Five Easy Ways to Live Green

"Going Green" is the talk of the town these days. Everywhere you see it - companies advertising eco-friendly products processes on television, billboards, even the reusable grocery bags that most grocery stores are selling now. While the increased publicity for the green movement is good, there is a chance that the simple things that we can all do are getting overlooked in all the hoopla. Doing things that are beneficial for the environment is not hard and doesn't take a lot of time or money. You simply have to develop a habit of doing everyday things a little differently. Here's a couple of ideas for things that everyone can do very easily:

1. Mow your lawn with a reel mower.

Alright, so this might be the most difficult of my suggestions, but it's still not that hard for those of us with smallish yards. The added benefit is the physical workout you'll get while you mow the yard. Reel mowers are better for your grass and you'll notice that after using a reel mower for a while your grass will need less water and attention to stay healthy. An added benefit is that reel mowers are much safer than gas powered mowers, meaning you can get your kids out there mowing the yard at an earlier age!

2. Switch to Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

Okay, now we're getting to the things that you can realistically do today. In fact, this is one of the best things that we can all do. If every household were to replace 3 60-watt incadescent light bulbs with 3 CLF light bulbs, we would conserve the amount of energy equivalent to that required to power 3.5 million cars.

3. Use Reusable Shopping Bags

Many stores offer inexpensive reusable shopping bags and if you want something nicer and pretty, you can find a huge variety of reusable bags online. Using reusable shopping bags is no different that using the disposable bags that they provide at stores, so long as you can remember to bring your bags. This takes maybe one or two times of forgetting them before you'll never leave home for the store without them. Reusable bags help to keep harmful paper and plastic bags out of our landfills and help to prevent litter (thus saving city governments tax dollars to clean up).

4. Begin using organic cleaning products.

Women that spend their entire day at home have a lower life expectancy than women who work away from home every day. Why? Some people suggest that increased exposure to household cleaners is to blame. Besides being unhealthy for humans, these cleaners can be harmful to the environment. On the other hand, there are a lot of organic/biodegradable/natural cleaning products available. They do a great job of cleaning (just as good as the harsh chemicals), are better for your health, and can help our environment.

5. Buy locally grown food

Many grocery stores these days are beginning to carry locally grown product and meat products. Purchasing these products is great for your local economy but also helps our planet. Purchasing goods that are grown locally means that you prevent the pollution generated when goods that are produced farther away are transported to your local store. Additionally, many of the locally grown foods are also organic, meaning you're able to bring home food that is free from chemicals, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and any number of other things. The food is fresher and tastes better, the environment benefits, and your family gets healhier food - a win/win/win situation.

Things like buying energy efficient lightbulbs, locally grown foods and organic cleaning products, and using reusable shopping bags and a reel mower are all relatively easy steps that we can all take to live a greener life. Making a postive impact on our environment isn't that hard, and hopefully you now have some ideas to get started. Check out some eco friendly product reviews to learn about customer experiences with a variety of green products.