MNN - Mother Nature Network

I've noticed now that as I go through my day, I definitely do things around the house and at work that are just good ways to reduce and reuse. I thought it might be fun for me to list these...it's good for me to remember...and it might be helpful for you. And since I love the number 17, I'm going to try to come up with 17 things...

1. Turning off the water while I brush my teeth.
2. Not running the dishwasher until it's completely full.
3. Drying my clothes back to back in the dryer to take advantage of an already-hot dryer. (I wish I could line-dry, but alas, I'm a condo-dweller. I'm pretty sure there is something in the HOA rules about clothes lines!)
4. If I absolutely need to print directions somewhere, I'll print on the empty back of an already printed and used page.
5. Using biodegradable "doggie bags" or if possible, a leaf!!! :)
6. Scanning and emailing things at work instead of printing and faxing.
7. Encouraging people to use my e-fax that sends faxes straight to my email.
8. Bringing my lunch to work in reusable cloth bags, not plastic grocery bags.
9. And speaking of plastic grocery bags, I don't use 'em! I bring my own cloth bags to the store.
10. Putting my fruits and veggies in a mesh "fruit and veggie" reusable bag, instead of the plastic ones from the store.
11. We recycle all of our plastic, tin, aluminum, cardboard, paper, and glass. I have these fun colored bags on our back porch to separate them.
12. We keep the temperature low in the winter and high in the summer to save as much energy. Plus, it's fun to cuddle up under blankets in the winter!
13. I only drive about a mile to the nearest rapid rail train station, then I take the train to and from work. It's great for the environment and my thighs (there's a lot of walking involved in public transportation!)
14. Because of all that walking, my high heels tend to lose their "heel" and it's much better to just get them "re-heeled" than to buy new ones. Cheaper, too!
15. I eat my lunch at work on real plates with real cutlery that can just be washed really quickly and used again.
16. We use Palmolive Eco dishwasher detergent, which supposedly doesn't have any phospates in it, which is better for lakes and streams (where the water ends up).
AND...NUMBER 17!!!!. This is a future one...we're going to install lower flow toilets some time in the near future. So, I cheated a little on the 17 things, but I had to finish strong. I'm sure another one will hit me later, but this is a great way to start.