1. Recycle everything you can: newspapers, cans, glass, aluminum foil and pans, motor oil, scrap metal etc.
2. Investigate local recycling centers that take items your garbage hauler doesn't (scrap paper, plastics, appliances, etc.).
3. Save your kitchen scraps for the compost pile.
4. Try to use phosphate-free laundry and dish soaps.
5. Avoid the use of household pesticides. Fly swatters work very well.
6. Clean your windows with vinegar and water instead of
chemical products.
7. Use cold water in the washer unless it's necessary to use
warm or hot
8. Use washable rags, not paper towels, for cleaning up spills and other household chores.
9. Crumpled-up newspapers are great for washing windows.
10. Use cloth diapers. The plastic in disposable diapers doesn't break down in landfills.
11. Use cloth, not paper, napkins.
12. Don't put hazardous substances down your drain or in your trash (paint thinner, furniture polish, etc.). Dispose of them on designated hazardous waste collection days.
13. Don't use electrical appliances for things you can
easily do by hand.
14. Re-use brown paper bags and grocery plastic bags (recyclable)
to line your trash can or waste basket. Re-use bread bags,
butter tubs, etc.
15. Use re-usable containers to store foods:not plastic wraps and foil.
16. Write to companies that send unwanted junk mail:ask them to take you off their list.
17. Save your coat hangers and return them to the cleaners.
18. Take unwanted, re-usable items to a charitable organization or thrift shop.
19. Don't leave water running needlessly.
20. Install a water saving shower head.
21. Set your water heater at 130 degrees.
22. Have your water heater insulated free of
charge by your utility company.
23. Turn the heat down and wear a sweater.
24. Lower your house temperature by one degree per hour for every hour you'll be away or asleep.
25. Turn the lights off when you're out of the room.
Ditto with the TV.
26. Get a free energy audit from your utility company.
27. Burn only seasoned wood in your wood stove or fireplace.
28. Start a compost pile.
29. Plant shrubs and trees in your backyard that provide food and shelter for birds and other creatures.
30. Feed the birds.
31. Put up bird houses and baths.
32. Pull weeds instead of using herbicides.
33. Learn about natural insect controls as alternatives to pesticides.
34. Landscape with plants that aren't prone to insect
and fungus problems.
35. Ignore caterpillars and most native leaf chewing insects. Let birds and insect predators take care of them.
36. Use beer traps for slugs instead of baiting with poisons.
37. Use organic fertilizers:good ol' manure helps condition your soil and fertilizes at the same time.
38. If you use pesticides, herbicides or fungicides, don't throw leftovers in trash, down your drain or into a storm sewer. Dispose of them on a hazardous waste collection day.
39. Compost your leaves and yard debris or take them to a yard debris recycler. Burning them creates air pollution and putting them out with the trash is a waste of landfill space.
40. Use mulch to conserve water in your garden.
41. Plant things that don't require so much water.
42. Take extra plastic and rubber pots back to the nursery.
43. Large expanses of lawn are not good habitat for other creatures, plus they usually must be
maintained with chemicals and extensive watering. Dig up some of your grass and plant
native shrubs or trees instead.
44. Plant short, dense shrubs close to your home's foundation to help insulate against cold.
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