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Here they are: simple, fast and working! Groceries Since the majority of people (I hope!) regularly recycle paper, glass and tins, most of your household waste is probably composted of food. The majority of this food waste is often still in its original packaging and in a good condition. The sad reality is that on average most households in Canada throw away 20 to 30% of food purchased in stores. Adding shops and restaurants' waste, that's 7 to 14 billion tonnes of food per year. In Canadian dollars, that's $3 to 5 billion per year. These figures are quite astonishing, aren't they? With so many charities trying to help people suffering from lack of food, while at the same time so much of it is being wasted straight under our noses. While it wouldn't be too clever to pack unused foods and send it to countries hit by famine, there are other ways to avoid food being thrown away in vain. 1. Try to use the residue food when cooking your next meal. If you made too much rice for dinner yesterday, you might want to put it in stuffed peppers filling today. 2. A good way of preventing food going past the expiry date is arranging your food cabinet by this criteria: older food, that is going to expire soon, is placed in the front, while the longer lasting products can stay in the back of the shelves. 3. It may happen that you know beforehand that there is some food you are not going to be able to eat before its expiration date. Instead of throwing it away, try to find a local charity or soup kitchen and bring your food there when it's still serviceable. If you cannot eat all the groceries you have purchased, there are enough people even in your region who will be happy to eat it - hunger is not limited to Africa. 4. If you have some leftovers anyway, try mulching it instead of just throwing it away. If you do not own a garden, find somebody who does. Food just doesn't belong to dumping grounds. Water There are a lot of ways how to save water in your home, and I suppose you know at least a few of them too. But now let's focus on toilets, as they are an important part of our home and also may be critical in how much water is used in the household. Nowadays, toilets are absolutely inherent - when they are functioning alright, we don't even need to pay any attention to them. But try to discover the amount of water your household uses every month just for flushing the toilet. You might be astonished by the big number you get out of this. And has it ever occurred to you that this amount is not necessary, that flushing your toilet can be done using less water? You can try these two methods to using less water for flushing: 1. There are new models of toilets available, that are using just the minimum volume of water necessary. Go and check out the assortment in your local shop, it is amazing how rich it is nowadays! 2. Another way of reducing the amount of water for flushing is to fit some plastic bottles filled with water into the tank of your toilet. You might have to experiment a bit before you establish the right volume of water needed for the toilet to keep functioning fine. Electric current My preffered tip I am trying to deliver to all my real estate clients. Here the situation is similar to the one with water and wasting it - there are a lot of recommendations on how to save electric energy to be found in books, magazines and on the Internet. But one of the appliances that needs great amounts of energy is one that you might be using daily: a tumble dryer. Nowadays, people are not used to waiting before they get something they want or need at the moment, and they sometimes need too much energy getting it, just because it will be ready faster. It is quite obvious that in our current lifestyle, there is not enough time for washing our clothes manually, and that dishwashers do really save some water. Though the advantages of a tumble dryer might be less clear. Is it really socially unacceptable to wait a day or two for the laundry to dry? If you really wish to "live green", use your tumble dryer only in emergencies or get rid of it (sell it) completely. Not only the Earth will be grateful for your decision, but also you will pay less for electricity.
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