50 Ways to Use Less, Waste Less

• Learn to do your own repairs rather than throw things away.

• Swap and recycle anything and everything you can; join Freecycle.org.

• Donate extra paint to graffiti abatement or urban renewal programs.

• Trade extra school supplies from last year; have a swap in your neighborhood.

• Give scrap lumber to scouts.

• Use raked leaves and cut grass as mulch.

• Throw vegetable and fruit scraps into compost.

Aluminum

• Use recyclable containers when possible.

• Put a cookie sheet instead of foil on the bottom oven rack to catch drips.

Water

• Reuse bath water for plants.

• Limit sprinkler time on your lawn.

• Wash clothes after two wearings instead of one (hang them inside-out after one use).

• Flush less often.

• Xeriscape your garden.

• Wash your car less—and do it yourself with a bucket.

• Use a low-flow showerhead with a shut-off button.

Paper (Wood)

• Borrow books from the library.

• Use the back side of copy paper.

• Get off junk mail and catalog lists; visit DMAConsumers.org.

• Give gently used books and magazines to a nursing home, hospital library, or literacy group.

• Get the newspaper online rather than at your doorstep.

• Share magazine subscriptions with friends.

Electricity

• Turn out the lights when you leave a room.

• Use ceiling fans to boost your cooling/heating system effectiveness.

• Use lower wattage bulbs or unscrew one from a too-bright fixture.

• Use compact fluorescent bulbs.

• Choose not to hang holiday lights.

Clothing and Material

• Give clothing you don’t wear to charity.

• Learn how to mend clothes.

• Save dingy towels, holey T-shirts, and old sheets for cleaning rags and dropcloths.

• Recycle old denims or wool suits to make a woven or braided rag rug.