Frugally Green

Please note that the survey is now closed.  Thanks for all the thoughtful responses.

Hey folks,

Frugally Green is nearly 6 months old!  It’s been an interesting ride from the start and I’ve learned so much about personal finance and sustainability.  More so, I’ve learned more than I ever thought possible about how blogging and this social media business works.  Hopefully you’ve learned a lot, too.

One of the most important things I’ve learned along the way is that your input is the most valuable resource to me.  I can write post after post about the things that interest me, but if I want to be truly successful and make a difference, well, those things need to be interesting and engaging to you, as well.

That’s why I’ve decided to check in with you by offering a survey.  I really value your thoughts and opinions and this seems like the best way to get some specific feedback from people who really care about the site.

A few things about the survey:

• Only 50 responses will be collected – I’ve limited the number of responses because I want to be able to give my full attention to the responses of everyone that took the time to help out and take the survey. If things go well, I will consider collecting more in future surveys. I will update this page once all responses have been collected.

• It’s only 7 questions – I respect your time and want to give you an opportunity to let me know how I’m doing without saddling you with a ton of questions.  I won’t waste your time by asking you questions I don’t need the answer to.  It should only take about 8 minutes to complete.

• It’s completely anonymous – I have requested a name and email address, but providing it is completely optional.  If you leave feedback that you would like me to follow up with you about, I will need some way to contact you.  If you don’t need me to contact you about anything, feel free to leave those spaces blank. Please know that if you do provide your email address, I will never sell it, spam it, or do any other nasty things with it.

• All the questions are optional – I really hope that you’ll want to answer all of them, but I’ll understand if there are some you’d prefer to skip.

So, if you’re interested in making a difference and helping to shape the future of Frugally Green, please click the link below to complete the survey:

The Survey is now closed. Thanks for all the great responses!

I just can’t stop.  I tried, but I can’t.  On Wednesday, a reader pointed out that I had missed a few big ticket items in the original post. He was right. I left out some seriously good tips that you should know about.  So, assuming that you’re happy to have another list of tactics in your arsenal to improve your eco-footprint, here’s a list of 10 more green changes you can make in less than 10 minutes for less than $10:

Start a compost pile: But for the love of god, read this post first.  If you want something fancy, it’s going to cost you more than $10; I sure found out the hard way.  But you don’t need something fancy.  You just need something that works.  A pile works.

Stop using paper towels: Nope, not hard.  Nope, not expensive.  A giant pile perfectly acceptable washcloth sized towels is pretty darn inexpensive at your local outlet grocery or restaurant supply store.  Fill a drawer with them and toss ‘em in the wash with the rest of your laundry.  It’s really no big deal.

Plug your electronics into a power strip: If your living room is filled full of electronic do-dads and thing-a-ma-jigs, it’s likely you’ve already bought a power strip to plug them all into.  If you haven’t, go get one dang it!  Then, make a little note somewhere to remind yourself to switch it off every morning before you leave for work and at night before you go to bed.  All those gadgets (TVs especially) are sucking what’s known as a “phantom load” even while they’re turned off.

Use your oven like a furnace: Our house is down right cold in the winter.  Give your furnace a rest for a bit and leave the oven door open after you’re done cooking.  The heat won’t make it that far, and it’s not going to keep you warm all night, but I swear it feels great while it lasts!  And what else were you going to do with it?

Take a reusable bag to the grocery store: San Francisco banned plastic bags not too long ago.  When I was in Europe last summer, if you didn’t have your own bag, you had to pay extra to get one from the supermarket.  I walk to my grocery store, so I keep a couple bags by the door.  If you’re not that close and prefer to drive, just leave a few in your trunk.  You’ll always have them when you need them.

