The biggest thing I do to help the planet (and I try to do many) is to WALK! Besides being great exercise, it brings my transportation footprint to zero.

I agree with and employ most of the recycle tips, but I question "if it doesn't stink-don't wash it". Was it just facetious? Dirt & stains are what cause me to wash clothes & appear before any odor. How many professionals can go to work in grimey clothes, with dirty cuffs, food-stained shirts, etc.? Spot cleaning does not deal with the overall grime of city and rural lives as well as road grime. Nor can everyone wear loud prints & colors to camoflauge such stains.

One really easy thing I do is use cloth napkins at every meal my family eats at home. I sew, and hemming squares of cotton is an easy job. (Or buy some- you would only have to buy them once to get years of use!) They don't take up much space in a load of laundry that I would be doing anyway, and I know I have saved lots of resources- trees, bleach, dyes, packaging, transportation, and space in the landfill, over the years.

Your earth tips were great but you missed two importent ones...1. hang your wash on a clothes line instead of using the dryer - I dry my clothes for about 10 minutes to fluff and get the heavy water out and then hang them outside - they smell great too. 2. Turn OFF the dry cycle on your dishwasher - the heat from the wash will dry them - I run my dishwashed in the evening and find they dry out nicely overnight except for a few spots!

I love all the tips you offered, but was quite surprised by your suggestion to buy recycled napkins...I always thought good old cloth napkins were the more earth-friendly way to go...?

Does laundering cloth napkins weekly really take more from the earth than throwing away recycled paper? Very curious...thanks!