These days, everyone is catching on the the Green Movement. Here at Vista Place, we like to do as much as we can to help save our planet with our Generation Impact Program. Here are some easy ways you can help too!

• -Don’t wash it! Standard washing machines use 40 gallons of water per load. If your clothes don’t stink, don’t wash them―and save a load a week. If American households were more judicious about laundry, each year they would save enough water to fill more than 7 million swimming pools!
• -Free lint bunnies! The average U.S. household spends up to $135 a year in energy costs drying clothes. A dirty lint filter can use 30 percent more energy to get the job done.
• -Plug in a laptop, not a desktop! In the market for a new computer? A laptop uses about half the energy of its desktop counterpart. Choose a model with the federal government’s Energy Star rating and use 70 percent less energy than a noncertified model.
• -Curtail junk mail! It takes some legwork, but in the end, you’ll save trees, water, and emissions, too. If everyone in the United States reduced the junk mail he receives every week, 100 million trees would be spared each year. Go to optoutprescreen.com to stop receiving pre-approved credit card offers and sign up on catalogchoice.org to reduce the amount of unsolicited catalogs sent to you.
• -Turn off the tap! The average faucet releases about three gallons of water a minute, so shut it off while you brush your teeth or shave.
• -Use a water-filter pitcher! Bottled water isn’t necessarily cleaner or better for you than tap water. Get a Brita water-filter pitcher (bedbathandbeyond.com) or an in-sink faucet filter. Take advantage of what you already pay for and save the environmental cost of transporting bottled water to the grocer’s shelf.
• -Recycle wisely! The good news: Americans already recycle about a third of their trash (double what was recycled in 1990). The not-so-good news: We need to do more and save more energy. To learn how to dispose of items log on to earth911.org for contact info for local recyclers of more than 250 materials―from cooking oil to hazardous waste (including batteries).
• -Reuse everything! Change your mind-set and think twice before throwing anything out. Resealable plastic bags that held carrots today can hold crayons tomorrow. Coffee-cup cardboard sleeves from this morning’s brew can be tucked in a purse pocket to be used again at 4 p.m. Mom might just like that cashmere sweater you’re sick of wearing. And Fido doesn’t know the difference between a new chew toy and the one you make yourself out of old dish towels.

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