You don't have to be big to be green.

As a busy beaver mom, I try to be eco-friendly and try to do as much good as possible.

Am I the pinnacle of green pyramid?  HECK NO!

The important thing, is to do what you can. Even the tiniest bit helps in the big picture.

I recycle, and while that's not the best thing in the world, its better than dumping it in the trash.
Why is it not the best? You can read more at one of my all time favorite websites Treehugger.com.




So Eco-friendly tips Part 1

R, R, and R

What the 3 R's should be is Reduce, Reuse and Repair.
With Recycling as a last option before throwing out.

Reduce:  Buy less stuff!   Marketing does really well at convincing us we NEED the latest tablet or computer, we NEED to get the hottest new outfit.  But if you slow down and breathe a bit you realize you don't really need that stuff after all.

My model posing in his spiffy outfit.

You buy emotionally and justify later with your mind.  If you pause and calm the emotions you'll realize you don't need all the stuff you see on tv.

Am I saying don't buy anything... heck no.  I fully admit I impulse buy. But  I do try to avoid the temptation as much as possible.  For instance, I'm a bookaholic. I love books, I love to read.  I also like to keep books to read over and over again.  So I stay away from book stores.  I went into a local half priced book store looking for exactly 1 book in particular.  (Eat, Pray, Love - in case you're curious)  I walked out with 5 books. Yes, I did get what I wanted, but I also got others as well.
Full disclosure:  I have been bodily removed from bookstores by boyfriends, because of my problem.




So indulge your wants (modestly) but avoid those things you can to reduce what you buy. :)
You'll have more money in your pocket and less things to pick up at the end of the day.

Reuse:  It seems everyone is jumping on this bandwagon due to the economy.  I haven't shopped for clothes in the retail shops for AGES.  I spend my money at the local thrift stores and goodwill.   WHY? Well, for starters, I'm trying to save money in this economy.  Also, I'm trying to reduce the amount of clothes I have, I really can't wear them all, and I want to reduce the laundry.  ( I seriously have enough clothes to go a full month without laundry - that's a problem)

I've found Coach purses, and Gap clothes with tags still on them at the local thrift stores.  It just takes a little time to search and you can get away with a great bargain and still look great.

Repair:  This is the hardest one.  Sure you can superglue that dish you broke and use it, but the big items that break the most often are electronics.  Nowadays you can't fix those. They are designed that way.
The companies want you to buy the next greatest gadget, so they make all of them disposable.  But they aren't really disposable, because all those toxic metals go somewhere. Usually a remote village somewhere you haven't heard of where children scrape the metals from the boards.

Like the title says you don't have to be big to be green. 
Little things you can do:
- Join a CSA (Community Supportive Agriculture) or visit your local farmers market - reduce your carbon foot print for food
- Start a compost pile - reducing the compostable trash (veggie peelings, tea bags, etc) that you throw away
- Make sure to turn off your lights when you leave home - saves electricity and money :)

- Turn your thermostat down in the winter and up in the summer - saves electricity and money
- Freeze leftovers - reduces food trash, saves money and is an easy dinner several nights from now
- Reduce what you buy - saves money and ultimately  reduces what you throw away (packaging, etc.)
- Use cloth bags at the grocery or reuse plastic ones - I have a constant stream of kitty litter bags
- Drink more water from a refillable bottle- saves money, reduces trash, and is healthier all around

There are whole books out there on things you can do, but I'll stop for now.
So what did I do that was green today? I actually remembered my cloth bag for the grocery, and carpooled with my mom to the store.

Here's a Busy Beaver Mom tip for any chore that needs done or any eco-friendly task you want to try:

If it can be done in 5 minutes or less, do it now.