All of us celebrate something at least a few times a year with holidays, birthdays, and other celebrations. Often, these celebrations, especially the elaborate ones, end up with a lot of disposable waste that is not very environmentally friendly.

Green living can take a bit of creative thinking on your part, especially when putting together a party atmosphere but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. In fact, after you’ve done one or two celebrations with more eco-friendly items, you begin to enjoy thinking of fun ways to add more to the mix.

Here are a few suggestions that will help you celebrate the green living way:

• Crafty decorations
  For those of you who are crafty, you can make your decorations and not only save money, but save on plastic packaging that it comes in fro the store. Plus it’ll be fun and you can include the kids!
• Shred your costs
  Instead of buying tissue paper (the price is way too high for that stuff anyway!), why not just use paper that needed to be shredded in the office anyway?
• Decorate with recyclables
  Instead of wrapping paper for gifts, why not creatively use old magazines or have the kids color on a cardboard box? You’d be surprised how much people appreciate the personalized effort.
• Donate to charity
  There’s nothing as great as giving a donation to a person’s favorite charity in their name. You’re helping someone else in need, and saving the planet by not buying packaging materials as well.
• Reusable containers
  When you send your friends home with goodies and leftovers from the party, be sure to use reusable containers so that you’re not adding more disposable waste to the landfills.
• Potluck party
  Why not have everyone bring something to eat/drink to the party. They can all bring something in their own dishware and they’ll be taking their own dishes home. Not only is this idea eco-friendly, but it saves you from cleaning up a lot of mess.

Many people unfortunately still have the perception that saving the planet is something separate than doing something to help ourselves. When you do something to help the environment, you are also helping all of us who live on it since without a healthy planet, we would not survive.

So, even if you can’t wrap your head around that concept yet, there are ways you can “go green” and give back while being kind to the environment at the same time. Giving away stuff that you no longer need to charity is a perfect way to keep more trash out of landfills and do some good for people who are in need.

Here are a few examples to get you started:

• Clothing
  Unfortunately, your favorite clothes don’t last forever, but the good thing is that there are tons of people in the world who would greatly appreciate your hand-me-downs. Donate your old clothing and help keep fellow human beings warm. You also help the planet by not adding to the trash and reusing items.
• Books and magazines
  Your local library will absolutely love you if you cart over all those old books and magazines that you no longer need.  Depending on the topics, your schools or churches might be able to use them as well. Getting rid of all those can usually free up a lot of space in your house or garage too!
• Computers, Phones, Furniture, etc.
  Even if you have stuff that needs some “fixin’”, there are charities that accept old, beaten down stuff that they can fix up and give to people who can’t afford items that they need in their home.

Giving to charity is a great feeling, and not only do you help other people and save the environment from unnecessary trash, you set a great example for your children. You can even make it a fun family affair and get your kids involved and teach them the value in helping others and protecting the planet.

Did you know you could be polluting the inside of your home without even realizing it? Many of the cleaning products that we typically use can actually be quite harmful, and are dangerous especially for young children. It’s a common misconception that we need to have that “bleach in the back of your throat” smell in order to be sure that the surface is clean enough. This couldn’t be further from the truth. You can choose environmentally friendly products that clean your house just as well without the abundance of harmful chemicals.

So, what are eco-friendly cleaning products?

It’s likely that you’ve seen ads on television, on the Internet, or in the grocery store that are promoting organic or often nicknamed “green” products. Simply put, these products are approved by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)and their guidelines that say that they are safe for the environment. If they are safe for the planet’s soil, then you can bet that they are a lot safer in our home compared to the chemicals that the others are made up of.

The biggest  difference is that without those chemicals present, they won’t be getting  into the soil, into our drinking water, and affecting the health of both humans and animals.

Switching to eco-friendly cleaning products

The first thing you’re going to do when making the transition to green cleaning products is to read the labels. The majority of big brands have come out with their own lines of products that are easier on both humans and the planet’s environment.

What you can also do to save even more money is create your own cleaning solutions, like people did before all the chemicals were available in a bottle. The great thing is, you probably have most of the ingredients you need in your home already.

You will need a spray bottle and water as a base solution. So, for instance, you can use vinegar mixed with water to clean floors, tile, and windows.

Did you know that a little vinegar and baking soda can be used in combination to unclog drains? You don’t need to buy that stuff that is dangerous to touch in order to get the job done.

There are several ways of cleaning without buying chemicals. However, if you have small children around, be ure to keep any cleaning products you have safe out of their reach, regardless of how eco-friendly the cleaning products are.

When you first consider the idea of reducing the amount of items that you throw away on a weekly basis, you might wonder how that could be done without having piles of garbage mounting in your garage or backyard. That doesn’t have to happen, but a change of thinking and being conscious of what we use daily is a necessity.

