Little Steps to leading a greener, more sustainable life.

Greening your life isn't rocket science

You do have the power to change the world.  Maybe not all at once, but little by little you can make this a better place.  It turns out the little choices add up. Going green, even in little steps can make a big difference.

Naked Binder encourages you to do one thing a day to help lower your impact on the planet. One thing. It is crazy to think that everyone can change to super green overnight, but we can all start down the path.

Refuse • Reduce • Reuse • Recycle in that order.  Recycling is still energy and resource intensive.  Try to avoid even that!

Everyday steps to green your life are easy.

What will this do??

Using less is a huge win win situation. Lets say you save 2 gallons a week in gasoline. That isn't huge. Now lets say, 150 million people do that. That is 300 million gallons of gas a week, 15.6 billion gallons a year. Consider the impact on the environment of not extracting, transporting, processing, transporting and then using 15 billion gallons of gas. Hmmm....

Every item you use takes energy to get the raw materials, create, transport and dispose of. By eliminating just a few things that you can do with out you can see what the potential impacts might be!

In a way, your grandparents already did everything right. They used everything until it was gone, ate everything, darned socks, saved paper. Part of the issue is the idea that we don't have to really work at conservation. Once the mindset is achieved, it is easy.

Easy steps to green your Life

Save Energy

1. Ride your bike. Even 2500+ years ago philosophers understood that a strong body = a strong mind. Work better and be less stressed while looking good.

2. Walk. My 3 year old found a new friend just two blocks away on a street we had never walked on before. Maybe you can too.

3. Take care of your refrigerator. Clean those coils every six months so it runs better and save energy.

4. Programmable thermostats can save you up to 10% of you energy bill. When you don't need it, don't run it!

5. Dishwashers, washing machines - Fill them up. Don't run a half empty machine.

6. Wash your clothes in cold water. Turns out, that hot water isn't doing that much for you. Also, according to everyone, you use too much soap in the wash.

7. Turn off the lights when you are not using them. Simple. Easy.

8. Sit around and talk. Computers, TVs, fancy cell phone/devices all use a lot of energy. Plus the joy of having a conversation is worth not knowing exactly what 50 people think of dancing with the stars.

9. Unplug appliances when you aren't using them. They leech energy.

10. Just sit. I sense a trend here, but moments of not doing something are very productive for your brain to process and relax.

11. Shop local stores (you can walk or bike!) Walking to the grocery store with a small child is a slow but rewarding trip. The locals will know you, the neighbors will talk to you. See fun things, get exercise, spend time with family and friends.

12. Shop local products. Can you get those supplies from a local company?

13. Eat less meat. You don't need meat every meal every day, so skip it. As omnivores ourselves, we strive to just do a little less on the meat side of things. Meat is very energy intensive.

14. Grow food in your garden. If you have never planted anything, try radishes. Those things grow fast. Everything tastes better when it is a allowed to ripen on the vine. No garden? Farmers markets and urban gardens. Local = picked when ready and less transportation.

15. Go to lunch with a co-worker instead of all driving separately. Even better, eat in!

16. Wear a sweater. Turn the heater down a few degrees.

17. Use a ceiling fan to push heat down or draw cool air up.

18. Use a more efficient car.  My wife and I swapped cars so she gets my more efficient car for the longer commute.  We save about $40 a week which is adding up.

Bring Your Own

1. Re used plastic bags to the grocery store for produce and bulk goods.

2. shopping bags.

3. Containers for left overs.  Lets face it you do not need those styrofoam containers.

4. Re-fillable bottles for shampoo or soap (think Dr. Bonner's castille soap which also makes a fine read)

Save Water

1. Rain barrel. They are great. You can save a huge amount of water for the garden or washing your car this way. Bonus if you live in Los Angeles - they will give you one free.

2. Don't trust your tap water? Use a water filter instead of plastic bottles. Most tap water in the US is fine, but if you don't want to trust it, a water filter is cheaper and more environmentally friendly than bottled water.

3. Speaking of water. Turn off the tap while...brushing, talking, washing dishes, chopping,  lets just say, when you are not actively using it.

4. Cut energy use in your house by installing ceiling fans. Word is, you can cut your bills up to 19% this way.

5. Brazil was encouraging people to shower together. I'll let you be the judge as to whether that would save water or not. Good thinking out of the box, though.

