Teach the kids not to use the lights so much; have you ever noticed that a lot of children have trained themselves to turn on a light switch just because they enter a room, no matter how bright it already is? Kids need to be taught that this wastes energy and that the sun should be used whenever possible as the main light source.

Even when there is no one in the room after it gets dark; make sure the lights are being turned off. If you want to go to extra lengths to save energy with the lighting, you can purchase a sensor that will automatically turn a room’s lights on and off as it senses whether or not anyone is in the room. Better sensors these days to not sense movement, they sense your body heat, infrared.

These cost more but are better because you do not have to worry about being put in the dark while you are in the shower with the curtain closed. Another idea is to start recycling; it’s not really that hard as some may think. When it comes to recycling all you really need is something like a few paper bags sitting where they won’t be in the way.

For most places all you can recycle are plastic, glass, metal/aluminum and paper. So you will need just four paper bags that you can get for free next time you go to the grocery store. Instead of asking for plastic, tell the packer you want to use paper bags. Once the bags are to worn to use you can recycle those and get more.

If you want to go an even more economical route, go purchase four small plastic bins with lids to use, these will last longer and can be stacked. Tell the children that only hard plastics can be recycled and all the items should be rinsed clean before being placed in the bags.

This will cut down on odors and will be more sanitary, besides one of the rules of recycling places are that the items must be rinsed somewhat. Now for the hard part, find a recycling drop point that is on the route you take to someplace that you will probably visit at least once a week. Now just take the recyclables with you when you go to the place, for our family it is the grocery store.

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