook Pro from the Apple Store but they did not have any customized available when I bought mine this past October.
The library has great deals on used books.
on May 7th, 2007 at 11:35 am
Personally, I LOVE used books. they enrich my life. Nothing like getting a book like, “Letters to a Young Poet - Maria Rainer Rilke” with someone else’s notes in the margins!
on May 7th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
Jon,
LOL now that is where you and I differ. I love buying used books but hate when I see a lot of writing in them Then again I never write in my books so that would explain my dislike.
on August 2nd, 2007 at 10:50 am
Cloth diapers are definitely the way to go. They’re so much better for the environment and save a ton of money too!
Kushies are a good brand, made in canada.
on August 2nd, 2007 at 11:03 am
Janey67,
I agree! I saved a ton of money using cloth diapers. I’ve heard of Kushies. I used Cuddlebuns and Honeyboys.
Thanks for stopping by my website. I’ll be stopping by yours shortly.
on September 3rd, 2007 at 10:18 am
Hi there
very interesting information
looking forward to seeing the comments
Global Warming
on March 8th, 2008 at 12:54 am
I could do a few more green things in my house but one we do 100% is cloth diapers. The chemicals are what convinced us in the beginning. My next goal is to drastically reduce the amount of plastics in our home.
Great thought provoking post.
Autumn’s last blog post..How To Make A Fitted Cloth Diaper
on May 29th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
The Kyero article is very informative since it includes the carbon footprint reduction equivalent of each activity. :smile: Click here to learn how to calculate your carbon footprint using an online calculator.
on June 30th, 2008 at 5:57 am
There are many ways to reduce your carbon footprint at home. One of the biggest carbon producers is water usage. It takes a great deal of processing power to purify and transfer water and if we all used a third less water the reduced carbon output would be huge.