Who said "it's not easy being green?"

More than ever before, we are presented with opportunities to make eco-friendly changes in our lifestyles, and for good reason! These smart decisions can not only help the planet, they will benefit our families, our health, and our wallets - so it's really a win-win situation! If you want to start doing your part, but don't know where to start, you've come to the right place.

Simple Things You Can Do Everyday........
Discover small changes you can make to your daily routine that will have a big impact on your environmental footprint.

Take Charge Now: What You Can Do Today
Small changes you can make to your daily routine can make a big difference over time.

So you'd like to live a greener lifestyle but are not sure where to start? Let's take a walk through your day from dawn to dusk. Here are some little changes that will add up at the end of the day and make a big difference to your ecological footprint.

Begin your day with a shower - preferably with an efficient shower head that will reduce the amount of water flow. "Hey, I like my hot shower," I hear you saying. Relax, these new shower heads are designed to give you a more concentrated spray with less water. You'll likely never miss all that water that's going to waste. When I find myself wanting to take a shower that is a bit on the long side, I remember travelling to various places in the world where people are drinking and cooking with water that I wouldn't use to wash my dog...that works pretty well to remind me that I am showering away excellent drinking water! 

For your morning coffee or tea only fill the kettle with as much water as you need. If everyone just filled the kettle with enough water to make their tea instead of heating a full kettle we would be saving a lot of electricity. Let's save electricity for heating homes not kettles.....and unplug those appliances-even when not in use, an appliance that is plugged in can push down the green level of your home by continuing to consume energy.

For breakfast have a delicious treat with ingredients that are grown locally as much as possible. Have toast made from bread from local bakeries. If you're having yoghurt or granola, buy dairy products and berries produced in your region.  Aim for products that are grown or produced within 100 miles from you. Many of the foods in your daily diet have travelled a long way to get to you. Along the way, they've used up a ton of resources for transportation and refrigeration.

After breakfast you'll likely be brushing your teeth.  Turn the tap on and off as you need it instead of leaving it on. If you leave the water running you'll be pouring that lovely drinking water down the drain. Like the tea kettle this is one of those little things that adds up to a big waste of water. Our water resources are precious and many regions not too far from us have been experiencing drought. Turning the tap on and off is one little way that you'll be conserving our precious water.

Getting to work ...Soon you'll be commuting to work and how will you get there? You could jump in the car. If you do, why not have some company. By joining or forming a carpool you can make new friends and share the ever increasing cost of gas. You could also jump on the bus, the train, or bike or walk to work if you're not too far. Check out our transportation section for your commuting options.

Bring a mug to work instead of using paper cups from the water cooler. Over a year, that's a lot of paper you'll conserve.

At lunchtime if you're buying lunch, bring along your own bag to put your sandwich in. Think how much packaging you'll do without in a year.  You may also want to look for companies that provide biodegradable packaging. Don't laugh, it's true. Capers, for example, provides their tasty treats in biodegradable plastic containers made from corn.

If you've made your sandwich and wrapped it in foil, remember you can wash and reuse the foil. You don't need to use a new piece every day.

At the end of the work day turn off your computer and monitor instead of just logging off. And how about the printer? Turn it off too. Switching off non-essential equipment in our offices overnight is an easy way to save a great deal of electricity.

At Dinnertime again aim to buy food that is grown locally. Local produce will likely taste better and contain more nutrients because it's fresher and has not been shipped from hundreds of miles away.

After dinner, wash the dishes with an environmentally friendly detergent. There are many natural cleaners that will cut through the toughest dirt and grime and leave your dishes sparkling clean. You'll feel better knowing that you not polluting your home and planet with toxic chemicals. Remember what you put down your drain often ends up in local waterways.

You may think that washing your dishes by hand will save on water, but it's not likely so. Energy efficient dishwashers can do as good a job with much less water. They will use electricity, so only put them on when you have a full load.

At bedtime make sure you turn all the lights off and as mentioned above in the before leaving for work section, unplug any appliances that you aren't using. Leaving unnecessary lights on and appliances plugged in is one of the most common, silent wastes of electricity.

So there you have it. With little actions like these, you can make a big difference to the planet, and you don't even have to wash the dishes. Being environmentally conscious is not about taking on more work, it's about working and living smarter.

If you have ideas to contribute to this page or others, please contact us.