Go Green Your Way

You need to write the book on how to go green. Write it for yourself. Do that by assessing your daily routine and looking for ways to be a more efficient consumer. Going green saves money and gives you tiny carbon feet, but if you are not sure exactly why you are going green, you'll go green for a season then quit. So figure out your biggest motivator for going green and use that to help you define ways to change your ways.

What's Your Green Agenda?

If you don't believe in global warming or that we humans need to worry about endangered Bumblebee Bats in Thailand, then going green to save the planet won't motivate you to sort plastic bottles into recycling bins. If you do want to save the planet, you still might not sort bottles to save Bumblebee Bats. Strive for a specific goal such as decreasing the amount of waste that enters the landfills. You'll know to recycle, reduce and reuse. You'll think twice about putting an old table by the curb when you can just refinish it. If you want to reduce your household budget by 30%, you might reduce your energy consumption. You could refurbish old things to save money on household items.

How Can You Go Green?

Where do you shop? How often do you eat out? How often do you purchase things, and how often is your trash completely full? Before you'd go on a weight loss diet, you'd weigh yourself. If you wanted to create a financial budget, you'd track your income and your expenses. You have to do the same for going green. If you skip this step, you might listen to some random advice about how you can minimize trash by making recycled art, or how you can decorate your home with found trash. Those green hobbies are an ideal fit for some people (usually artists), but they might not be a good fit for you.

Ignore the Guilt Trips

Your income level, geographic location and your family status can affect the ways in which you choose to go green. So, don't feel guilty if you don't drive a hybrid car or you don't walk to work. Some folks would have to walk 20 miles to work if they walked, and if you're making $14,000 a year, it is unlikely that you will get a hybrid anytime soon. Determine how you can be more green by being observant of the wastefulness in your life. If you open a kitchen pantry door and meet an avalanche of plastic shopping baggies, consider using reusable shopping bags.