photo by daBinsi

The first tip is interesting because it offers a monetary incentive for kids to conserve energy. Most kids will follow your lead and want to do the right thing. If they see you’re respectful and responsible about energy, it becomes simply a way of life. But kids can be unaware of their own electrical usage, so rewarding them for their efforts can help them learn, understand, and create positive habits. You can teach them through fun activities, too. Information from Energy Information Administration (www.eia.doe.gov/kids) can help you get started.

INCENTIVES: An unorthodox thing we do is pay our kids if the electric bill is under budget. We tell them that we have budgeted X amount of dollars for the month (this changes seasonally), and every dollar under will be split between the family members who worked to keep it under. This helps our kids remember to turn off lights, etc., especially after they see mom and dad pocketing the money that they don’t get a share of because they didn’t turn off lights or stood in front of an open fridge for too long. — Hope, Missouri

LONGER-LASTING T-SHIRTS: If you have shirts with logos or pictures, wash them inside out. It keeps the logo or picture from fading. — Vail, Washington

NESTING MATERIAL: Take onion bags (or any bags that are mesh) and fill them with dryer lint, tie them closed and hang them from a tree or some other object. The birds will come and pick at them and get goodies to line their nests.
Note from Sara: You can offer materials such as pine needles, shredded paper, bark, wood shavings, leaves, dried grass, fur, twigs, strands of cotton fabric, string or yarn, too.

BREAD-BAG GREENHOUSE: I saved my egg cartons, split them in half, and have started seedlings in both sides (leaf lettuce in the top tray and tomatoes/peppers in the little cups). Then I thought about how to keep the seedlings warm, and I could have just thrown some plastic wrap over them, but I came up with using a bread bag. Slip the carton in, blow it up, and seal it. (Water the dirt first.) Now you have a mini-greenhouse. This will work only until the seedlings get too tall, but when you blow it up, you have a lot of airspace for them to stretch their little necks. — sabrelvssammy, Indiana

REUSE JARS: I wash mine in hot, soapy water. I use one in the fridge to store cut onions. Keeps them from stinking up the fridge and changing the taste of other foods better than a plastic baggie. — Lisa, Texas

WHITEN CLOTHES: I have to avoid bleach in laundry because we have minerals in our hard water that cause the whites to yellow when bleach is used regularly (some chemical reaction). I occasionally add 1/2-cup hydrogen peroxide to the rinse to whiten clothes, especially when we’ve been drying them on lines in the basement all winter. Adding Borax to the wash also aids in keeping whites white. Hanging in the sun works well to whiten laundry. Those are three less toxic ways than bleach.

Laundry Stain Remover for Whites

1 cup hot water
1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide

Mix and store in a spray bottle. — Karen, Kansas

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!