It’s Not Cheap, It’s Planet Savvy

My husband would be the first to tell you I am cheap. I love a bargain, love thrift stores and love to save money. But with the green evolution upon us and the desperate need to reduce and offset our carbon footprints, I’m not cheap anymore, I’m planet savvy.

I’ve said before about shopping at thrift stores and buying Energy Star appliances. But we can reduce our carbon impact even more by putting the two together. Buying second hand appliances is no longer taboo, its smart. It saves money and reduces the needs for additional manufacturing and so slows the rate of carbon emissions from the manufacturing process.

Plus it saves money. Money that can be used to buy carbon credits, solar panels, rain barrels and clothes lines; whatever tickles your green fancy.

Another idea that still shocks many in our consumer culture: keep it till you break it. Before the economy went to pot, we all just bought bought bought not if we needed something but mostly if we wanted something. It didn’t matter if the television set was perfectly adequate, it didn’t hang on the wall. So we were out with the old and in with the new increasing household waste, clogging landfills and aiding in the creation of greenhouse gases.

And some people still live this way. You can’t save them all as they say. But you can certainly save your money and your planet by making smart green decisions.

My microwave lasted for 13 years. My coffee pot was with me for 12 years. My first toaster was inherited (I know crazy right?) and lasted for a total of 25 years. Yes my friends used to laugh at the age of my appliances and joked I should just get new. But why? These ones work just fine. They may not have been the latest model in the most fashionable colors but they did the job they were intended to do.

And now when I walk into a home and see a pristine kitchen full of the latest shiny objects from the appliances catalogs and websites, I frown at the homeowner and wonder at their choices. Because finally, used appliances, stretching every dollar and reducing carbon impact is more important that buying what the television tell you to buy.

A round of applause for the second hand buyer, the bargain seeker, the dollar stretcher the “it still works what’s the problem?” individual out there. These are green choices and a chance to lead by example. So when the coffee pot brews its last or the toaster just won’t toast, consider replacing it with a second hand (or previously loved) appliances and do yourself and the planet a favor.