3 ways to improve gas mileage
Gas prices are escalating at an alarming rate, so today’s the day to do everything you can to help make your car as efficient as possible. Check the trunk and back seats for unnecessary items adding weight to the car, and remove them. Take your car to the gas station and make sure the air pressure in all of your tires is at the recommended level; add air if needed. And always completely fill up the fuel tank each time you visit the gas station; the fewer trips you need to make there, the more MPGs you can add to your overall bottom line.
PAPER CUPS
With many takeaway coffee shops banning the use of reusable cups (for now) due to health and safety concerns, you might wonder which is a greener option: Styrofoam or paper? While less energy is used to manufacture foam cups than paper, the real winner is paper. A Styrofoam cup takes 1 million years to decompose in landfill conditions (let’s just call it an eternity); a paper cup takes 20. And while a reusable Thermos is greenest, an even more sustainable option is to make coffee for yourself at home.
PENCIL SHAVINGS
Many people like the simplicity and feel of wooden pencils when writing, but what to do with all of those wasted shavings from sharpening? You can save those wooden shavings and use them as an excellent kindling for starting fires in your fireplace, fire pit or backyard grill. And check the electric pencil sharpeners at your office; those often hold a large amount of shavings that end up going straight to the wastebasket. Bring them home to use as instant fire starters.
LOST CHARGERS
Have you ever lost the charger for your smartphone while traveling and dashed out to buy a brand-new one? Next time, you might want to think “lost and found” to score one for free. The next time you’re traveling for work or pleasure, ask the hotel’s front desk if they have a charger in the lost and found they can loan you. Chargers are the No. 1 item left behind at hotels and also the item least often reclaimed by hotel guests. In most cases, hotels will let you keep the charger if the item has been in the lost and found for more than 30 days.
PACK AND SHIP
When shipping items, is it better to do it yourself or use a pack-and-ship store? Everything from the proper size cardboard box to the weight of the packing materials can make a big difference in keeping costs down and fuel usage as low as possible. Oversized boxes, heavy paper filler and other items can dramatically increase overall shipping costs and add to the amount of fuel used by planes and trucks to transport your goods. If you have items at home you can reuse to pack it light and tight, do it! If not, let the pros handle it for you.
MOUTHWASH VS. MOSQUITOES
Who knew a fresh-breath product also can keep pesky mosquitoes away? Instead of an insect repellent that could contain the toxic chemical DEET, try mouthwash instead. Pour a little mouthwash into a spray bottle and mist away when you’re outdoors and starting to get bites from mosquitoes. Spraying mouthwash on your skin, around the outdoor table and anywhere else you suspect they may bite will keep them away for two reasons: The alcohol content dries out the mosquitoes, and the eucalyptus oil in mouthwash is a natural deterrent.
WHITE T-SHIRTS
While undyed, unbleached organic cotton T-shirts are the absolute greenest new tees to buy, they aren’t always the easiest to find. If you can’t find them, do the next best thing: Choose white T-shirts over colored shirts for working out. A typical T-shirt requires about 6.6 gallons of water to dye and process from white to colored. Choosing a conventional white T-shirt helps saves water, reduces exposure to chemical dyes and saves energy. If everyone did that, we’d save billions of gallons of water.