a few easy changes to be more green...

Choose 2 or 3 of these to do a week or month, whatever you can manage. Some are easy and some are hard but they'll make a difference to the planet and your life.

1. Buy or make (i did both) these grocery bags. Use them for various reasons. Use them for library books, groceries, dry cleaning, laundry, typical shopping, etc. Those fabric book bags are also very handy. Buy them from the dollar store or thrift store, decorate them and make them your own. I love all of these. I use paper bags from the stores for mailing packages. I'm trying to avoid all plastic ones.
2. Sign up for curb recycling or take your stuff in for recycling at participating stores. It may cost $15-$30 a year, that's a dollar a month. It's worth it.
3. Buy what you can used. Books, clothes, toys...all these can be found for cheap at thrift stores, garage sales, consignment stores etc. I know some people have issues with used things. Get over it. There is so much waste. How many of us have given brand new never worn things to thrift stores? That's what i've mostly given. Things that i've worn once or twice. Don't you think other people are doing the same thing? Recycling includes using stuff that just might end up in a landfill. I'll share some of my best finds from thrift stores. And don't worry about status. We don't "need" to shop thrift, i do it because i "want" to help the environment and because it's actually fun too. I'll dedicate an entire post to this.
4. Walk when you can. It'll save fuel, and increase your health. Most green things do.
5. Use less electricity. Air dry clothes, air dry dishes, use power saving cycles. Most important turn off lights when you aren't using them and turn off the tv when you aren't using it.
6. When you brush your teeth, turn off water between spitting. You save a couple gallons of water right there.
7. Quit buying processed foods (boxed, canned, etc).
8. Buy organic when you can and always buy organic for the Deadly Dozen
9. Use natural cleaning products. An entire post will be up shortly on this.
10. Get on the no junk mail list. Also unsubscribe from anything you don't use or need.
11. Set your thermostat 1 or 2 degrees lower or higher than you would prefer.
12. Make some clothes or something to see how much better you care and wear it. Notice how much waste goes on with just clothing.
13. Use glass jars for food storage etc. Or recyle. But reusing them is better. Plastics aren't healthy, glass is.
14. Get rid of teflon, it pollutes the air.
15. Grow your own herbs.
16. Plant a tree.

more coming...