1. Reduce Junk Mail: Tired of receiving pounds of unsolicited junk mail? You're not alone! According to the Native Forest Network (www.nativeforest.org):

• The average person gets only 1.5 personal letters each week, compared to 10.8 pieces of junk mail.
   
• Each person will receive almost 560 pieces of junk mail this year.
   
• That's 4.5 million tons of junk mail produced each year!
   
• 44% of all junk mail is thrown in the trash, unopened and unread.
   
• Approximately 40% of the solid mass that makes up our landfills is paper and paperboard waste.
   
• By the year 2010, it is predicted to make up about 48%.
   
• 100 million trees are ground up each year to produce junk mail.
   
• Lists of names and addresses used in bulk mailings are in mass data-collection networks, compiled from phone books, warranty cards, and charity donations (to name a few).
   
• Your name is typically worth 3 to 20 cents each time it is sold.

OPT OUT! Get your name off the credit card and insurance offer lists by going to the credit bureaus' centralized service for opting out.
Also sign on to the Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Service (for a measly $1 fee), which should, in theory, reduce your junk mail by 75%.
Check out Native Forest Network's Guide to Stopping Junk Mail for even more you can do!

2. Switch Your Light Bulbs to Energy-Saving Compact Fluorescent Bulbs: Hundreds of thousands of pounds of atmospheric carbon dioxide have been prevented by consumers who have switched to these amazing bulbs. Though the initial purchase price is somewhat higher, there is actually quite a substantial savings over the lifetime of these bulbs. Check out the Environmental Defense's Guide to Finding an Energy-Efficient Bulb, a wonderful site which will help you choose the correct bulbs for each fixture and tell you where to buy them.

3. Compost Your Kitchen and Yard Waste: Whether you live in an urban environment with limited space, or a rural area with unlimited composting area available, there is a composting system that will work for you.  The benefits are many! Composting reduces the amount of garbage you create (fewer trips to the dumpster!), reduces smelliness in your trash can (thanks to less organic waste decomposing in there), and rewards you with nutrient-rich soil for planting flowers, veggies, or whatever you like.  Check out The Compost Guide for tons of information, as well as a variety of compost systems for sale.

4. Buy "Green" Alternatives for the Products You Use Most: If you can't afford to switch to green products (which tend to be a bit more expensive), then start with the things you use most. Doing this really makes a positive impact because you buy so much of that product. For example, my husband goes through a 12oz. bag of coffee each week. Because of the large amount of coffee I had to purchase, I was buying it at Costco to save money. But when I stopped to think about the other costs - the costs of destructive coffee-growing practices that destroy local ecosystems and suppress the local economy by not paying fair wages- I realized we needed to make a change. We now purchase organic, fair-trade coffee from Thanksgiving Coffee. The brand we drink, Mirembe Kawomera, is from an amazing and wonderful Ugandan cooperative and has 558 family farmers working together! It truly is "coffee with a face".  And it's delicious! Yes, we are paying more than double what we were paying before, but to fit it  in our budget, I categorize it partly as a food expense, and partly as a charitable contribution. Check out Thanksgiving Coffee at www.thanksgivingcoffee.com.

5. Stop Using Disposable Plastic Bottles: According to a 2001 report of the World Wide Fund for Nature, roughly 1.5 million tons of plastic are expended in the bottling of 89 billion liters of water each year. Add in the energy required to produce and ship all that plastic, and the sheer non-biodegradable waste that is left over even after a percentage of those bottles are recycled, and we are talking about a major environmental strain.  Much of this production is for bottled water. Unfortunately many people live in areas where tap water is not an acceptable, or even healthy, alternative.  Some of the best options for reducing bottled water consumption include drinking filtered water and using a reusable water bottle (preferably a stainless steel one), Though it seems impossible for some people to completely eliminate plastic bottles from their lifestyles, just being conscious of the issue and reducing their use has major effects. When you are leaving the house, consider filling a reusable bottle with filtered water and ice and taking it along- the savings can really add up, too! (If you spend $1.29 each work day on a bottle of water, that would be $25.80 each month!) Read "The Truth About Bottled Water" for some eye-opening facts as well-  bottled water is not always all it's believed to be.

6. Save the Harsh Cleaners and Detergents for the Really Tough Jobs- When I started switching to all-natural, phosphate- and bleach-free cleaners, my friends kept asking, "But do they work as well as my cleaner?"  I have carefully worded my answers to these questions, because the truth is that many cleaners today are so powerful (and toxic) that they can kill mold and mildew on contact, and even without scrubbing! Stop and think about what they will also do to the delicate membranes of your skin, eyes, and nose, and what they will do to all of the microorganisms living in the aquatic ecosystems into which they will eventually drain. These modern cleaners raise significant health and environmental concerns. Heavy marketing campaigns have convinced consumers that they are surrounded by so many "germs" that they need these strong cleaners, and that is simply not the case. Many natural cleaners today work wonderfully and are very effective at the day-to-day cleaning jobs. When I have an extremely difficult stain to remove, I do pull out the Shout.  If I have neglected my shower and start to get mold and mildew build-up, I may use the Tilex- but this happens only 2 or 3 times a year, not every day. Our lives are not so filled with bacteria and germs that we need to spray our homes with toxic anti-bacterial chemicals daily- we are actually doing more harm than good, both to ourselves and to the environment. Save those tough cleaners for the tough jobs. Check out Seventh Generation's informative website for more about toxins and their harmful effects.

7. Use Baking Soda- The Miracle Cleaner!  Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate, is an incredibly safe, powerful, and naturally-occurring substance.  You can actually eat it (it's an ingredient in many baking recipes), so how much safer could you get? And it's quite cheap! I buy baking soda in the large 12 lb. bag, and use it all around the house, from laundry to household cleaning to deodorizing my garbage disposal. There are dozens (if not hundreds) of uses for baking soda, some that you may know, and others that will surprise you. Check out Arm and Hammer's Tour Our House page for tons of useful ways to use this handy product.