The Big Three

Everybody is being encouraged to go green. We hear we should go green at home and go green at work, our children should be taught to go green and going green will save our planet and our money. Well, in the short term the saving money sounds great, and if we can do something to save the earth it is certainly worth the effort, but isn’t it hard to go green?

The simple answer is no. It does not cost you lots of money to change to a green way of life. It requires a big change in attitude and a commitment to break a few bad habits, like leaving all the lights on all day.

• One easy way to start going green today is to reduce. You can reduce the amount of things you buy you will reduce the amount of waste you produce. The earth’s landfills are filling up at an alarming rate and the less waste your home produces will make a big difference. When you go to the grocery store you do not need to use their bags which will only become trash when you get home. Buy a reusable grocery bag and you will be reducing waste. Buy local items at farmers markets and carry a basket with you so you will not to have each item individually wrapped. Buy items in bulk when possible and make use of kitchen towels instead of paper towels.
• To reuse items is to find a new use for an existing item. This is easy and will cost you no money. As with most going green ideas, reusing will save you money. Reuse empty jars and bottles. Buy second hand items whenever possible and donate your own clothes. With a little creativity you will find many uses for items you normally pitch into the trash.
• When you recycle you contribute to the process of taking one product and turning it into something new. Make it a point to buy products from recycled items whenever possible. You can find recycled paper, recycled tiles, recycled cabinets and counter, recycled anything. Plastic water bottle bottles are being used to make carpet and even clothing fibers. Some plastics are so sturdy when recycled they can be used as garbage bags and pipes for pipelines.

If you want to go green you will just need to remember the three R’s-reduce, recycle, and reuse – to begin making better choices in your lifestyle. It is an excellent idea to get your entire family involved in your going green project. They will automatically learn to live a green lifestyle and will automatically do so when thy have their own home.

Parents are a child’s best example. It is so important to the health of our planet that we change our behaviors now. I children see their parents going green they will see it as a worthwhile process. If they are included in going green they will become excited by the process.