6. Dishwashers.  When run full, they save water and energy. Also, look for the short cycle functions.

 7. Use low water plants for your garden.

8. Use a drip irrigation system.  This save a lot of water and keeps your plants healthy.

9. Put a Brick in it.  Your toilet tank that is.  Use less water and still get good flush.

Recycle

1. Recycle everything. With curbside pick-up this is easy in most places and isn't a lot of work.

2. Know what is recyclable in your area. Only #1 and #2 are pretty universally recycled in the U.S. Find out what else can be and don’t use what is not recyclable.

3. Avoid as much PVC (AKA vinyl). While it is potentially recyclable, it is not possible for you to get it recycled. It is toxic. Forever. It will not go away. If a container has a #3 on it... don't use it

4. Buy used. Clothes, bikes, cars, coffee maker, vase, books, furniture... Giving a product a second, or third life (more!) save the products from landfill, but also save the resources of the entire cycle of the product - from logging/mining/drilling the base products to shipping it to the store.

5. Start composting. Why throw away something to sit in a sealed landfill for the next 5000 years when it can make you plants grow in a few months? Really not as stinky or icky as some people think. I compost yard and kitchen waste and not only save money on having stuff hauled away, but generate a LOT less garbage.

6. Buy recycled and recyclable products. Creating products from virgin wood takes a LOT more water, energy and generates more pollution. Anything that is 100% recyclable can be kept out of landfill.

7. Libraries and used bookstores. Both yummy.

8. Use the A-Z guide to sharing, swapping or selling practically anything

9. Lost a sock or mitten?  Donate the other one to organizations doing research and helping the environment!

Use Less

1. Don't buy anything. What you don't need, don't get. Instead of shopping to feel better, take a nice walk or bike ride...

2. Bring your coffee cup to work or the coffee shop. You know you are going to drink it, so bring the cup.

3. Use the last few pages on that pad of paper instead of recycling it now. You can do it. Or use the second side of old copy paper for your lists and notes.

4. Use the A-Z guide to sharing, swaping or selling practically anything

5. DIY. The do it yourself movement is great. We have made a ton of things from toys to furniture. The latest:  with 2 old socks (from our rag bag) and about 15 minutes, I made a parrot puppet for my son, who loves it. The $11 we saved is secondary to the amount of fun. Does it look great? Um, not great. Does he love that parrot?  Yes he does.

Be Healthier

1. Keep plenty of houseplants in the office to improve air quality. Many offices are sealed, and air in offices is up to 10 times worse than the air outside. Plants can help you breath.

2. Grow things you can eat inside:  3-rings has a great article on edible living walls that is making us think. Living in a zone with winter, We are contemplating an indoor, wall hanging herb garden as a test project.

3. Eat less meat.  Sorry, but even as an avid omnivore myself, it is healthier to eat less. Also, saves a lot of resources in the world around you.

4. Exercise.  Eliminate stress, lower body fat, feel better, think better, look better (and feel better about that too!).

5. Hydrate.  Most people don't drink enough water anyway, much less if they are exercising.  Staying hydrated helps you think, sleep and feel better all around. And it is inexpensive! (don't use bottled water.  Filter if you have to.)

6. Make plans.  If you have goals that are fun, exciting and get you motivated, you will be happier.  For me to really work out, I need a goal - just who I am. My bucket list is HUGE! and fun.

7. Cook.  Not only is this fun, but you can control what you put in your food.  Chances are you are not going to put that list of chemicals in the pizza or soup.  Perhaps this is hard in this age of being on the run, but the food is better, the satisfaction is higher and the food is healthier.

So who are the Naked Binder people?

Us?  Bike riding, walking, gardening, rain barrel using, rock climbing, used clothes buying, coffee cup carrying, green office supply making people just like you.  Naked Binder believes the products you use should be better designed to last, inspire and do better in the world and the workplace. We make recycled 100% post consumer waste 3-ring binders, folders and tab sets that last longer, look better and have a much smaller impact on the planet. 

We are committed enough to recycle manufacturing waste for packaging materials, reuse boxes, redesign products so there is less waste and constantly strive to find new ways to cut our footprint.

We are a part of 1% for the Planet, donating a part of our sales to saving and creating wilderness and open spaces.