Today my friends, I hope to give you tips and strategies for going green, helping our planet, being environmentally friendly, and helping to stay in  balance with nature. Green living, living organically, helping to save our environment is a way of life that should be implemented into every aspect of our daily routines.

Tips and Ideas for a Healthier Environment & Life:

1. Carry reusable bags with you anytime you shop (you can buy them almost at any grocery store) not only is it environmentally friendly but how many times have you had one of those darn plastic bags break on you and all your items go rolling all over the place, breaking some of your items and bruising your produce.

2. Skip bottled water, use filtered tap water (this can save you quite a bit of money within a year).  When you go anywhere make sure you take your own water along in a safe stainless steel water bottle.

3. Save water reduce wastage: Water is precious. Try to control the water wastage in your daily routine and in your surrounding.

• Turn off the water while shaving or brushing your teeth.
•  Add a low-flow shower head.
• Repair leaky toilets, which supposedly can waste 200 gallons of water a day. To save more water fill a jar with water and put it beside your toilet tank and use it when use flush.

4. Don’t need those paper-towels–Make rags out of old towels and t-shirts and use them to wipe up spills instead of paper towels.

5. Sign up for recall alerts at recalls.gov.

6. Electrical appliance with low energy consumption:

• Make it habit to switch off the light and fans
• regulate the temperature of your AC or heat when you leave your house
• Always buy energy star appliances when purchasing new appliances.
• Make use of CFL’s and light saving devices to save energy and natural resources.

7. Stop using Aluminum Foil to save your health and environment.

•  Aluminum remainson the federal government’s list of priority toxins for the US, manufacture, and disposal of causes significant problems for our environment.
  In manufacturing plants where aluminum foil is produced, harmful gas and toxins are released into the air as a byproduct of the production method. Dangerous toxins and pollution’s are released into the air that can cause health problems and harm the surrounding environment.

• Aluminum should not be used to wrap acidic foods –the acid from the food gradually dissolve from the surface of the aluminum foil which will cause small amounts of aluminum to migrate into the food. This can cause a metallic taste and the real concern is aluminum has been linked to health problems such as Alzheimer.  Although in very small amounts no significant health problems have been documented, but all toxins can accumulate through time.

• Use 100% unbleached parchment baking paper instead of Reynolds Wrap for your oven or grill, buy biodegradable wax paper. In fact try to buy all unbleached paper if possible, even coffee filters.

8. Think alternate to clothes dryers:

• Dry your clothes on a clothes line or on towels on a rack instead of in the dryer.

• Build up of lint is a safety issue — according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, over 15,000 fires occur in clothes dryers each year and lint is believed to be one of the major causes

•  Environmentally speaking, the energy consumed by a clothes dryer can be anywhere from 1800 to 5000 watts per hour.

Some of the advantages of not using a dryer:

• No ongoing energy costs
• Lower the greenhouse gas emissions into our air
• The sun helps to kill bacteria
• You can have a fresh smell for your clothes without the use of toxic chemicals

9. Opt out of receiving phone book and yellow pages. How many times do you really use them away! It is so much more convenient to go on-line to check for a listing.

10. Try to buy glass bottles instead of aluminum cans or plastics when buying beverages or other food items.

• Aluminum cans are many times lined with plastic to prevent the aluminum from leaking into the food, this plastic contains BPA Bisphenol A, which is a toxic compound. They protect you from one toxic and expose you to another toxic.  —-    According to the Environmental Working Group, this toxic compound BPA exposure in lab animals caused cancer, infertility, miscarriages, polycystic ovarian disease and insulin resistance – Wonderful to know isn’t it!

11. Every time you throw something out let your conscience be your guide and ask yourself how it might impact the environment and ourplanet. Next time try to buy only what you need or figure out a way that might be more environmentally friendly.

12. Make your backyard vegetable garden without using pesticides: growing vegetables with organic pest controller is better for your health and environment than using harmful chemicals. Use natural or organic pest control. Make your backyard vegetable garden full of organic nutrients and green vegetable.

13. Make your home environmental friendly outside too:

•  garden and flowers — even try a herb garden
•  use any organic materials such as leaves, grass, some food products, to a compost bin and allow to sit and decay –you will have great organic fertilizer for your garden or flowers
• install solar lights outside – use the sun’s natural energy while you save money on your energy bill and help the environment  (they are inexpensive and very attractive)

14. Make use of  truly natural and organic products as much as possible, as nature offers the finest products to lead healthy life.  Save your health and the environment.

• Use naturally available and organic cosmetics and skincare products instead of buying harmful chemicals and reactive solutions that destroy the skin tissues and can have serious health risk.
• Use non toxic cleaners –– such as peroxide to kill germs, baking soda, lemons as a disinfectant, and vinegar

15. Make your own Green Community for sharing better ideas to go green living: Start your own Go Green Community – get your neighbor’s, kids, schools, everyone and any one to spread the awareness for going green living.

Surround your life with green, breathing fresh, staying happy, laughing loud, all these are what life is about.

Nature is the the ultimate gift from God to all of us. I believe it is extremely important to  stay close to nature to preserve its charm and freshness and it is a major part of living a green, healthy lifestyle.  Make everyday your goal to make the world a more beautiful place and live your life with the goal of stopping pollution, toxicity, global warming, preserving a healthier climate, and teaching others to make small changes that can collectively initiate a better future for coming generations.