Green Living: Budget Friendly Ways to Go Green

How would you feel about being a contributor to reducing emissions and boosting sustainability by simple everyday things you do? These actions may not seem like much, but they will certainly save you time, money and give you an overall rewarding feeling. Here are some easy ways to get started in green living:

Grow Your Own fruits, vegetables, nuts or herbs in the back of your yard, balcony or a community garden. Not only do you eat fresh food and benefit from the nutrients, but you save pollution on driving long distances to the grocery store. Living in an apartment and don't have space for a garden? Vegetables like squash, spinach, tomatoes and herbs do well in containers that can sit in window sills or on the balconies. To learn about plants that thrive in alternative space, this is a good website to visit: containergardeningtips.com. What if soil in your yard is not right for growing or maybe you don't have space left to grow anything? Not to worry, there is another alternative. Try finding a local community garden in your city by visiting: communitygarden.org. Short on time, or don't have an interest in a garden? You can still enjoy fresh tasting fruits and vegetables by buying from or joining a Community Supported Agriculture farm: localharvet.org. Not only will you be supporting the local farmers, but also the community as a whole.

Embrace the Sun, Go Solar. Converting sunlight into electricity using solar panels can be used to heat water, ovens and give clean energy into traffic signals and street lights. Solar water heaters can be used in any climate and might be able to be used for federal tax credits and rebates up to $2000. To get more information on going solar, please visit: solar-rating.org and www.eere.energy.gov/consumer.

(BYOB) Bring You Own Bag to the grocery store. Plastic bags cause the death of approximately 1 million birds and 100,000 marine animals. This is caused from choking and getting entangled in the plastic bags. 14 million trees in the United States have fallen to produce paper bags. You can help by bringing your own tote or buying one. October is cancer awareness month. Aveda is has a stylish bag that is available for purchase for a $5 donation. Some of the local grocery stores offer bags for sale that you can carry around in the store.

Try Ride Share. Think of how much emissions we put in the air to jump in the car and drive a couple of blocks to pick something up at the grocery store? We have access to green alternatives such as mass transit, walking, bicycling, light rails and car sharing. If we tried these alternatives, think of the savings on gas and the reduction of greenhouse gases? There are car sharing programs sprouting everywhere. These pay as you drive cars can be used for big shopping trips and vacations. Can't forgo a vehicle? Try car sharing: carsharing.net.