Going green...or at least greener

Allow me to get up on my soap box for a moment or two.
How green are you? Do you care? You should...why? Because it directly affects your health and everyone else's health and this thing called the EARTH that we ALL live on and should care about and should take better care of, ESPECIALLY if we have children, neices/nephews, etc.....get the idea?

Some people do better than others. I myself try....but still struggle with certain things. I take the re-usable bags to the grocery store (most of the time), but somehow forget to take it to other stores.

I am using cloth diapers on my child 85 - 90% of the time. Is it a pain, sometimes, but I just think of the money I am saving!!!!!

I buy organic products for many household items. Sometimes it is more expensive and I have to debate whether the extra cost is worth it. Most of the time I go with it, especially when it directly affects my health: food and femine products.

Have you changed your light bulbs to those curly ones? Money saver.

Do you unplug most of your appliance (even your phone charger) when not in use? Money saver.

Have you changed your statements to email rather than regular paper mail delivery? Saves time for you opening the mail, saves paper, safer b/c you aren't throwing sensitive information in the trash.

Here is a way cool website that I was forwarded that many of you might find useful. It has a downloadable chart for fruits and veggies: http://www.foodnews.org/. If you've never considered buying organic fruits and veggies, you really should. If you don't know a lot about the whys, read this website for a lot of GREAT information that should inform you and help you make more educated choices.

Recyling: JUST DO IT!!!! If there isn't recycling in your area, you can at least do cans & newspapers. Most schools have the yellow bins for newspapers. You can find a can recycling place near by...it isn't a lot of jingle in your pocket, but until I hear that you are a millionare and don't need that extra change, everything helps. Or, if you know someone that does save cans, save them for that person and ask the person to come by everyonce in ahwile to pick up the bag...I bet they will. Same goes for plastics. My grandmother, bless her heart, has a bin for plastics...and they don't recycle in her community. But, she knows enough people that she can give her recycling to and they add it to their bins. If you live near me, you can do this with me, I don't mind AT ALL!!!

Recycling also means donating items to schools (drama departments love formals and other types of clothing) and Goodwill. Many, many items we throw out can be used/sold again. One man's trash, is another man's treasure. Have a community garage sale and then take the remaining items to Goodwill.

We are filling our land fills with items that can be re-used and recycled. Take the time to make our world a better place.

These are just a few easy things that I do, and think most folks can incorporate into their busy lives. Ok, that's it for now. I'll get off of my soapbox!!