As women, we not only feel responsible for our homes, we feel responsible for Mother Earth. That’s why, while “going green” is red-hot right now, many of the ideas are probably things you’re doing already. Studies show that consumers concerned with helping the earth include a significant percentage of women. And among both women and men, people older than 55 are about 30 percent more likely to be concerned with saving energy at home than people younger than 35, whether simply out of economic necessity or something more philosophical.
So you are probably already, for example, turning off the lights when you leave the room, the television when no one is watching and the water when you brush your teeth. You set your thermostat a little warmer in the summer and a little cooler in the winter. You keep your car maintained and your tires inflated properly, and you combine errands in the car whenever you can so you’re using less gas. But let’s face it: Doing those simple things only makes you light celery green. There’s more you can do to move into the range of say, avocado or leaf green, and still plenty more than that if you want to be among the deep rainforest green types. Here are some areas where you may find room for improvement.

THE THREE Rs

“Reduce, reuse, recycle” is the mantra of environmentally aware folks for good reason. The products we use affect the earth when they are made, when they are used, and when they are discarded. Think reduce and reuse to change how much you consume in general, and you have potentially made less of an impact at each of those three levels.

Recycling seems a simple enough way to keep waste out of landfills, and it is. So, why is it that as many as eight out of 10 of those convenient plastic drinking water bottles end up in a landfill? Is it just easier to toss them in the trash than to walk to the recycle bin in the garage? In that case, buy a basket or other attractive container to keep in your kitchen and one to keep in your car if your family drinks bottled water on the go. While you’re at it, a rectangular wicker laundry basket is just the right size to catch the newspaper as soon as you finish reading it. Transfer material to the “official” recycle bins the day before pickup day or as often as needed.

Take a step further and think about whether the convenience of those bottles is worth the impact. Consider this: Major sellers of bottled water have gone on record saying their product is just tap water that has been purified. Why not use your own tap water, running it through a filter if you wish, and fill up your own reusable plastic water bottles? The Nalgene company, one maker of durable reusable plastic water bottles, has a “Refill not Landfill” campaign on its Web site; check it out at www.nalgene-outdoor.com.

You’ll also find refillable water bottles and other eco-friendly or “future friendly” products on shopping Web sites such as www.3rliving.com and www.greenfeet.com. Speaking of shopping—whether online or in the store—read labels and choose to use the power of your purse to support manufacturers whose principles and practices match your green desires.

Composting food waste helps reduce the trash you create; using it in a garden as fertilizer for your flowers and vegetables returns it to the earth and enables you to know the source of the food you eat.

Another way to create less waste is to buy larger sizes of packaged products, which can also save you money. Be careful to check the unit price because bigger is not always cheaper, and don’t go overboard. As many who shop in warehouse stores have discovered, buying the mega-jumbo size of a product that is perishable can backfire if you wind up throwing away food that expires before you can use it. And that kind of wastefulness is anything but green.

If you do find yourself with things you can’t use, you might try giving it away. A new kind of recycling is gaining popularity, and it’s sort of like an online swap club. Club members post items—old magazines, door hardware, furniture, electronics, even a piano—that they can’t use; other members can then claim the items. Members can also designate whether they would like a posted item to go to a charitable organization. Find a group near you on www.freecycle.com.

REDUCE INDOOR POLLUTION

Remember we said one of the three ways products affect the earth is when we use them? While you’re shopping for earth-friendly products, consider the cleaning products you use. Read labels and choose nontoxic cleaners, or just make your own. A good source for cleaning product recipes is your local university extension service. Here are a few ideas from the one at Penn State: For a disinfectant, mix a quarter-cup of borax in a half gallon of hot water. In place of aerosol air fresheners, boil cinnamon, cloves or other spices on the stove to make your kitchen smell wonderful. Place a small container of the mixture in other rooms. To clean your oven, dissolve three tablespoons baking soda in a quart of warm water and spray it on. Let it sit 20 minutes and scrub gently with fine steel wool. In fact, baking soda is just abrasive enough to clean many surfaces in your bathroom or kitchen, including sinks, counters and refrigerators. Youalready know to keep an open box of baking soda in your refrigerator to absorb odors; when you pull it out to clean, it will work just as well.

Slow drain? The best medicine is prevention: Use a drain strainer, and about once a month flush the drain with boiling water. If you do get a clog, before you reach for caustic chemicals, try a mechanical solution—that would be a plunger. (Don’t use the same one as you use for the toilet; buy a small one that you can keep under the sink.) If that doesn’t do the trick, pour in a half-cup of baking soda, then flush with boiling water. If the clog persists, repeat the baking soda, but this time follow it with a half-cup of vinegar. Cover the drain until fizzing stops, then flush with boiling water.

Vinegar and lemon juice also make great cleaners—just test a small spot to be sure they won’t react and never use on marble. Sprinkling baking soda on the cut side of half a lemon makes a handy scrubber.

One other note: If you do not use up commercial household cleaning products, be sure to check with your local solid waste authority about how to dispose of them properly. Discarded chemicals not only can harm the environment, they can injure the people who handle your trash.

USE LESS ELECTRICITY

You already run your dishwasher only when it’s full and wash your laundry in cold water whenever you can. When it comes time to replace one or more of your appliances, look for the Energy Star designation that tells you the appliance meets strict efficiency guidelines of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. You’ll save money on your energy bill as well as helping the earth. For more ways to save electricity, visit www.energystar.gov, where you’ll also find a wealth of information about making your existing home more energy efficient, finding a contractor to make “green” home improvements or build a new, greener home—even how to take advantage of tax credits you can earn for saving energy. While you’re at it, call your local power company and get an energy audit for your home. Remember, one of the best things about going green is that you not only help preserve the earth for future generations, you might also save money.