Shop organic - especially for produce, meat and dairy - and know that you and your family are consuming chemical-free foods.

Clean with all natural products - you’d be amazed what a little vinegar and baking soda can do!

Avoid plastic toys, food storage containers, and bottles to avoid harmful chemicals known as phalates that can cause reproductive problems. Instead choose wooden toys and glass food storage containers and bottles or look for labels that say BPA-free.

Use materials made from sustainable or renewable resources like bamboo or cork fooring, recycled glass and concrete countertops, and organic cotton linens.

Switch to low fow showerheads and faucets, or even invest in a dual-fush toilet to slash your water consumption and ensure that there will be enough fresh water for future generations.

Change out all incandescent light bulbs for CFL’s (compact ?uorescent lights). CFL’s use 30-75% less energy and last 8x-10x longer than incandescent bulbs.

Shut off the light! Your mom wasn’t just trying to lower her energy bill, she was trying to save the environment too! Put timers or sensors on your switches to make sure that energy isn’t wasted when it isn’t needed.

Shut off appliances at the source. Using power strips for TV’s, computers and other devices that run standby power will allow you to easily turn off the power at the source, signifcantly reducing your energy consumption.

Let the sun shine in! Open drapes and blinds and take advantage of the world’s best source of light, the sun- and it’s free!

Replace old appliances that are not energy efficient with those that are energy-star rated, and don’t put that old refrigerator in the garage!

Shop local! That means everything from food to cars. The less distance the product travels to get to you, the lower the carbon footprint.

Recycle! Most cities and towns have recycling programs for items from cardboard and paper, to plastic, glass and metal. It takes signi?cantly less energy to create products from recycled materials than from virgin materials, not to mention keeps more waste out of land?lls.

Reuse! Shopping for items, especially household items and clothing, at second hand or thrift stores gives new life to older items and eliminates the energy needed to produce a brand new product.

Drink from reusable bottles. Coffee cups and water bottles could take hundreds of years to decompose in a land?ll, so use ceramic or metal mugs and bottles to keep them out altogether.

Bag it! Bring reusable shopping bags to the market and store instead of using plastic grocery bags. Many of these plastic bags end up in oceans and can kill sea animals who ingest them thinking they are food.