We have created so many products that make our life easier, but unfortunately, many of those things are not eco-friendly and are destroying the planet at a rapid pace.

Our homes usually have regularly stocked items like  paper towels, disposable water bottles, batteries, Styrofoam cups, etc. However, these disposable products end up in landfills and stay there for years. The pile just getting bigger and bigger because that stuff does not decompose.

The solution to that is not to stop throwing it away, but to actually stop using it and switch to reusable products instead. Buying reusable items at the grocery store saves you money and drastically reduces the amount of trash your home provides on a regular basis.

Here are a few items you may use often that can be switched to reusable items.

• Silverware
  Ok, there’s a slight downside to having to clean up and wash dishes, but did you know that using an automatic dishwasher actually uses less water than doing the dishes by hand in the sink? Plus, it’s plastic forks and spoons are really bad for the environment and are totally unnecessary.
  
• Cut back on paper towel
  Instead of throwing your old cloth towels into the trash when they start to look raggedy, why  not just add them to the cleaning pile instead? Simply wash them to reuse them over and over again while saving money and reducing trash at the same time.
• One water bottle
  Simply buy one reusable/refillable water bottle and drastically cut back on your grocery bill by not drinking out of plastic water bottles anymore.

With the current economic crisis coupled with rising costs of utilities, there’s never been a better time to cut down on monthly costs. Creating an energy efficient home will not only help to save you money every month, but it will also help the environment a great deal.

When you use less energy, it benefits everyone by cutting back on pollution which is something that everyone can agree is a bad thing.

The common reason that most people don’t tighten up their home energy expenses is that they simply don’t know where to begin.

Did you know that your local power company usually will provide you a free inspection for your home that will advise you on what you can do with your specific house to save energy and cut costs? Give them a call and take them up on it.

Here are a few simple ways that you can get started creating an energy efficient home.

• Make a list
  Take note of things you do around the house that use energy inefficiently. For instance, do you often leave the water running while cleaning up, washing the dishes. How often do you leave the lights or television on when they’re not needed. Believe it or not, cutting back on those simple things daily can save a lot of energy and money annually.
• Seal it up
  First, check all of your windows and doors for drafts. Does your seal need replacing? Also, if you have an older house, you may only have a single pane window. Replacing with double pane or triple pane can make a huge difference in the long run.
• Turn it off
  This seems like such a simple tip, but we’re all guilty of leaving lights, TV, computer, appliances, and other items on for long periods of time when not in use. Get into the habit of always turning the power off on those things and you will be saving a lot of energy. Start by sticking up a note to remind you first.
• Clean vents and filters
  Vent fans, like the one in your bathroom, can get clogged up easily with dust. be sure to clean out vents and change the filters in the AC, furnace, etc. Otherwise they are working overtime and using extra energy for no reason.

Have you ever encountered a property that had such a vibrant flower garden that it stopped you in your tracks for a minute? Maybe a neighbor on your block has a vegetable garden that grows some of the most delicious looking vegetables that you’ve seen in a home garden? Well, it’s likely that the gardeners are passionate about what they’re doing, but it’s also a sure bet they have extremely healthy soil that is helping them out. How can you get that type of soil? Easy! It just takes a little composting know-how.

Composting isn’t difficult, and it’s one of the best green family ideas you can get started on because everyone can chip in and it benefits both you and the environment for an ultimate win-win situation.

How Composting Helps The Environment

Humans waste a ridiculous amount of food. When you create a compost, you reduce the amount of trash being dumped into landfills hat are already way too full.  Instead of throwing the table scraps into the garbage heap, you give nutrients back to the soil which in turn will give nourishment to whatever it is you’re growing.

How To Start Composting

The first thing you’re going to have to do is decide on a place for your compost pile. This can either be in a bin that sits in a corner of your yard, or if you have an area that it inconspicuous, you can simply pile it on the ground. It will decompose all on it’s own.

Once you’ve decided on where the compost pile will go, you have to “start piling”. However, it is important to know what goes into a compost pile. The most common reason that people run into trouble is because the they added the wrong items.

Basically, there are two types of materials that are great for composting. First, you have wood products which can include wood chips, straw and leaves that will create space throughout the pile that allows air to circulate throughout the pile.

Second, there is food and grass material. Fruits, vegetables, grass, and coffee grounds all fit well into a compost as these provide moisture for the bacteria to survive and digest.

You can also regularly turn the compost (using a rake or hoe) to be sure it’s getting air and decomposing properly. The compost is ready when it has turned a dark brown color and you do not recognize any of the materials that were added.

Now you can use the what’s left over to grow an amazing lawn and/or garden and you helped reduce the size of your local landfills!