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101 Tips for Green Living in Springfield By Jen Dillman, Green Living Series Editor www.springfieldmoms.org © 2010 The decisions and simple changes you make now can save you money, improve your health and help preserve the environment. Utilize the following “101 Tips for Green Living,” which are designed to help you live a greener life right here in Springfield and the surrounding area. Spread the word! You may reprint this information, but you must credit Springfield Moms with this citation: “Reprinted from www.springfieldmoms.org Green Living Resource list.” Note: all underlined topics are hotlinks 1. Visit the Springfieldmoms.org Green Living page regularly for the latest news and ideas. 2. Discuss “living green” with other parents through the Springfieldmoms.org Social Networks. 3. Download the City of Springfield’s Room to Room Guide on recycling (written by a Springfield Mom). 4. Take action at your local school. Learn how Trinity Lutheran’s Green Team goes well above standard recycling! 5. Take a bag with you on walks and pick up any plastic bottles and aluminum cans to recycle. 6. Contact the Sangamon County University of Illinois Extension Service about how to start a compost pile or participate in the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s Municipal Compost Facility program. 7. Conduct a CWLP Home Energy Audit. Make any of their suggested improvements and qualify for a money back rebate. 8. Visit locally owned Ace Hardware to purchase a rain barrels or to recycle your batteries. 9. Keep reusable bags like these in your car not only for the grocery store but for any time you go shopping. 10. Turn off the lights and use natural sunlight on those sunny days! 11. Become a fan on Facebook of “green” organizations such as the Environmental Working Group. 12. Learn more about the durable, sustainable, affordable green flooring solutions locally at Flooring of Springfield or Calhoun’s Mohawk Floorz. 13. Read “Mom’s Guide for Growing Your Family Green” by Tara Wellington. 14. Join the Springfield Freecycle Network to give your unwanted items a new home. 15. Harvest rainwater to irrigate your lawn and garden with a rain barrel. 16. Encourage your child’s school to Teach Green. 17. Shop Food Fantasies for locally grown organic produce. 18. Check out this mom’s 25 uses for coffee filters. 19. Use a programmable thermostat and turn down the temperature when you are not home. 20. Help spread the word about the new Southwind Park Erin’s Pavilion, which is a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum Building and will utilize renewable and sustainable resources. 21. Recycle your plastic bags at Wal-Mart or Schnucks in Springfield. 22. Encourage your school to join the Illinois Sustainable Schools Compact. 23. Wash your clothes in cold water. 24. Unplug appliances you are not using. 25. Sign up for Ideal Bite eco-living daily tips delivered to your inbox.
www.springfieldmoms.org © 2010
101 Tips for Green Living
26. Cut down on paper towels – use cloth napkins at home and teach your little ones to shake their hands dry when out in public! 27. Change the margins on your paper to use less paper when printing. 28. Pack waste free school lunches. 29. Volunteer for Springfield’s Adopt a Street program. 30. Shop and sell at consignment stores to save on packaging and to encourage reuse of household items. 31. Join Springfield Green to show your support for the city’s beautification program. 32. Pay your bills online. 33. Use non-toxic, biodegradable, cleaning and laundry products such as Method (at Target) Shaklee, or Seventh Generation at Food Fantasies. Vinegar and baking soda are great multipurpose items to have on hand, too! 34. Combine errands to save on gas and driving around town. 35. Participate in Springfield’s Curbside Recycling Program or drop off your recycling at F&W Resources or Lake Area Recycling. 36. Visit Earth911.org for more recycling tips and to find a recycling center near you. 37. Read books to your children about recycling like one of these books recommended from the Illinois Recycling Association. 38. Use old, stained, kids’ clothes for cleaning cloths. 39. Visit the Children’s Discovery Museum in Bloomington-Normal where they have a great exhibit on recycling called “Oh, Rubbish!” 40. Turn off the water when brushing your teeth or in between wetting, soaping up and rinsing when washing your hands. 41. Keep up-to-date on toxic chemicals in your home with the Environmental Working Group. 42. Check out Stubby Pencil Studio’s neat eco-friendly cards and art supplies. 43. Plant a Tree on Arbor Day. 44. Get involved with one of Sangamon County’s green organizations like Sustainable Springfield, Inc. 45. Take your own cup to Starbucks. They give you a credit on your coffee, too! 46. Participate in the Springfield in Bloom program to help green our neighborhoods. 47. Walk or ride your bike. 48. Save your plastic newspaper bags to give back to your delivery person to be reused. 