1. Adopt your pets from a shelter always. Do not contribute to the euthanizing of millions of animals every year by buying from a breeder. Adopt a homeless pet from the local animal shelter.

2. Most shelters in the country spay and neuter their animals before they are adopted them out however you can help the green pet movement by encouraging your friends, family and co-workers to spay or neuter their animals. Help reduce the overpopulation of dogs and cats.

Help reduce the amount of dogs and cats euthanized every year at shelters. Help reduce the number of breeders and puppy mills in this country by refusing to support them. Encourage everyone you know to adopt their animals from the shelter.

3. Always clean up after your dog! Be a responsible dog owner. Before you and Max even step out that door make sure you have a few biodegradable baggies with you. And when Max does his business pick it up! If every dog owner picked up their dog’s poop we would be protecting nature.

4. Keep your cats inside. Did you know that cats are the number one bird killer even over wind turbines? Yes it is true so keep your cats inside.

5. If you are a cat owner, opt for eco-friendly cat litters.

6. Feed your pets only natural and organic pet foods. Did you know that there are actually animal bi-products from dead, diseased or downed livestock put into dog food? Yes that is correct most pet foods use reconstituted animal bi-products. So buy organic.

Buy natural. Don’t contribute to the senseless suffering of animals. And work to improve your pet’s health through natural, organic food.

7. Do not feed into the trends and discourage anyone you know from feeding into the trends. A few years ago The Today Show did a segment on the “Puggle”. After this segment the puppy mills went crazy spitting out Puggles to make money.

What happened then? Well a few months later all the people who bought a Puggle from a breeder didn’t do their research, didn’t realize the care and health issues so they dumped their dogs at shelters.

I have been hearing about green cars and hybrids for years now. Actually I have been hearing about them ever since Cameron Diaz and Leonardo DiCaprio made it so ultra cool to be a celebrity and not drive a Range Rover.

Until I researched green cars I really wasn’t sure what they were all about; do you plug them in at night? Do they just have really good gas mileage? Is a hybrid car the same thing as a green car? And they’re so tiny how can they cost so much? So that is when I began to research green cars.

First of all there are different kinds of green cars. There are electric cars, hybrid cars and green cars. An electric car is just that a car you literally plug in and it charges. Electric cars have incredible gas mileage but of course there is that inconvenience of plugging it into charge the electric aspect of it. The power in electric cars has also been criticized especially when taking off at a stop sign or stop light.

Hybrid cars were apparently designed to be a compromise between the standard gas-guzzling car of this century and the power-limited electric cars. Now that you understand a little bit about green cars you can start deciding which is best for your first green car purchase.

The top five green cars by green rating (which means they’re as green as they come however are not ranked on comfort, affordability or performance) are:

1. Civic Hybrid

2. Prius Touring

3. Civic GX 5-speed

4. Tribute Hybrid Grand Touring (this is an SUV)

5. Mariner Hybrid (this is also an SUV)

The top three, being cars, all have green ratings in the 80s. The 4th and 5th in the rankings, being SUVs have ratings slightly lower at 76 however for those of you who have children or pets and need more space this is the perfect green option for you; a hybrid SUV.

The average cost of the first three is around $25,000 but these do come with leather and navigation so even though you’re going green you certainly aren’t skimping on class or style. The average mile-per-gallon for the Civic Hybrid and Prius Touring are 45/40 and 45/48 respectively and the average mile-per-gallon for the SUVs is 31/34.

As you see you have really no excuse not to go green with your vehicle as you can choose from class and style or rugged and sport-utility.

So you jumped on the green bandwagon years ago and are already recycling, reusing and composting. How else can you go green and help improve the environment? We have some ways you can go greener by slightly remodeling your home.

1. First of all do you have plants at home? You need to have green plants at home as they will improve your air quality. Purchasing green plants is the easiest way to start your green remodeling project at home. Don’t worry, even if you think you cannot keep plants alive go to Home Depot or some greenhouse and ask them about low-maintenance indoor plants.

