These are some of the things you can do right away to help in greening your life and doing your bit to help the planet.

• Reuse and recycle, separate your rubbish and reuse what you can. Plastics, glass and cans as well as paper can all be recycled.Compost, food scraps, green clippings from your garden old paper can all be composted and will produce lovely soil for your garden or pot plants.

• Save water, one of the biggest water wastage is in the toilet and the shower. Keep your showers short, see if you can soap and rinse in less than 5 minutes. In the toilet install a dual flush or fill a plastic bottle with water and place it in the cistern. This will reduce the water used by as much as half a gallon per flush.

• Save energy, turn off appliances at the wall when not in use. Reduce the temperature of you hot water if it is electric [counts for gas too], mostly we have the water on so high that we use a huge amount of cold water to cool it down enough! Keep your air conditioner on a little higher on the hot days, try to use fans instead.

• Install a water saving shower head and make sure that no taps are loose.

• Use the cold cycle in your washing machine, soak clothes that are a little more soiled and therefore use less water and power. Put your load on a shorter cycle, and don’t forget to fill the machine as half loads use a lot more energy.

• Avoid plastic shopping bags, instead purchase some canvas reusable ones.

EcoSafe GKL032195-1 2-1/2-Gallon Compostable EcoBio Plastic Bags, 25-Count

• Walk or cycle more, this will save on fuel and will get you healthier.

• Shop locally, food from far away places has to transported, stored and redistributed, it is not helping the local producers, also food that is store for any periods of time may also be irradiated and sprayed against pests. If you buy from local farmers markets or family owned stores you have a better idea on where the food is coming from and how it is grown.

• Buy organic, it is grown without chemicals, meat that is free range and fed organic food is much better in taste and is better for you.

• Use cotton nappies whenever possible.

• Avoid buying water in plastic bottle, get a good water filter and purchase a non plastic water bottle.

• Clean your house without harsh chemicals, use white vinegar, baking soda and water. Many super markets now sell those cleaning cloth that only need water and no chemicals, however I find that methylated spirits diluted at the rate of one cup to 5 cups of water to which I add a few drops of eucalyptus cleans most surfaces including floors.

• Grow your own vegetables in your garden. You do not need acreage, a normal suburban house garden could supply you with enough vegetables to really save a lot on your grocery bills.

• Start a worm farm, they don’t require much space and the worm castings make great fertilizer. Also a  great way to have really silent pets! They won’t ennoy the neighbors or tear up your furniture and they will eat your kitchen scraps.

Worm Farm 3 Tray Garden Compost Bin

• Change your light bulbs for energy saving ones, alternatively you could install LCD’s.

• Save on fuel by driving in a gentler way, there is no need for huge acceleration just to get to the lights, by easing up on your accelerator and driving a little below the speed limit you could save as much as 20% to 25% in fuel.

• Consider getting a hybrid car or change your existing car to bio diesel. This alternative fuel can now be obtained quite easily.

• Car pool, find out if some of your co workers or neighbors would be will to share transport, you would save on fuel, car maintenance, parking and you may make a big contribution to reduceing green house gases.

• Make your own preserves and jams, purchase fruit in bulk while it is in season and share with some one else. Often a jar or homemade preserve is a great ice breaker for a new neighbor. You would help the environment by reusing glass jars and by not consuming another shop bought product.

• Dry your clothes naturally,they will smell of sunshine and dryers use a lot of power.

• Whatever you buy, try to buy the best quality you can afford, it will last longer and use less resources. Quality clothes that last beyond a season also tend to look better, this also goes for furniture, shoes, electrical appliances etc.  If a product is of high quality it will age nicely unlike the cheaper imported version. Be also aware of the fact that a lot of goods are made in sweatshops overseas.

• Go vegetarian, less resources are needed when on a vegetarian diet. cattle farming uses a huge amount of water and creates a lot of waste.

• Eat more raw food, less cooking = less power used.

• When you build a new house be aware of using green materials and choose plantation timber over rain forest timber. Insulate your home and install grey water systems.

• Make your own electricity by installing solar panels.

• Collect rain water and use it in the toilet and laundry.

*Black* Free Water Rain Barrel Collection 50 gallon

• Install double glazing to minimize heat loss in the winter and keep the house cool in the summer and insulate the roof and walls,  thus removing the need for air conditionning or heating.

• Ride a bicycle and help reduce the road congestion.

• Holiday closer to home, every 1000km by plane produces 500kg of carbon dioxide!