It is easy to fall into the trap of believing that if you participate in your community recycling program, you have discharged your green duties. While recycling all your glass, paper and plastics is something we must all do, to keep it out of the ever growing landfill sites, it is only a part of a much bigger picture. As my daughters remind me all the time, we have to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. This was our schools theme a few years ago, and since then we have taken this statement to heart at home. These are just a few ideas of how to begin to color your own world green.

1. Start a Compost heap for garden and kitchen waste. With a little effort you will have an endless supply of good healthy organic matter for your plants and garden. The bonus is that you know it is chemical and pesticide free.

2. Buy locally grown produce at the farmers market. Buying seasonal Locally grown produce is wonderful on many levels. Less Gasoline needed for transportation, less electricity for refrigeration and storage and you can research the source and find out their growing methods. Fresh produce tastes better, is more nutritious and can be fantastic value.

3. Start your own vegetable garden. This is a great way to help young children understand where food comes from and will often encourage them to eat more vegetables.

4. Sell or donate any clothes, furniture or toys you no longer need. Don't just throw them away to fill the nearest landfill. One person's trash is another person's treasure.

5. Check that your home is energy efficient. Don't waste all that electricity and gas. Switch to energy efficient light bulbs, make sure your house is well insulated and turn off lights and appliances when not in use.

6. Limit the Chemicals you use in your garden and on your lawn. Polluted water from chemical runoff is a huge problem these days. It is easy for weed killers, pesticides and salts to leach through soils and into nearby lakes and rivers and then into our own drinking water supply.

7. Install a rain barrel. Collecting rain water from your roof to use later in your garden, reduces the amount of water going into the sewer system at peak times. It reduces the load on treatment facilities and can help reduce the effects of flooding.

8. Buy a re-usable grocery bag and remember to use it!

9. Re-use your paper or plastic grocery bags. If you have to use the store's grocery bags then find a way to reuse them later. Some grocery stores pay you to use them again on your next trip. We collect our household paper recycling in the paper grocery bags and have friends with dogs who use the plastic bags when they walk their dogs to clean up any mess. Green on two counts!

10. Participate in your school recycling drives or collections. In return for you collecting and donating your otherwise useless printer cartridges or cell phones, there are organizations that pay your school a fixed amount per item. Not only does your school boost it's funds but the toxic chemicals contained in the electronic components and circuit boards are kept out of the landfills and reused instead.

Trying to be green really doesn't have to be difficult. There are so many ways that we can make small easy changes a little at time. When we are talking about the environment in which we live, the air we breathe and the water we drink, it really is true that every little helps.

Learn more about this author, Julie Wood.
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