Donate to your favorite charity: Honestly, I’m more of a fan of volunteering time, but that usually takes more than 20 minutes, and let’s face it, they need money to keep going, too. No matter how broke you feel, I bet you can find $20 once in awhile to help out a cause bigger than yourself.  If you really can’t find $20 to give away all at once, I bet you can find $5 four times over the course of a few weeks or months. Think about it the next time you’re buying a latte or super big gulp.

Don’t wash clean clothes: I’ve read that the average person does 4 loads of laundry a week.  What!?!  I only do one and seem to get by just fine.  If I had more clothes, I could probably manage 1 load every other week.  I think most people just have a habit of tossing a piece of clothing in the laundry after the first time they wear it.  If you think about it, that’s really unnecessary.  I never wear socks or underwear more than once without a wash, but shirts and pants?  I have an office job;  I don’t exactly perspire much.  At the end of the day, my clothes are almost always still clean.  My pants get washed about once every two weeks and my shirts about once a week.  You can do this.  I know you can.

Don’t run an empty dishwasher: Yeah, I’ve done it.  There were 5 things in there and I needed 1 of them.  Come on, what did you want me to do?  Pull it out and quickly hand wash it?  You’ve got to be kidding.  You really do want me to do that? Seriously?  Ok, I guess I’ll think about it next time.

Turn down your thermostat: If you can find a good sweater for less than $20 then you’re all set.  I recommend Goodwill.  Go in July if you want the best deal. This also happens to be the best time of year to find a selection of cheesy Christmas sweaters, and that’s going to pay off big time at your next cheesy Christmas sweater party.

Unplug your dryer: I wrote a whole little ditty on this not that long ago.  I actually save time doing this by not having to wait around for the dryer to stop.  What you’ll need: 2 vertical things, 1 horizontal thing, and wet clothes.  I’m sure you can figure out the rest!

I should mention, as a reader did on Wednesday, that this list is not comprehensive. I simply have a Tpenchant for round numbers. When  you get creative, there is a limitless number of things you can do that fit into this category. The only thing stopping you is your own imagination.

So, please don’t be shy.  I know you guys have all kinds of suggestions that could be added to this list and the comments section is, undoubtedly, a fantastic place to compile them.

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That’s right! The trifecta.  Frugally Green is here to bring you squarely into 3-dimensional sustainability.  Seriously, when was the last time you read a blog post that spoke directly to 3 different facets of your life?  You can actually answer that question if you want; I’m looking for some new, amazing material to read after doing some thorough scrubbing of my RSS reader.  It’s looking a little sparse.

Anyway, it’s been a little while since I wrote a real, down and dirty, dollars and cents post.  It seems like you guys have enjoyed the personal development articles I’ve been writing lately (I’ll be conducting a survey soon to actually confirm that), but I know you secretly yearn for more ways to green it up for less, so I shan’t withhold that from you any longer.

One of the first things I learned while studying construction management in college was how to draw a triangle.  Then I was taught how to write ‘time,’ ‘cost,’ and ‘quality’ at each point and told how to interpret this funny diagram.  You see, the theory was that, when you’re putting a building together, you must always sacrifice one of these aspects in order to maximize the other two.  In other words, you can build quickly and cheaply, but you’ll end up with an inferior product. You can build cheaply and maximize quality, but it’s going to take a long time.  Or, if you wish, you may assemble an amazing building rather quickly, but you better believe it’s going to cost a hell of a lot of money.

I stared at this diagram for a few minutes, tilted my head sideways, squinted a little, and then quickly decided that it was complete garbage and quit listening. This model functions quite beautifully, you know, if you’re trying to describe how the vast majority of companies or people work.  You can profile the average company or project quite accurately.  This is also where the model becomes completely useless because, well, who cares about being average?  The best and most innovative builders out there are constantly finding new ways to do what they do better, faster, and cheaper.

Anyway, before I head too far down that road again with my hippie-psycho-babble, let’s get to:

The part you actually care about

All you skimmers (I know you’re there!) will love this part.  Here’s a list of 10 things you can do to kick ass at all 3 corners of the triangle and prove my old professor wrong.  Maybe she’ll even see this post some day and offer me my tuition back.  A guy can dream can’t he?

