Learn to ‘Shift Your Habit’

With Shift Your Habit, consumers can finally save money, live more efficiently and save the planet.

“The true heart and soul of living green is efficiency.”

The opening line of Elizabeth Rogers’ new book Shift Your Habit says it perfectly – the paradoxical combination of going green and actually saving money is actually quite simple when outlined step by step, room by room and product by product.

Rogers follows 15 families on their quests to find a happy marriage of ecological ideas and spending wisely. Over a course of one year, the families – dubbed the “Shifters” – saved a total of $100,o00, eliminated 25,000 tons of waste and saved 500,000 gallons of water.

What we liked about Rogers’ book is that it wasn’t a preachy, monotonous read. Divided into areas of the home, then subdivided into specific products, the novel reads more like an encyclopedia of eco savings. Rogers even encourages her readers to skip the parts that don’t specifically pertain to them.

“You can read this book cover to cover, or just flip through to the sections that you are most interested in. If you’re looking for an answer to a specific question, consult the index. If you’re in search of inspiration and camaraderie, check out the Swift Shifts – real-life stories from people like you who committed to implementing the shifts you’ll see throughout the book and reported back about the experience.”

Along with an easy-to-read guide to plumping your savings account while leaning your footprint, Rogers has also created a community with her new book and calls on readers to report on their experiences on shiftyourhabit.com.

At Earth911, we have a lot of our own stats about reducing your impact, saving cash and recycling your stuff, but even we learned a lot from this book and finally got some answers to some of our plaguing questions such as how much does a CFL actually save? Is there a huge difference between canned foods versus fresh goods? Or, just how many kilowatt hours do our office computers use?

Rogers answers all of these questions and so many more – with well-researched facts and (yes!) dollar amounts. Finally, a guide that works for every type reader, from the stay-at-home mom to the world-changing college student.

Shift Your Habit hits bookshelves on March 9.