By Michael Smith (Veshengro)
“It’s not easy being green,” Kermit the Frog always laments. But it does not have to be a struggle going and being green. On the other hand there will be times when “green” may not be the option, as far as purchasing goes, and you should not get disheartened then either.
However, the idea was, in the good ol' Hippie days, that going green actually would not cost you anything but save you money. Somewhere along the line and over the decades this precept seems to have gotten lost and nowadays green is big business and greenwash abounds.
The first thing we must get away from – and it also will save us money – is the trap of advertising and the belief that we NEED this or that, and we are presently getting the same thing as regards to being “green”.
Everywhere, on the Internet and elsewhere, we are being told that this or that “green” product or gadget will make us more “green” but we must ask as to whether it really does.
The truth is that, more often that not, sticking with what we have got and, in other cases, making do, mending and making ourselves, is the answer to going and being “green” (at home and elsewhere).
Many people, especially those in the lower income brackets see “going green” out of the league as they see it as something that they cannot afford and as only something that the richer ones can do.
However, going green should not cost; the opposite rather. It should save you money. If it is expensive then there is something wrong somewhere.
Kermit, though he did not mean to, expressed the perception that the great majority of working class people have as to going green. They see it as difficult and as expensive; as something that they cannot afford to do. But, as I have said before, that is not the way it is supposed to be.
When I make my own tooth powder from a few ingredients such as salt (and no, it does not have to be expensive sea salt), baking soda (bicarbonate of soda, as it is called in Britain), and an essential oil or two such as tea tree and oil of cloves, then I do save in comparison to non-fluoride toothpaste.
When I make my own cleaners using vinegar (and once again it does not have to be the expensive distilled kind) and this or that natural ingredient, such as lemon juice, etc. I am again saving money.
In both cases I am also friendly to the Planet and to my health.
Other cases where being green should also help the wallet is by turning off unnecessary lights and appliances though, in some cases the savings may not be as great as claimed by some people. Nevertheless, a light bulb that does not needlessly burns, or an appliance that is not needed to be on turned off, is good on all counts, and for some people, like myself too, every penny counts.
When I reuse paper that has been printed on only one side either for printing something else on it, or as a notelets or to make notebooks from then I am saving myself money and also don't have to buy paper for the purpose which I need it for.
People have said to me: “but you can buy a notebook for a Pound or less.” That's fine but every pound I do not have to spend on a notebook – as I use lots of them – is a Pound Sterling saved, and also some trees saved, in a way.
There are so many things that you can do to go green that cost nothing and that bring you savings too. One day, I promise, I'll write a book about that all...
In fact, I have done one already but it needs revising a little maybe and it is available here...
© 2011