49. Research cloth diapers or Gdiapers. 50. Buy local and support area farmers at the Springfield Downtown Farmer’s Market on Adams Street from May through October. Take your kids too! 51. Eliminate unwanted catalogs in your mailbox. 52. Recycle electronics at BLH Computers, Butler Distribution or Computer Banc in Springfield. 53. Contact your local legislators to encourage green policies and laws. 54. Subscribe to The Green Guide Magazine and e-updates. 55. Recycle empty ink cartridges and help a local nonprofit, Habitat for Humanity, raise money. 56. Buy in bulk to reduce packaging. 57. To help ensure abundant forests for the future, Plant It Forward today. 58. Learn about the harmful effects of pesticides in our lives. 59. Attend Springfield’s Annual Earth Day events. 60. Ditch those plastic water bottles for a reusable bottle like the Thermos Foogo sold locally at Target. 61. Start a recycling program at your child’s school, your church or work place. 62. Read other moms’ green blogs. 63. Turn off the lights. 64. Watch the Story of Stuff, an online educational movie to watch with your kids. 65. Learn more about Greening Schools by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Waste Management and Research Center. 66. Donate your old paint and building materials to Sangamon County Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore. 67. Insulate your water heater or attic with Low-E reflective insulation. 68. Donate recycled paper products like paper towel and toilet paper to your child’s school.
www.springfieldmoms.org © 2010
101 Tips for Green Living
69. Reuse your empty yogurt containers and Styrofoam egg cartons, which can be used to hold paint during craft time. 70. Attend one of CWLP’s Smart Energy Forums to learn more about Springfield’s energy conservation programs and share your ideas. 71. Check out books about global warming, recycling and going green at the Lincoln Library. 72. Recycle your old cell phone. 73. Join the local chapter of Slow Food. 74. Use only Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs and save energy and money. 75. Raise money for your school by selling Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs through the State of Illinois’ Lights for Learning Program. 76. Recycle your plastic dry cleaner bags and hangers at Starcrest Cleaners on White Oaks Drive or Prehop Cleaners on Stevenson. 77. Shop garage sales and join the Sangamon County Garage Sales Group to garage sale online. 78. Use Evite to send party invitations and save paper. 79. Plant an organic garden with your kids. 80. Visit the compost bin examples at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Sangamon County University of Illinois Extension Service building to learn which style is best for you. 81. Instead of a plastic bag for that sandwich, check out reusable, washable Wrap N Mats. 82. 83. Next time you buy a vehicle, look into a flex fuel option and apply for the Illinois Alternative Fuels Rebate Program. 84. Buy E85 gas at one of these Springfield gas stations if you have a flex fuel vehicle. 85. Learn safe pest control techniques that do not use pesticides. 86. Use Springfield’s Mass Transit Service, which is a Green Fleet using environmentally-friendly buses. 87. On your next trip to Chicago, tour the Chicago Center for Green Technology to learn environmentally friendly, cost saving features to incorporate into your home. 88. Learn ways to use less energy in your home and save money at Energystar.gov. 89. Start a “Going Green” group to share tips and discuss current green news. 90. Use a clothesline to dry your clothes outside when the weather is nice. 91. Teach your kids about Earth Day and recycling with one of these fun crafts. 92. Stay up-to-date on the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to protect our drinking water and learn safe ways to dispose of your old medicine. 93. Start a Farm to School program at your school. 94. Take a day trip to the Green Earth Institute in Naperville, IL, to learn more about environmental sustainability and nutritional health on May 4th for their Green Earth Fair. 95. Teach your child about using reusable bags with this new kid friendly book called “My Bag and Me!” 96. Join an online Green community like Greenopolis. 97. Support local green businesses. 98. Take a field trip to the landfill with your kids so they can learn what happens after they throw away their garbage. 99. Watch Planet Green on Channel 221 on Comcast or Channel 286 on Directv. 100. Properly dispose of household hazardous wastes, tires, paint, and prescription drugs through local disposal programs. 101. Educate yourself, but don’t become overwhelmed. Take it one “green” step at a time. Spread the word! You may reprint this information, but please credit Springfield Moms with this citation: “Reprinted from www.springfieldmoms.org Green Living Resource list.”
www.springfieldmoms.org © 2010
101 Tips for Green Living
