Set sprinklers to water the lawn or garden only - not the street or sidewalk.
Use the microwave to cook small meals. (It uses less power than an oven.)
Purchase "Green Power" for your home's electricity. (Contact your power supplier to see where and if it is available.)
Scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading into the dishwasher; wash only full loads.
Cut back on air conditioning and heating use if you can.
Turn off appliances and lights when you leave the room.
How to have a 'green' Christmas CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Green gift-giving is this year's Christmas craze. Even though the color green is big during the holidays, this time of year is not so easy on the environment.
Think of all the wrapping paper! We throw away 25 percent more trash between Thanksgiving and Christmas. That amounts to 25 million tons of garbage.
So how can you turn that picture around? Green gift giving -- Here are some ideas.
First on the list: Rain barrels. They catch rain water that can irrigate your flower beds (that's if it ever rains again here!). They’re a great water saver. When I checked for prices at MySimon.com, I found prices ranging from $124 to $250.
Next an idea that's wallet friendly: A year-long pass to all of our national parks. Think Yosemite, Pisgah and more. It's $80, and you can buy it online. That pass is a steal for those on your list who are 62 or older -- for them its only $10. They have to be a U.S. citizen and resident, but it's good for the rest of their lives.
Now here's something kind of quirky and cool: A bike chain as a picture frame. It's made from actual recycled bike chain, looks really cool and is only $38.
If you have packages to ship, get them ready and send them ground. Ground shipping saves fuel and is six times more efficient than overnight air shipping.
Other environmentally friendly ideas from the desk of North Carolina's governor:
Give home-baked goodies in reusable containers like baskets, tins or jars.
Give non-materialistic "green" gifts that do not require wrapping, such as gift certificates for massages, to restaurants, cooking classes, sailing lessons, etc. Theater, sporting event, concert or movie tickets are always appreciated. Experiences are remembered long after other presents wear out or run down.
'Give a gift of time or talent. Take someone to a play, concert or movie. Make gift certificates for a special dinner, pet sitting or house cleaning. Offer your talents at gardening, photography or financial planning - or better yet, teach someone a skill you possess such as knitting, woodworking or playing an instrument.
Make a charitable donation in the recipient's name or give a membership to a museum, environmental or other nonprofit organization.
Give fair trade coffee and teas or local and organic fruit and vegetable baskets.
Give a compost bin, can crusher, water timer, programmable thermostat, rain barrel, house plant, bird feeder, light timers or bat house.
N.C. DPPEA offers the following waste reduction tips:
Send holiday e-cards instead of paper greeting cards or make sure the ones you buy have recycled content material.
When shipping, reuse foam peanuts or other packaging materials.
If you have several events or parties in a short amount of time, buy food items in bulk. You will save a trip to the grocery and use less packaging.
Instead of buying new items (i.e., a dress for a party, more chairs, etc.) consider borrowing or renting things.
Shop at thrift stores for unique gift items or holiday decorations.
Compost your leftover food- it's easy and a great fertilizer. Find more information about compost here.
Have clearly marked recycling containers at your holiday party.
Make sure to turn off or unplug holiday decorations when they are not in use.
When cooking, use your microwave oven as much as possible or plan your oven baking to avoid continuously reheating the oven.
Use LED holiday lights. They use about 99 percent less energy than larger, traditional holiday bulbs and last up to 100,000 hours when used indoors.
Reduce your light display by one or two strands. You may not even notice the subtle change.
Defrost frozen items in the refrigerator, not under running water.
Run only full loads in the washing machine and dishwater.
When washing dishes keep washing soap usage to a minimum. It helps reduce the amount of rinse water needed.
Don't run the kitchen faucet continuously while washing dishes.
Let pots and pans soak instead of letting the water run while you clean them.
Minimize the number of dishes used at holiday parties.
For additional environmentally friendly holiday tips, please visit the N.C. DPPEA Web site.