Don’t flush your toilet: At least not until you start to wonder what might be living in there.  I grant you permission to flush every time you poo, but just know that if you choose not to, you are a remarkable person.  And I never want to meet you.

Turn off your lights: How many rooms have you ever been able to occupy at the same time? I’ve maxed out at 1.  I’d like to know any tricks you have for increasing this number (and no, having an open kitchen/dining area does not count as 2 rooms!). If you’re like me and lacking superhuman powers, you don’t need light in a room you’re not in, so take a second to flip the switch when you exit.

Play a board game instead of a video game: After about 6th grade I was unable to find any interest in video games. Really, what could possibly come next once you’ve beat Super Mario World? But, you know what?  I still love Scrabble and Risk like nobody’s business.  And I don’t need a TV, a console, or face full of pimples to play scrabble.  All I need is a friend.  If you know where I could find one of these, I’d appreciate an email.

Turn off your computer: If you leave it on all night or while you’re gone to work, it gets really lonely. When a computer gets lonely, it acts out just like your puppy that ate your couch when you left it alone for an hour to go shopping.  Also, I am a total hypocrite.  I’m writing this post from my new laptop while my old desktop is buzzing idly across the room.  I am ashamed.  I will now turn it off and go sit in the corner.

Hypermile: Read this post and start doing it.  It’s awesome, it’s addicting, and it’s a fantastic conversation starter as your friends will undoubtedly ask you why you’re driving 45 mph on the freeway.  Don’t be ashamed to tell them.

Kill the sink while brushing your teeth: Yeah I know, you’re mom already told you this one. Where do you think I got it? Anyway, if your mom already schooled you on this, why are you still doing it?  I know, I know, it’s habit.  If you can force yourself to do it 20 times though, you’ll never have to think about it again.

Take shorter showers: How much time do you really need in there?  I’ve developed ninja-like quickness in the shower and still lead a perfectly enjoyable life.  I understand those early mornings, though. If my body begs me for a few more seconds under the hot water, I oblige, but I don’t need that every day.  Life’s too short to dilly dally!

Buy some green investments: Ok, ok.  If you really do your research on this, it might take you a bit longer than 20 minutes, but you’ll sure save yourself a lot of time in the long run.  If you’re not sure where to start, just start at the beginning.  I wrote a little series a while back about what I did when I bought my first green investment. Hopefully it’s of value to you if you’re interested in investing.  I trade on Tradeking, which charges $4.95 per trade and account set up only takes a few minutes.  I’ve had a good experience so far so I am happy to recommend them to you at no benefit to me.

Buy some white vinegar: And clean your whole damn house with it!  Seriously, this stuff is amazing.  White distilled vinegar is what you want.  I use it to mop floors, clean countertops, bathtubs, sinks, and toilets.  I’ve also been told that it works great as a fabric softener.  Once I run out, I’ll be giving that a whirl too.  Oh yeah, this stuff is crazy cheap, also.

Tell someone about Frugally Green: What kind of post would this be if I didn’t do some shameless self promotion?  Honestly though, the reason I write this blog is to help people out. I sure get a lot out of it, too, but I like it more when you get something out of it.  The more people that read Frugally Green and get something worthwhile out of it, the better I feel about myself.  You wan’t me to feel good about myself, don’t you?  Don’t you!?!

Well, looking back, perhaps a more appropriate title for this post would have been 1o Green Changes in Less than 5 Minutes that Will Save or Make You Tons of Money, but I think we all know that’s too long and, really, there’s something to be said for consistency.

Are you doing any of this?  What else do you have going on?

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You’re plugging along, doing great, feeling good about all the changes you’re making to improve the environment and you’re really proud of all the money you’ve saved along the journey.  Then it happens – some jerk can’t hold his tongue any more and decides he needs to tell you just how stupid he thinks all this eco-crap you’re up to is.

