22 Ways to Be "Green"

Most of us are concerned about global warming and would like to help protect the environment, but we're just not sure where to start. Here are 22 things you can do today that will make a difference. You'd be surprised how easy some of them are.

Water Conservation

1.    Get a rain barrel. Collect water that falls from the sky and use it to water your yard or garden, says Serenbe Farms manager Paige Witherington. You can find large plastic rain barrels at most home improvement stores.

2.    Wash dishes at once. Instead of washing dishes one at a time and rinsing as you go, Witherington suggests filling your sink with hot water and soap, washing all the dishes and then rinsing them.

3.    Save water. When you're waiting for the shower to get warm, collect the cold water in a bucket and use it in the yard or to water houseplants. Also, take shorter showers and showers instead of baths. "Most of all," says Witherington, "be aware of water use - when it's on, when you could turn it off - it all makes a difference."

Organic Eating… without breaking the bank

4.    Join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program - this is, in essence, joining a farm. Families financially commit to a farm, which helps with material and production costs, and, in turn, reap the benefits of fresh produce. "At Serenbe, members pay $650 up front for the year," says Witherington. That comes out to about $22 a week [650/52=12.50], but you receive about $35 worth of produce each week - plus, it's fresh and doesn't use tons of energy being processed. Just remember that produce isn't always available some times of the year.

5.    Haggle. Go to the farmers' market toward the end of the day; often you can get good deals on what's left, says Witherington. And, if you're in the market for large quantities of certain items, you can almost always get a bargain.

6.    Grow at home. "It seems pretty obvious, but grow your own food," says Witherington. "A lot of plants are very forgiving and don't take tons of work or room to thrive."

Giving Back

7.    Recyle. It's probably the easiest thing you can do, and it really makes a difference. "The energy you save from recycling one plastic bottle will run your TV for three hours - saying it like that makes people see things in a different way," says Laura Turner Seydel, founder of the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper organization. "If there's no recycling at a venue, bring home your trash and recycle it."

8.    Compost. "It's not as yucky and stinky as people think," says Witherington. "And it's easy." Here are some do's and don'ts: DON'T use meat, cheese or cooked veggies in your compost. DO use raw veggie scraps, eggshells, coffee grinds and yard clippings. DO cover it with shredded newspaper or cardboard. It's ready when the pile becomes a rich, dark earth. "Depending on the weather, it can take between one and eight months to be ready to use as fertilizer," says Witherington.

9.    Compost alternative. If you aren't into playing with your trash, buy an in-home worm bin. The little critters will eat all of your leftovers and quickly turn them into compost. There is no stench and no waste. Starting around $67, these compost factories are great for the "in-town" crew. You can find them at sites like www.happydranch.com.

10.   Donate unwanted items. Just because you don't want it anymore, doesn't mean it's trash. The less trash we create, the better off the environment will be. Freecycle.org is an easy and convenient way to recycle household goods to neighbors who can use the items.

11.   Adopt and beautify a local park or roadside. This is a great way to get active while helping the community and the Earth.

Outdoors

12.   Plant for pollinators. Make sure there's water and natural food sources in your back yard and reduce the amount of chemicals in your yard. "The major source of pollution in the Chattahoochee River is runoff from people's lawns," explains Seydel. "It kills fish, aquatic plants, etc."

At Home

13.   Turn off lights when you aren't using them. "Even if you're coming back into that room in 10 minutes, turn the lights off," says Serenbe co-founder Marie Nygren, mother of three girls. "My middle daughter jokes that she grew up in a cave, but we have always been energy-conscious."

14.   Reduce hot water use. Wash your clothes in cold or warm water and save up to 500 pounds of carbon dioxide each year, recommends Whole Foods Market. Rinse your dishes with cold water (they don't need two hot baths), and wait to run the dishwasher until it is full.

15.   Get rid of your garbage disposal. "It's bad for water systems and wastes food," explains Nygren.

Miscellaneous

16.   Homework help. There are a few things you can incorporate into the dreaded homework routine that will actually help the environment. Enforce the 20-Minute Rule - once homework has been completed, turn off the computer within 20 minutes. You can program your computer to do this automatically; it'll save energy and money. Also, print on both sides of the paper and recycle assignments you don't need to keep. Ask your child's teacher to send notices, etc., to you via e-mail to cut down on paper use.

17.   Carpool to work and school as much as possible, and run all of your errands in one trip. This will save gas, money and create less air pollution. Use public transportation when available.

18.   Avoid products with a lot of packaging, suggests Whole Foods Market. You can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide a year if you reduce your garbage by 10 percent.

19.   Plant a Christmas tree and decorate it with natural ornaments and LED lights. You'll be saving trees every year.

20.   Using Earth-friendly cleaning products. "If you don't want to pay the premium for the products, use a baking soda and vinegar mixture," says Seydel. "You have to limit exposure to chemicals."

21.   Buy clothes with all-natural fibers.

22.   Take your own bags to the store. If you average 4 bags per trip to the store, you'll be saving the environment about 208 bags a year, and that's if you only go to the store once a week. Or reuse your bags. According to Whole Foods Market, more than 1 billion single-use plastic bags are handed to consumers each day, and it takes one 15-year-old tree to produce 700 paper bags.

For more tips, visit www.keepgeorgiabeautiful.org, www.southface.org, www.nature.org, or www.gaconservancy.org.