Top Ten Ways to Go Green at Home

In the midst of all the gloom and doom about global warming, saving the world may seem like an insurmountable task most days. Cheer up! Doing your part for the environment is easier than you think, and what's good for Mother Earth is usually good for your bank account too. To live a greener, cleaner (and often cheaper) life, just follow these ten easy steps that you can take right now.

Change Your Light Bulbs

Changing all of your household light bulbs from incandescent to compact fluorescent uses one third of the energy for the same amount of light and generates less heat, making CFL's safer. A CFL bulb also lasts ten times longer than incandescent. Added to the reduced electricity costs and you're saving time, money and my favorite planet all at once.

Buy Re-usable Grocery Bags

Forget paper or plastic. Sturdy, re-usable canvas grocery bags are now available at almost every major supermarket and cost about a dollar apiece. Keep them in your car or near the door and take them with you every time you shop. The store employees will gladly fill them for you and you can fit an entire carriage-full of groceries into three of four bags, making it easier to carry your items into the house. You'll be greatly reducing the amount of paper or plastic that you're throwing away and you won't have to worry about ripping a bag open and spilling your groceries everywhere.

Make Your Own Cleaning Supplies

A few drops of essential oil into white vinegar produces an effective, sweet-smelling chemical-free floor wash. You can also use it on counter tops. For bathroom fixtures try adding the oil to baking soda and for furniture polish, add your favorite scented essential oil to olive oil.

Recycle

It may seem obvious, but remember to get recycling bins whenever you move to a new community and use them faithfully. This saves your community quite a bit of money as well.

Walk

Whenever you can, walk. Even if you're indoors, use the stairs instead of the elevator. Elevators use electricity and stairs use calories. Save the planet and trim your waistline!

Re-use