If you want to be kinder to the planet and save some money at the same time, here are 20 ways to go green in 2013.
- Buy fresh, local food all year round at De Martini Orchard, the recently launched El Camino Hospital Farmers' Market every Friday, and the Los Altos Farmers Market (when it opens in May).
- Have your kids make their friends birthday cards and bring gifts in decorated paper bags or a cool reusable bag. Kids love getting a handmade card—as do adults.
- Bring your own bags when you shop for groceries.
- Shop at consignment stores because Los Altos has a wealth of them: Répéter, Round Robin, Eco Fash, and Estatements. Plus, there is the Discovery Shop, all downtown.
- Rip up some lawn and create new garden beds this spring, and then grow your own food this summer. Need help getting started? Head to Los Altos Nursery when it reopens in the spring, Orchard Supply Hardware or Summerwinds Nursery. Your kids will eat more veggies if they grow them themselves.
- Dispose of your household hazardous waste properly. Contact Mission Trail for Los Altos and Greenwaste Recovery for Los Altos Hills about how to get rid of household batteries, cell phones & PDAs, used motor oil and filters, cooking oil, and water-based (latex) paint. See the Santa Clara County site about household hazardous waste drop off, including a new program for paint disposal at retail outlets (www.hhw.org). And don't forget the old stuff in your medicine cabinet, which is hazardous to fish and wildlife if improperly disposed. The Los Altos Police as well as the Los Altos Senior Center (members only) will accept excess medications.
- Buy a share in a community-supported agriculture (CSA) farm to support local, sustainable farming and enjoy fresh veggies weekly. Hidden Villa has already sold all its shares, but here is a link to the HV waitlist. Higher Ground Organics has pick-up locations in downtown Los Altos and Loyola Corners.
- Ditch those dreaded plastic sandwich bags and get some washable containers or bags. Daiso Japan in the San Antonio Shopping Center has a selection of cute children's bento boxes.
- Cut down on car trips and run your errands on your bike or on foot. Rusty on two wheels? Stop by The Bicycle Outfitter or Chain Reaction Bicycles and get your bicycle and cycling questions answered.
- Pack cloth napkins instead of paper towels in school lunches.
- Look for an environmental service project you can do with your children, such as removing trash and non-native plants and planting trees in their place.
- Got an older house? Install double-pane windows and you’ll see immediate savings on your heating bill. (Watch Patch in coming days about qualifying incentive programs for this)
- Plant a tree. A certified arborist can help you select and plant trees that will provide privacy and shade and even years of fresh fruit.
- Dump your bottled water costs. You could save hundreds of dollars by buying snazzy metal water bottles for everyone in the family and a personal filter for your kitchen faucet. The Bicycle Outfitter and REI has an assortment of kid-pleasing water bottles.
- Organize a Halloween costume swap in September. This can be a great service project for a Girl Scout troop. Reserve a room at the Los Altos Youth Center at Rengstorff Park and publicize to local parenting groups and preschools.
- Replace your old light bulbs with LED bulbs. They last 15 times longer and use 75 percent less energy. You can find bulbs at Los Altos Hardware Orchard Supply Hardware, and Target.
- Expand your hand-me-down circle. Since most of us don't have large families anymore, organize a clothing swap for your kids’ preschool or a group of friends. Everyone brings gently used and clean kids’ clothes to your garage and parents can take as many items as they donated. The rest goes to charity. You can also swap toys and books.
- Replace your showerheads with low-flow models. Low-flow showerheads can save you up to 15 percent on water heating costs and reduce your water usage by as much as 20,000 gallons a year. Purissima Hills Water District and California Water Co. have free conservations kits with items from shower heads to hose nozzles.
- Save up to 30 percent on your monthly heating bills by having a home energy audit done by a professional. Contact Energy Upgrade California (Santa Clara County) for information about how to qualify for up to $4,500 in rebates for improvements.
- Give service and experience gifts this year instead of things. Make homemade gift certificates for services and experiences that could include tech support, dinner and a movie, yard work, pet walking or babysitting, or a day of organizing support for the clutter challenged.
TELL US: Do you think you could stick to a green New Year's resolution? Share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments sections below.
