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Easy Ways Your Family Can "Go Green"

Going green can seem like a daunting task yet if one takes small steps, the experience can be fun and rewarding. The rewarding aspect comes from two angles; first you will be saving money and second you will be contributing to the health of your community and the environment. From our house to yours, simple steps to start your family on the path to "Go Green":

1.Install energy saving lighting and bulbs

Several years ago this was a nightmare, the wavelength of light coming off the new energy saving bulbs was enough to give headaches but with today's new nature light emitting bulbs, one will barely notice the difference. Compact Fluorescent Lights use between a fifth and a quarter of the power of its energy hogging cousin, as well the lifespan of a CFL being between 8 and 15 times that of standard bulbs clearly outweighs the average 3 to 10 times cost a CFL is to a standard bulb. They last a long time, save tons of money and energy and have proven to have advanced themselves to giving off light that is much closer to what we are used to. Now this is one easy step to start with. Need help finding the right one? Try www.environmentaldefense.org.
2 .Install low flow shower heads

Being the huge fan of a nice hot shower that I am, I have always cringed at the idea of losing water flow. Like newer CFL's, low flow show heads have come a long way in providing enough pressure but still saving tons of water. If one could save 40,000 gallons of water a year, not to mention the energy savings in not having to heat 40,000 gallons, wouldn't you switch? Try www.watersavers.com.

3.Buy a composter

When I started my goal of "Going Green", getting a composter wasn't top on the list, who wants to stir smelly compost several times a week? Yet the benefits of less garbage curb waste and the thought of better fertilized yard plants made me do some research. What I found was the best of both worlds, no smell and mess with all the benefits. Today's newer consumer composters come in varieties that sit on rollers and are shaped like a barrel. Open the trap door, toss in your kitchen compost bucket, close the lid and rotate 3 times a week. That's it! What resulted was rich fertilizer my outdoor plants love; the unit even has a water collection bin at the bottom with a spout for giving indoor plants that fantastic liquid fertilizer. I got mine at www.gaiam.com.

4.Recycle, Recycle, Recycle

Today it's simple to recycle, most local garbage hauling companies offer

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