by Julie A. Hogan

Created on: December 05, 2008

Hey, did you remember to bring the reusable bags with you when you got groceries this week, or are they still in the trunk of the car? This Green-living stuff is still a work in progress. At least you made a conscious decision to buy the bags in the first place, and that's a start, good for you! Remembering to actually use them is the challenge. "It's not easy being green" -Kermit the Frog

The grocery store is probably one of the first places that come to mind when thinking about making Green choices."Will that be paper or plastic?" Each time you make a purchase for your home, aside from your groceries, you are making earth-conscious decisions whether you realize it or not. By selecting items that follow certain principles you can make distinctions on how Green you choose to be. GreenLiving.com lists the following as guidelines for Green purchases:

Ecological Footprint:
Reduce your personal demand on nature. Choosing sustainable and lower impact goods will reduce your personal consumption of natural resources and help you do your part in returning our society to balance with Earth's resource capacity.

Handmade & Fair Trade:
Respect for communities around the world. Buying certified fair trade goods ensures an honest and open relationship between producers and consumers across the globe by giving the dignity of fair wages and safe working conditions to workers and high quality, sustainably produced goods to consumers.

Natural materials:
Healthy for everyone and easy on the Earth. Growing organic cotton, hemp, flax, or sustainable lumber without chemical fertilizers or pesticides keeps our soils, air and water clean and our farmers, workers and children healthy.

Resource conservation:
Leaves enough for everyone. By simply choosing energy-saving light bulbs and low-flow water filters, you can significantly reduce your resource consumption and therefore your individual environmental impact.

Recycled goods;
Reusing respects our resources. Buying recycled products conserves our raw materials, saves energy, generates less waste and pollution, ultimately protects our ecosystems.

In other words, this goes far beyond paper or plastic. It's much bigger than that. These are principles that everyone should keep in mind when purchasing anything and everything . So what can you do, how can you help? You can begin by making Greener choices when selecting products or finishes for your home. For instance, the paint you use on your walls or the new carpet you put in the living room

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