From: Kate Harrison, CEO of Greenweddingprofessionals.com Offers Tips for kick- starting a green lifestyle.

First of all, it may surprise you about recycling rates. In fact, the EPA estimates that only 5 percent of plastic and 22 percent of glass in this country actually gets recycled. According to Do Something (dosomething.org), an organization that educates youth about the benefits of conservation. That’s because for every ton of paper that is recycled, we save 17 trees. As well as 380 gallons of oil, 4,000 kilowatt hours of electricity, 7,000 gallons of cold water. In addition, 60 pounds of air pollution from being released into the environment. We also save 3 cubic yards of landfill space.

You can easily conserve resources in your everyday life just by making a few small changes in and around your home.

Here are some other ways to green your day-to-day duties:

Grocery Shopping– Green your trash bags: It is so easy and inexpensive to get trash bags made from recycled or biodegradable material these days that there is little excuse not to use them. You can buy a roll at most supermarkets or online from Kokopelli’s Green Market (kokogm.com). Bring your own reusable tote to the grocery store with you. Leave a few totes in the trunk of your car or stash them away in your purse for unexpected trips.

Skip the Suds-Try a green detergent such as 7th Generation which comes in a recycled cardboard bottle. Furthermore, you can also use a detergent designed for cold water. Thereby using cold water for each wash load saves energy. It’s also good for the earth which also saves money. Thereby it is great for your wallet. Finally, cold water detergents are formulated to fight dirt and stains. Because it works just as well as their warm water counterparts.

Use a dishwasher instead of washing plates by hand. Buy an Energy Star Rated washer, only run it when it is full and skip the pre-rinse cycle.

In addition, use HE (High Efficiency) detergent. So front-loading clothes washers are designed to use High Efficiency detergent. Using regular detergent creates too many suds. Suds which will as well affect the machine’s washing and rinsing performance. Over time, therefore it can lead to odors and mechanical problems. Therefore please use bleach in it once in a while to keep it clean!

Choose Non-Toxic Cleaning Products:

First of all, for every commercial and chemical based product on the market, there is probably a greener alternative. More importantly a homemade substitution!

Baking Soda: This is great for cleaning, deodorizing, softening water and scouring dishes.
Soap: Unscented soap in liquid, flake or powder form is biodegradable and will clean just about anything.
Lemon: A strong food acid effective against most household bacteria.
Borax: Cleans, deodorizes, disinfects, softens water, cleans wallpaper, painted walls and floors
White Vinegar: Cuts grease, removes mildew, odors, some stains and wax build-up.
Washing Soda: Cuts grease, removes stains, softens water, cleans walls, tiles, sinks and tubs.
Cornstarch: Can be used to clean windows, polish furniture, shampoo carpets and rugs.
Citrus Solvent: Cleans paintbrushes, oil and grease and some stains.

Green Your Pet-The carbon emissions emitted from the production and transportation of your pet’s food can be quite high. So to offset this therefore look for healthy food alternatives. While organic pet food may cost a bit more, it is made with renewable resources. As a result, no pesticides or environmentally unfriendly fertilizers. Whether it comes in bottles, bags or cans therefore, chances are that your pet’s food containers can be recycled.

In conclusion, scooping poop is no fun for anyone. However you can make it more environmentally friendly. Consequently by using biodegradable bags. Finally, these are now available at most pet stores. As a result, this is an excellent alternative to using plastic bags. All which are nearly impossible to decompose.

Source: GreenBrideGuide.com