Did you know that all the energy and water you use in your home is LESS THAN A QUARTER of the total energy and water you consume? So no matter how many light globes you replace or how short a shower you take, you can only make a small dent in your family's environmental footprint.

Where you can make a real difference is when you go shopping!

For one thing, every time you see a tin of tomatoes from Italy or a packet of bacon from Denmark on the supermarket shelf, it has taken gallons of aircraft fuel or ship’s diesel to put it there. You may feel virtuous because you save a little gas you save by cycling to work instead of driving, but it's a drop in the ocean compared to the amount of fuel you consume every time you buy imported products!

If we all favour products made in our own country, supermarkets wouldn’t have to import so much from overseas – resulting in fewer aircraft and boat trips, and thereby saving more fuel than you could ever hope to yourself!

Sure, sometimes the imported product is cheaper – but which would you rather save, a few pennies or the planet?

Packaging is another area where we can make huge savings. It takes energy and water to make packaging, and even if it’s recyclable, it will take energy to break it down and make it into something else. Sometimes, we need to do a reality check, because there are some forms of packaging we take for granted, which aren’t necessary at all.

Take liquid soap, for instance. Remember the days when we used to buy solid soap? Now, every time we buy soap, we have to buy it in a plastic container instead of a paper wrapper. Think of how much plastic would be saved if we all went back to good old-fashioned soap (by the way, it's usually cheaper, too!).

Same goes for bottled water. Each year, 1.5 million tonnes of plastic is used to make bottles for water, most of it in countries where safe water is freely available on tap. And what's more, it's quite likely the bottled water you THINK is spring water, isn't. Even Coca Cola has been caught putting plain old tap water in its bottled water! Install a water filter at your sink and you'll not only make a huge contribution to saving the environment, you'll save a lot of money, too. For more information, read this article on bottled water.

And finally, we need to consider how we transport the products ourselves. Could you do your shopping a little at a time (perhaps on your way home from work or in your lunch break?). Ask yourself whether you’re really saving money by making a weekly expedition to a big supermarket – remembering the cost of petrol to get you there.

Take your own bags when shopping. Don’t think you are doing the right thing by accepting paper bags instead of plastic ones – trees died to make those bags! Even cotton bags are questionable, because cotton is such a water-hungry crop which needs lots of pesticides. If you can find a hemp bag, that’s the best option.

Personally, I love my Ecosilk bags – they are synthetic, but they’re very strong so they take a big load of shopping, fold down to nothing so I can always have one handy, and they come in such fabulous colours that I positively enjoy using them – which means I’m less likely to forget them when I go shopping!

These hints apply to everything you buy, not just in the supermarket. Clothes, appliances, furniture – it all takes energy to make and energy to transport. So you see, the most effective way of going green is to Think Before You Buy;. Every time you shop, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do I really need this item at all?

2. Is there another version of this product, with less packaging?

3. Where was it made? If it's from overseas, can I find a local equivalent?

Networking with friends to swap unwanted items can be a great way to get what you need - while getting rid of the things you don't want. Perhaps you could organise a neighbourhood car boot or garage sale, where you all sell your unwanted items. For every recycled item you get out of the closet and put back into circulation, there's a person out there who won't need to buy the new equivalent.

eBay is another good way of putting your unwanted clutter to good use. As well as knowing that you've contributed to saving the environment, you'll make a few pennies into the bargain!

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All text copyright Marisa Wright. Photo courtesy of Ecosilk Bags.