How much can you save by living green? Experiment

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

An eco-friendly image has many advantages: taking care of the environment, taking care of your health, saving natural resources and money. The latter can also serve as a strong motivation for going to the “green” side. Recycle calculated how much money you can save if you change your habits a little.

Packages

Usually

If you go to the store every 3 days and go out with one package of purchases, and on average the packages cost 3 rubles, then you will spend about 365 rubles for them in a year. If you visit stores every day, then you spend about 1,080 rubles a year on packages.

Environmentally friendly

At the checkout in hypermarkets, instead of bags, you can buy a roomy reusable bag, the price varies around 15-20 rubles. It will definitely be enough for you for a year.

Savings - 1060 rubles

Diapers

Usually

A baby under 6 months old needs about 10 diapers a day. The average price of one diaper is 15 rubles. For a year, a child needs approximately 3,600 diapers - that's 54,000 rubles.

Environmentally friendly

1 reusable diaper costs about 1000 rubles, even if you take 10 pieces, so as not to wash each separately during the day, then you will spend 10,000 rubles on them.

Savings - 44,000 rubles

Feminine hygiene products

Usually

The woman uses about 300 disposable pads a year. The average price of one is 10 rubles. Total: 3000 rubles per year.

Environmentally friendly

The price of one reusable pad is 400 rubles, 5 pieces per day - 2000 rubles. The average service life of such a kit is 5 years.

It turns out that the difference needs to be calculated for this period: disposable - 15,000, reusable - 2,000.

Savings - 13,000 in 5 years, 2,600 in a year

If you prefer menstrual cups, then you can forget about the monthly expenses on pads for as much as 5-10 years - this is the standard service life of a medical silicone mouthguard. The average price of the product is 700 rubles.

Cotton pads

Usually

Every day, a woman uses 1-2 cotton pads to remove makeup and cleanse the skin. The average price of one disc is 0.5 rubles, per year - 365 rubles.

Environmentally friendly

Reusable discs made from cotton waste of production cost 350 rubles (10 pcs.) They are enough for 5 years. Let's calculate the difference for this period: disposable - 1825, reusable - 350 rubles.

Savings - 1,475 rubles

Household chemicals

Eco-friendly alternatives for washing, cleaning, dishwashing are consumed in the same way as non-eco-friendly ones. But many of them can be replaced by means of our own production.

Conventional remedies

For dishes ≈ 150 rubles

For carpets ≈ 200 rubles

For plumbing ≈ 250 rubles

Furniture ≈ 220 rubles

From blockages ≈ 200 rubles

Air freshener ≈ 80 rubles

Total ≈ 1110 rubles

Eco-friendly alternatives

Soda ≈ 50 rubles

Mustard ≈ 40 rubles

Salt ≈ 40 rubles

Laundry soap ≈ 30 rubles

Citric acid ≈ 30 rubles

Vinegar ≈ 40 rubles

Ammonia ≈ 45 rubles

Total ≈ 275 rubles

Savings - 835 rubles.

Savings without calculations

In addition to what we have listed above, there are many more items that will obviously save you money too. But it is very difficult to calculate it due to individual preferences and geography of prices.

You can buy coffee in your mug at a discount under the My cup please program. Selected establishments offer customers different bonuses, most often a 10% discount.

Shopping in secondhand deals is 50-70% cheaper, and items can be exchanged for free at swap parties.

Traveling by public transport saves not only money, but also time. Even cheaper and more environmentally friendly - electric vehicles.

Cover the water when brushing your teeth and soaping dishes, turn off the lights when leaving the room, and unplug chargers when not in use. By saving resources, you reduce your utility bill.

From all of the above, we can deduce a universal formula for an environmentally friendly and economical life: replace a disposable with a reusable one, exchange unnecessary for what you need, save resources and time.