I have stopped using toxic cleaning products that contain unknown chemicals., I now use borax or Bon Ami to clean in the shower and toilet and borax to help wash clothes instead of bleach.( I rarely use hot water to wash anything anymore)about the only other cleaning product i feel is semi- safe is Murphy's oil soap for floors. we live in the country also, and must be more aware with a septic tank and ground water contamination. where do all those horrible chemicals go from all the households???
I use baking soda once a week to clean my drains. After cleaning the coffeepot with vinegar water- I pour it onto the baking soda in the drains to keep them flowing.
I now recycle any plastic, plastic bags, glass, and paper I can- I bring home the newspapers from work so i can place them in the garden before the mulch, fireplace ashes go into the garden, so do food scraps- all year long- unless I compost them in the summer months. Yard leaves go into the garden instead of the curb.
I keep my thermostat at 55 degrees during the day- and burn a pellet stove on low- to keep the temp from dropping below 55- and to avoid using the furnace as much as possible. we have installed ceiling fans to move the warm air from the stove., and turn it off during the night. ( we use lots of blankets and pooches for heat!!!)
I only shower every other day-( unless I do a sweaty job!), and keep the water heater temp to the lowest comfortable setting-
I plan all my errands by area- so I don;t have to back track. saves time and gas!!! I also try to plan errands so I only have to make right turns. whichever on one side of the street- and the other - well, you get the idea- it saves gas by not having to wait so long to turn left at a busy mall or street.
I unplug appliances when not in use- including cell phone chargers, and have changed all the light bulbs to the low usage kind.... and we are in the process of insulating every room in our old farmhouse.
I look for new ideas all the time!!!

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I am 66 years old & have been doing these things all my life. Why haven't the celebrities, (the very people who want to now jump on the bandwagon) cut back on using the world's resources? I am sure they use more than their share. Or do you call it 'good business'?

I ride my bike as much as I can, when going to the grocery store I bring my own bags, and I recycle everything. Also if I go to a coffee shop and I don't have my own cup I guess I didn't NEED coffee that bad.

Instead of letting all the cold water go down the drain while waiting for it to turn hot, I catch it in a container to water my many potted plants.

Every time I deep-fry tortillas, chicken, etc, I "recicle" the oil (without the burnt food particles)in a glass container to cook or use it for the 2nd time, and when the oil is burned enough, I pour it in another container and then to the trash can in order to avoid wather contamination by just throw any kind of oil in the sink. Millions of gallons of water are contaminated daily with the cooking oil people throw in their sinks. Hugs.

I turn off the water while I lather up in the shower and also when I brush my teeth.

What a great topic! I've switched out 12 lightbulbs in my house to CFL bulbs. Easy, great for the environment, and a tax deductible purchase!

My husband and I purchased a front load washer and dryer about 5 yrs. ago -- love them, and I am not big on laundry at all!!! The only items I wash in hot water is our sheets because I have alot of allergies. All wash loads are put in the dryer on "air fluff", and then hung up on the clothesline in the basement or outside depending upon the weather in Wisconsin. Towels are the only exception.

Who needs recycled paper napkins -- at least 15 years ago I purchased a box of linens at a garage sale. Upon getting my new "treasure" home, I discovered that I had about 20-25 cloth napkins. I am proud to say they are still in use in my home everday day in and day out. So don't pass them up as you attend your area "sales", or better yet, take an older tablecloth, get out your scissors and sewing machine and make some for yourself.

I have been doing my part for years, but we need to teach the grocery baggers. I always take cloth bags to the grocery store, but watching my groceries ring up and trying to get the baggers to not put stuff in plastic bags before into cloth is difficult. stores need to teach them. I have also been using cloth dishtowels, dishrags, handtowels, etc. in the kitchen. I also have been buying terry cloth rags from home depot, which I use to clean with, and wash and use again. Recently I bought, at a restaurant sale, white cloth napkins that were slightly soiled, which I bleached and now use every meal, instead of paper napkins. as someone else I read does, I keep a bucket in the shower, so I can use extra water, not waste it, when I take a shower, and put on my plants, outside...we are having a terrible drought here in Florida, so need to save on water when we can. I also boil water for dishes, because I have no dishwasher and it takes a long time for hot water to get to my sink from the water heater. I could go on and on but I just hope everyone is helping preserving our planet for our great grandchildren. Something else I have been trying, I read this on the internet: I use peroxide, mixed with a small amt. of water, in a spray bottle to clean my counters, breadboards, etc., so i can eliminate harsh chemicals, and it kills bacteria.

What I do to reduce unburned emissions from a charcoal grill is by using either 1) an electric coil starter, or 2) a charcoal starter (a steel cylinder) which burns newspaper. Ditch the lighter fluid since much of it is unburned and goes into the atmosphere. Another good option is to just buy a propane gas grill. For my lawn I've scrapped the rotary mower with polluting gas engine (produces more unburned emissions than my car!); I use a battery powered electric reel mower (cuts really nice too). Other options of course would be a corded or cordless electric rotary mower as well for larger lawns. It's also decent but not difficult to mow. As long as you don't have too many hills! My other suggestion is to consider your options before you buy most anything "durable" for your home. Ask these questions: 1) what is it made of and how recyclable is it? 2) Is it just a convenience item or is it really useful? 3) Will it last a long time? 4) Is there a better option to purchase or trade a similar item from a garage sale, from a freecycle forum, from a charity (goodwill, salvation army, etc.), or does a friend or relative have something they don't need. Good luck reducing and reusing!

