We at EcoYourself.com put together 10 easy ways for our readers to become greener today, without spending a lot of time or money. Living green should not be a hassle, but a lifestyle.

EcoYourself.com’s 10 Easy Ways To Become Greener Today:

1. Reusable Shopping Bags are a great way to save on paper and plastic and are becoming quite trendy. Target Stores offer a red reusable shopping bag that folds up to fit into a pocket or purse for 99 cents. Amazon.com sells hundreds of different designs. Many supermarkets (Walmart, Stop & Shop, Shaws, Whole Foods, any many more) sell their own reusable insulated shopping bags to keep food at the right temperature. A quick search for reusable shopping bags on the internet will show dozens of internet sites getting in on this business. For recycled bags made from 100% waste, check out our blog article, Kudos to Terracycle!, to really make a statement. Keep these bags in your car for easy access at all times.
2. Household Cleaners don’t have to be toxic. All natural cleaners and hypo-allergenic cleaners are widely available in supermarkets. Eco-friendly multi-purpose cleaners, glass cleaners, laundry detergents, stain removers, carpet cleaners, and even pet waste bags can be found in almost any household cleaner department. Some of our favorite brands include Seventh Generation, Sun & Earth, and Green Works. The cleaning power is just as strong, but the scents they leave behind are fresh and natural! Check these websites often for coupons to use in stores or free samples!
3. Pay and Receive Your Bills Online. Making this change will save on paper and stamps, and will even help you to avoid late fees. Search your billing company’s website to see if they have an e-mail billing program. Some company’s and banks (Citizens Bank) even offer incentives for paying bills online. If you cannot receive your bills online, check your bank’s bill pay options to see if you can pay your bills through their website.
4. Plan Ahead and carry out your errands in one trip. The amount of gas spent going back and forth to do our errands can  be decreased if we plan ahead and map out our errands. So make a plan, put some money back into your pocket, and lower your carbon footprint.
5. Carpool with co-workers or locals who live or work in the same area with a similar schedule. Popular carpool sites include the following: iCarpool.com, rideshareoptimizer.com, and mycasualcarpool.com. Make sure to keep your tires properly inflated to reduce gasoline usage.
6. Recycle paper and plastics. Everyone knows the phrase reuse, reduce and recycle. However, our living environments and communities don’t always make it easy for us to do so. If you no longer have use for a certain product, don’t throw it away! Check out Earth911.org to see how to recycle different products in your area!
7. Buy organic. Pesticides and preservatives are used on many of our foods to help them grow and have a longer shelf life. It is important to know which foods to buy organic so as to not harm your health. Certain foods take in the pesticides and preservatives much more than others do. Buying organic doesn’t have to be expensive. See our blog entry: Can’t Afford to Buy All Organic? Here’s a Way to Decide What to Buy.
8. Turn off lights and appliances when they are not in use. Use as much natural light during the day by keeping the blinds open. When you do need to use lighting, try out Energy Star Rated Light Bulbs!
9. Run Your Dishwasher instead of washing a sink full of dishes by hand. Believe it or not, your dishwasher uses much less water to run a cycle than it takes to wash the dishes in the sink. Energy Star rated dishwashers use about a fifth of the water.
10. Wipe your shoes or take them off before entering your home. Dirty shoes bring in outdoor pathogens and allergens into the home. These pathogens will stick around, especially if you have rugs. Since rugs are harder to clean and contain fabrics which grab onto everything, they often provide a bad environment for the home and create poor air quality. Purchase a door mat or make a space for shoes at the doorway to make a healthier home.

Tags: air quality, appliances, carpool, cleaners, organic, recycling, reusable