2. Go through your kitchen cupboards and under your bathroom sink and throw away any cleaning products that aren’t green, organic cleaning products. While you’re in your cupboards also properly dispose of any paints or pesticides.

3. If you’re in the market for new furniture consider buying antiques. Antiques are recycled therefore you are helping the environment. Take your old furniture to Goodwill or another consignment store instead of throwing away. Someone else may use your furniture to remodel their home.

4. Install a programmable thermostat into your home. If you’re like me you are constantly turning the air up and down and in the winter turning the furnace up and down. Program your thermostat for a reasonable temperature during the day when no one is home and program it at a reasonably livable temperature during the hours that you are home. Don’t allow yourself to mess with the thermostat.

5. Install energy efficient lighting. You can do this yourself or go to a store like Home Depot or Lowes. If completely re-installing lighting into your home isn’t an option you can opt to purchase energy efficient light bulbs. Energy efficient light bulbs last years longer than standard light bulbs so you aren’t going through as many and harming the environment with the old ones.

6. If you are able to afford it, consider tankless water heaters and while you’re at it consider hot water plumbing pipes that are insulated.

7. Instead of completely re-doing your kitchen could a simple paint job do the trick? Why add more ‘trash’ to the landfills if you can work with what you already have. Choose paints and sealants that are non toxic. There are very few paint manufacturers that do not offer green paint products.

We have put together a little cheat sheet for you and even put it in order of your daily routines!

For your morning routine:

1. Turn off the water while you are brushing your teeth.

2. Have a timer in your bathroom and allow yourself a three minute shower.

3. Before you leave for work turn your air conditioning up several degrees in the summer and in the winter turn your furnace down several degrees.

4. Unplug all appliances when you aren’t using them but especially before you leave for work every morning.

5. Take the bus to work or carpool with co-workers!

During the day:

1.  When at work print on both sides of paper instead of just one.

2. If your company does not already have a green program; start one!

3. Take your lunch to work in a canvas bag. And if you drink soda or bottled water make sure you are recycling your bottle or can.

At Home in the Evenings and on Weekends:

1. Use a push mower instead of a riding lawn mower; this will get you plenty of exercise too!

2. When you go to the store take one of those ‘green’ bags, when you go to any store not just the grocery store! But when you’re at the grocery store; buy organic!

3. Always use silverware instead of plastic disposable and stop buying paper towels and napkins. Use towels or cloth napkins that you can wash.

4. Use old socks for dusting and old t-shirts for windows.

5. When you buy cosmetics and skin/beauty products make sure they were not tested on animals and buy organic. Yes, there are organically-made skin and beauty products.

6. Buy energy efficient light bulbs. They’re only slightly more costly at the time of purchase however they last longer than standard bulbs.

7. Buy ‘green’ cleaning products.

8. Recycle batteries. There are usually instructions on the new package of batteries as to how to recycle batteries safely. The battery recycling regulations differ around the world.

9. Consider planting a garden. It is a good way to spend quality time with your family or friends as well.

Here we have given you a daily guide as to how to go green in your daily routine. Good luck!

My brother and his wife have a 2 year old baby and when they first brought her home I thought ‘ok, this is going to be too difficult for them to maintain their green lifestyle. I mean, they have a baby now!’ but I was wrong.

My brother and his wife are extremely environmentally conscious but I was imagining having to do hundreds of loads of laundry thus using up mass quantities of water and electricity as well as all those diapers they would be adding to landfills.

So then they told me they were going to use re-usable cloth diapers. Now I was born in 1975 and my parents had no choice but to use cloth diapers but I cannot imagine choosing to use them. Not only did my brother and his wife use cloth diapers but in the same act they saved the environment by not adding thousands and thousands of diapers. They also saved a lot of money.

I think they estimated they saved hundreds of dollars in the first few months. And during her pregnancy she knew she was going to use cloth diapers so she registered for them and actually never had to buy any. Babies love to walk around naked and they let my niece do so as often as she can. Because she wears clothes less often they do laundry less often.

However when they do run the washer and dryer they make sure the loads are completely full and use green laundry detergent in a powder form. They also recycle the container that the laundry detergent comes in.