I have used cloth napkins for years; I don't think washing them with my towels once a week wastes anymore water than I would otherwise use. I also use washcloths instead of paper towels to clean spills on my counter. Several years ago, I also invested in a front load washer which saves thousands of gallons of water a year.

In addition to recycling, I call companies who sell their products in plastic containers that are not labeled with a 1 or 2 for recycling because most cities will only recycle those numbers. I call using the toll free number on the package and I tell them that while I really like their product, I will only buy products with containers which can be recycled. If more people let companies know that they want containers that can be recycled, I think there could be far reaching changes in packaging.

Everyone tries not to use plastic grocery bags but sometimes you end up collecting them anyway. But don't throw them out - your local animal shelter can put your extra plastic bags to good use cleaning up after their many dogs! The dog walking volunteers and many homeless pets will thank you.

I agree with jodi. here in texas (fort worth too) the sun shines most of the time and I wash in cold and line dry. there is a compost bin for green stuff and a huge bin for recyclables. I only do dishes once a week or so.(single ya know) so the electric bill here is lower than average. I have started replacing all lights with the compact fluorescents. And I unplug all un-needed electrical devices.

Reduce, reuse, recycle. I've cut down on buying "stuff" and If I can't recycle it, I reuse everything I can. Kleenex boxes make great drawer organizers, and so do the little plastic "crates" that strawberries and little tomatoes come in; Plastic grocery bags make great trash bags and dog-poop-scoopers; plastic food containers with lids hold everything from loose change, to sewing notions, to old batteries (that I take to Radio Shack).

I do follow the multiple wears on a few items, namely jeans, some casual shirts and towels. I can usually get 2-3 uses out of all of these. Just put a towel over the showerrod and chair to dry for the next days use. I recycle all my plastice bags, Albertson's takes anything with a 2 or a 4. I just drop off each weeks stash when I stop buy for groceries. In the summer, we grow our own vegetables and then can them for the winter months. These also make great holiday gifts without unneccessary packaging, driving to the mall, production of waste. Whenever possible buy it used, I have found wonderful bedding, dinnerware and furniture at estate sales. Go to the library instead of buying books. All my errands are within a 6 mile radiaus of my home. I go 2 weeks between refills on my car.

Not only do I recycle my clothes I no longer wear, I also buy recycled clothes, ie, garage sales, consignment shops, Salvation Army. You can get some wonderful clothes at these places if you just take the time to look. Also, I unplug most appliances while they are not in use. The bedroom entertainment system is a big one for us, Just the flip of a switch and I can take 4 items off the power grid for most of the day. The simplest but sometimes not so obvious, turn the lights off each and every time you leave the room, even for a few minutes.

I started a compost pile last year, and as a result, just had my 64-gallon trash can swapped out for a 32-gallon. Between recycling and composting, our family of four is now contributing much less to the landfill. Added bonus - it also makes for a cheaper garbage bill each month! Many thanks go to the flushable/compostable diapers that we use for our 1-year old! (www.gdiapers.com)

Living here in beautiful South Carolina, where the sun always seems to be shining, the bedding plants can get dry, especially in the summertime. I always take a small wastebasket in to the shower with me, and when I'm done I use the water again to water the plants. And I always have a clean wastebasket!

http://sm00bs.livejournal.com/178773.html - too much to type here! This is a list of what we do to be green, what we want to do to be green, and useful green links.

Replace your lightbulbs with CFLs (compact flourescent lightbulbs.) They are a little more costly initially, but save tremendously. A "60-watt equivalent CFL uses 13 watts of electricity. A100-watt CFL uses 23." Wrote my Rabbi in the Temple newsletter. He continued, " ...a 75% savings on the lighting part of your electric bill. 75% less energy used. 75% less pollution. And they don't burn out for years." He asked each us to spread the word and hopefully save our earth. Sounds great to me!

I knew I was forgetting things! We buy and sell used clothing and other items we no longer need. We recycle as much as possible (Fort Worth is pretty good about that - our recycle bin is bigger than our trash bin and fills up faster than our trash bin!). We do not bag our grass clippings, but use them for mulching the yard instead. We unplug the majority of our appliances (especially those wtih unnecessary clocks) when not in use. We save all of our plastic bags and reuse them as lunch sacks or garbage bags, and our produce bags are saved for doggie duty when we go for walks.

We wash clothes in cold water and hang them to dry on the line. The sun is also great for bleaching. We use cloth diapers and wipes (love these!) and when we're not using cloth, we're using gDiapers (awesome!!!). We buy organic products when possible (including dog food, fertalizer, seeds, etc) and plan to compost/garden in the not too distant future. We also plan to have Solatubes installed in the house, along with radiant barrier, a higher grade a/c unit, more insulation, soffet vents, etc. We recently had a wind turbine installed as well as ridge vents. We try to keep the coils on our refrigerator clean. We have nearly all the bulbs in our house replaced with compact fluorescents. My husband tries to ride the motorcycle whenever possible (saves SO much on gas) or car pool. We both have pretty efficient cars, though. When we replace our carpeting it will be done with bamboo flooring. We have bamboo sheets and absolutely love them. We have solar screens on our windows. We have all our exhaust fans on timer dials so there's no forgetting to go back and turn them off. Any light that is not a CFL is on a dimmer switch. We are looking into having a PV system installed, as well as a tankless water heater. We live in TX, so we try to focus a lot of our energy saving on cooling. I'm sure there are things I'm forgetting.