You’re shocked, mortified even.  All this time you thought you were doing something great and then someone comes along to tell you exactly the opposite.  You’re wasting your time.  You can’t make a difference.  Why bother?  You’re not doing it right! No one will ever notice!

Ever run into this? This kind of criticism can really have a lasting effect on someone, especially when it comes from someone close to you, maybe even someone you really respected.

Two types of criticism

It’s not always over the top comments aimed at stopping you in your tracks, though.  Sometimes it’s a constant, low-level drone of negativity that sort of lingers in the background, secretly zapping your creative energy without you ever even realizing it. This is the worst and most dangerous kind of criticism.  Outlandish remarks can be easier to ignore because you can take comfort in the fact that hyperbole is usually overreaction.  It’s just unchecked anger that happens to be directed at you.

Sure, there’s a little truth to be found in any wild criticism, but it’s easily dismissed when it’s accompanied by exaggeration.  That never ending flow of menial critique, on the other hand, can seep deep into your psyche while your guard is down because there’s nothing to set off your alarms.  Then, one day, you find yourself completely defeated with no motivation left to continue and you wonder why.

Do not let this happen to you.

You’re better than that. You know that what you’re doing is awesome.  How do you know this?  It feels awesome. The better you get at something and the more you do it, the more attention you get.  With more attention comes more criticism.  That’s just how it is.  You can’t control how others react to you.  That said, you are now left with two things that you can focus on – the attention or the criticism.

Pinpoint your focus

Focus on the attention and you’ll likely notice that only a small portion of it is negative.  Let it inspire and propel you forward.  Take the good and run with it.

Focus on the criticism and cut your own throat, never realizing that your detractors are a vocal minority that represent but a tiny sliver of all the attention you’re actually getting.  It’s easy to slowly give in to the pressure and quit, leaving everyone out there that was excited about your progress disappointed.

So what’s the trick to dealing with the negative energy suck?  Unless you completely isolate yourself from the world, you can’t entirely avoid it.  You can pretend it’s not there, but that’s probably not very effective either.

For me, the best solution is assertiveness – recognize it, quickly address it, and then cut communication if the message is not received.  Basically, when someone tells me that me that my compost pile or my bike challenge is a waste of time, I usually respond with something like, “Thanks.  I appreciate your opinion, but my research and intuition tells me that what I’m doing does make a difference and it feels good, so I’m going to continue.  I’d like your support, but I don’t need it,” and then end the conversation at that if the negativity continues.

Two types of critics

Some people are skeptics and some are cynics and there is a huge difference that needs to be understood in order to keep your wits when you’re dealing with naysayers.  A skeptic questions something she’s not sure about.  It’s actually a healthy reaction that encourages dialogue and understanding.  A skeptic is interested and often wants to be convinced.

A cynic, on the other hand, is dead set in their belief that you’re wrong.  He cannot and does not want to be convinced otherwise and you shouldn’t try it.

I can’t think of a bigger waste of time than to try to change someone’s mind when they’re dead set against you.  There’s nothing wrong with healthy debate, but as far as I’m concerned, I’m wasting my time trying to convince someone to believe something they don’t want to.  That’s time that could be spent improving myself.

How to handle a cynic

Don’t spend all your energy trying to change people’s minds.  I know that sounds counterintuitive when it seems like the idea of the green movement is to get the whole world to change their habits, but if you focus your energy on the people that don’t believe, you’re going to wear yourself out.

Instead, I just try to do my own thing and seek out others that are already likely to enjoy and support my efforts. It’s a hell of a lot easier, more fun, and you might find that recruiting an army of believers makes it quite a bit easier to passively change those naysayers’ minds – 1,000 people doing the right thing is a lot more convincing than 1 person arguing about it.

What do you do when you’re confronted about your values? How do you prefer to handle people that drain your life energy?

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