Easy Steps to a Greener Life

1. Tote your own grocery bag
You can bring your own cloth bags instead. Many grocery stores have them available for a
buck each. Think of all the plastic bags you can save from going into the landfills!
ReusableBags.com

2. Buy water efficient shower heads
With low flow models, a family of four can cut water usage by as much as 280 gallons a
month and not even notice the difference. Visit kohler for more information.

3. Add plants to your home
Many plants help remove indoor air pollutants like formaldehyde and benzene. Plants that
remove toxins are:
- Chinese Evergreens
- Chrysanthemum
- Dragon tree
- English Ivy
- Gerbera Daisy
- Peace Lily
- Bamboo palm
- Corn stalk plant
- Ficus trees
- Snake plant
- Spider plants

4. Recycle Electronics
Instead of throwing away electronic and leaching dangerous chemical in our environment,
you can now recycle them through many programs
For more information check out the EPA's website.

5. Choose Natural Fibers
Switch to organic cotton and towels to avoid exposure to pesticides. Swap out the vinyl
shower curtains for cotton ones. A 2008 study showed that vinyl curtains emit volatile
organic compounds, lead, phthalates, and other toxic materials.

6. Filter your drinking water
Use a filter to minimize the amount of chemicals in your tap water. The preferred method
is the reverse osmosis system, which cleans out pesticides, chlorine, and other toxins. We
recently had our filtration system tested, and it is reducing particulate from our tap water
from 400 ppm down to 10 ppm!

7. Store Food in Glass Containers
Some plastic containers contain bisphenol A (BPA) which is a chemical linked with
behavioral and neurological problems.
Pyrex makes glass storage containers that are both safe and popular.

8. Choose paints that are water based
Many paints give off dangerous volatile organic compounds (VOC) that are harmful to
breathe. Sherwin Williams and Olympic have developed lines of no VOC paints. For more
information visit Sherwin-Williams or Olympic Paints.

9. Clean without chemicals
Avoid dangerous chemicals by making your own cleaners. Stock up on vinegar and baking
soda! Refer to my cleaning article for homemade cleaner recipes.

10. Buy a bagless vacuum
Make sure you get a vacuum with a HEPA feature for extra protection against common
allergens.