Living Lean and Green

What does that mean, "lean and green?"  Most of us have more than we could ever need.  Look in your kitchen cabinets, your garages, closets and kids’ rooms.  There are too many canned goods in the cabinets and under the sink as well as a plethora of cleaning agents containing who knows what.  We have clothes we’ve probably only worn once and toys the kids never play with.  The garage -- now that’s a really scary place. You've never had a car in it, but still can’t see the floor.  This excess all too often goes to waste.  Maybe it’s time for a little ‘green’ cleaning.

Our natural resources are drying up and it’s up to us to protect and preserve them.  First, let’s green clean our houses.  If you have excess food, give the good stuff to the local pantry.  If you have clothes that you’ve not worn for over a year, you won’t miss them if you give them to the homeless shelter or goodwill.  The same goes for the toys the kids don’t play with or the clothing that they have outgrown.  Stop using cleaning agents with chemicals and try baking soda and vinegar.  Don’t buy more food than you can consume in a few days.  Eat less meat and more vegetables, and buy from your local farmer's market, or better yet, grow them yourself.  Compost your food scraps and clean out your garage by having a garage sale or put your unwanted items in the classifieds.  Some good outlets for giving away unwanted items are www.CraigsList.org and www.Freecycle.org.

Other ideas for living greener are to read a book and turn off the TV.  Change your light bulbs to the florescent bulbs or better yet, use natural light whenever possible.  Fix a leaky faucet immediately and only take short 3-4 minute showers.  Turn the thermostat up two degrees in summer and down two degrees in winter.  You won’t even notice it.  Lastly, and I know you hear this constantly, recycle everything you can.

It doesn't take all that much effort to clear up space in your house while helping the environment. Start today, and we can all look forward to a better tomorrow.