So if you are currently expecting and don’t want your green values to go out the door with your sanity as you can see staying green when you bring the baby home is simple!

Growing up I always had grand plans of ‘registering’ at various non-profit organizations and telling my guests to donate at the charity of their choice instead of traditional Macy’s and Target registries. Now the latest trend and way to improve the environment, be socially conscious and promote social conscientiousness is to register for a ‘green’ bridal shower and ‘green’ wedding gifts!

So if you are engaged and the offers to have a bridal shower for you or a couples’ shower for you and your fiancé are starting to roll in, consider registering ‘green’.  You could still register the traditional way by going to Dillard’s or Macy’s or Target and using the gun just select green or organic items.

You could also register for green clothing or recycled products. Many department stores have entire sections that they are designating for their green designs and products.

Another idea is to register to have a tree planted in your name, or the names of you and your new husband. There are many companies that will do this for you and there is also a web site called Be Green Now.com that allows you to register for green gifts. Once you registered for these gifts you would put the web site on your invitations or have your wedding party let people know that you are registered on this site.

Friends, family and guests of your special day can log onto this site and pay to have trees planted in your name among many other green and environmentally conscious things.

So as you are planning the big day sit back and think if you really need a blender and cappuccino maker. A wedding is the perfect time to make an environmentally correct and positive statement because your act will reach so many people.

On one hand you hear to not use the washer and dryer and on another hand you hear to use it but only when it has a completely full load of laundry.

Well this is true you can use your washer and dryer and you should use them only when they are completely full. However there are additional ways to maintain your environmentally friendly ways while doing your laundry.

First of all why wash your clothes on the hot cycle? You know this uses so much more energy and gas from your hot water heater. I have had my washer set on cold for over a year now.

My clothes are still just as clean as they ever were. The stains come out and they still smell fresh. Did you know that of the heating and energy costs used to run the washer, only 10% of those costs are due to the machine actually running? The other 90% are due to heating the water when you choose the warm or hot cycle.

Sure it doesn’t smell all that good but it has to have more beneficial properties. Actually vinegar can help you clean your home and stay completely green while doing so!

Vinegar is an extremely functional and effective non-toxic and green cleaner. Formulate your green vinegar cleaner by mixing one part vinegar and two parts baking soda.

Use this mixture to clean your counters, sink, and oven and stove top, tables, and give your refrigerator a much needed and long overdue spring cleaning.

Use this mixture also to rid your carpet of stains. Apply the vinegar and baking soda mixture directly to the stain. You may opt to put the mixture in a spray bottle for more even coverage but you can dab directly on the stain if you choose to. Let the mixture saturate the stain for 10-15 minutes then clean.

Instead of baking soda mix the vinegar with equal parts water and use as a glass mirror and window cleaner.

1. Keep your shades closed.

2. Dress appropriately for heat; wear light clothes inside your home.

3. Prepare cool meals like salads and avoid using your oven or stovetop. If you do opt to use your oven or stove top, turn on the fan in your hood to take the exhaust and heat out of the air so your air conditioner doesn’t kick on unnecessarily.

4. Air-dry dishes instead of using your dish washer heat drying cycle.

5. Try to use heat producing appliances in the early morning or late evening when the temperature outside is cooler. Do laundry and run your dishwasher at these cooler times.

6. As obvious as it seems, make sure all your doors and windows are tightly secured and closed!

So how does someone who is already quite ‘green’ go even ‘greener’?

1. Encourage your neighbors to recycle if they aren’t already. If you live in a city like I do where the recycling pick up is the same day as the trash pick up, you just need a blue bin to have the recycling picked up, stop and get your neighbor a bin. They are only a couple of dollars and maybe that is all your neighbor needs to motivate them to start recycling.

2. Did you have any idea that hand-washing dishes takes up more water usage than using the dishwasher? Continue to use your dishwasher however only run it when it is completely full.

3. Attend your local farmers’ market. Sure you may already buy organic and natural from your local grocery store but start shopping at your local farmers markets. You will be supporting local businesses and purchasing organic at the same time.