1. Buy reusable shopping bags. They are very easy to find online. Make sure they are made from organic and earth friendly materials. This will keep the plastic bags out of the landfills. It takes 10-20 years for a plastic bag to decompose in our landfills. Your new reusable bags not only hold more, they are much easier to carry and you only need 5-10 for a whole cart of groceries. Don't just use them for groceries, take them with you for any type of shopping. I give them as gifts to my friends and family and also place gifts in them for birthdays and such.

2. Water consumption is something we don't seem to think about when bathing, washing clothes, dishes or watering our plants. Catching rain water for your plants is a great way to save on water and much healthier for your plants. Take a shower instead of a bath. A 7 minute shower uses about 14 gallons of water where a bath takes at least 20 gallons.

3. Do your laundry in cold water and make sure you have a full load when doing laundry. Simply heating the water to wash clothes amounts to 90% of the washing machine's power consumption. Washing your clothes in cold water is better for them anyway. If you have something you think needs hot water then switch from hot to warm water.

4. Use chemical free cleaning products and personal care products. Not only is this better for the environment it is also better for you. Since switching to all natural products in our home we have not had to see a doctor in years except for the normal check up. Did you know the risk for women who stay at home getting cancer is 54% higher than for the women who work? The reason is the toxins going into their bodies from the chemicals in their homes. With natural products you also do not have to worry about your children accidentally ingesting something toxic and being rushed to the emergency room or worse.

5. Make your trips count. When doing errands do them all at one time. I use my vehicle as little as possible and when I have to go out I make sure I get the groceries, pick up the dry cleaning, get the kids from school and anything else I need done I do it all in that time frame. This keeps me from making useless trips several times a week. You are saving on emissions and saving yourself money on gasoline. Ride a bicycle when possible.

6. Cut down on your junk mail. Take yourself off the mailing lists. If there are things you want to know about find it online and have emails sent to you on that subject. Pay your bills online and online statements as to avoid this type of mail usage.

7. Use cloth diapers for your baby. They are much better for your babies skin and can be reused for dust rags or different things when through with them. It takes disposable diapers 500 years to decompose. Potty train as early as possible if you must use disposable diapers. Using pull ups is another thing that can be stopped, to me this just enables a child to be a bed wetter.

8. Use energy efficient light bulbs. If every American home replaced just one bulb with an energy star qualified bulb we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year. The bulbs may cost a little more but will last for 5-10 years and use much less energy which saves you money on your electric bill and replacing light bulbs monthly.

9. Use green gift wrap, there are many sources online. Instead of using tape to hold the gift use hemp string to tie it together. Tapes we use for gift wrapping are petroleum based. You can be very creative when it comes to gifts. Make the container part of the gift, when giving someone kitchen tools use a colander or bowl to put the gifts in.

10. Shop at garage sales, second hand stores and pawn shops. This cuts down on the need for so much manufacturing and can really save you a lot of money. I bought a 32" flat panel plasma tv for $200 in a pawn shop, the tv was only 4 months old. I buy my jewelry there and have furnished most of my house from Craigslist and garage sales. I have some very nice stuff and saved myself a lot of money.

These are a few tips for living green and saving money. There are many more and I will fill this lens with information from day to day.

If your home is full of carpeting be sure you vacuum regularly.

Carpets can contain 8x its weight in toxins. Now that is an astounding statistic. These toxins come from wearing your shoes in from outdoors, animals coming in from going potty. The carpets also hold dust mites and banned toxins that are no longer allowed to be in carpeting if you have older carpets.

When you get moisture into your carpeting then you are subject to mold on the underside of the carpeting and pad.

The EPA has stated that 80% of human exposure to pesticides happens indoors. If you spray or use foggers for exterminating in your home these harsh chemicals settle in your carpets and remain for years.

Your children crawl on these carpets, play on them with their toys and we all walk on them.

You can't see what is hiding in your carpets but when you steam clean them you know how black that water is. When steam cleaning use an all natural product otherwise you are adding more chemicals into your carpet.

If you can't replace your carpeting then use a good vacuum with a heppa filter. Use a doormat, remove your shoes at the door and wipe those puppy paws.

If replacing your flooring a good recommendation is going with bamboo flooring. It is not a wood but a grass, regenerates without planting and takes only three years to reproduce once cut down. It is not as hard as wood flooring but still very durable.

When I pulled up my carpeting I was amazed at the slab underneath. The carpeting had been there for several years and there must have been at least 3" of dirt underneath it though I vacuumed and steam cleaned regularly. To think of what my children and my spouse and I had been breathing all those years was truly a light bulb moment.

I understand we can't all rush out and buy new flooring so make sure you clean your carpets often.

I know many of you clean with vinegar, personally I do not like the smell that lingers in my home.

Some great ideas for all natural ways to make your home smell great:

1. Place a pot of boiling water on the stove and add 1-2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon for a simmering potpourri. Don't forget to add water as necessary so as not to burn up your pan.
2. Put cinnamon sticks into your vacuum cleaner bag to freshen as you vacuum
3. Make arrangements in a glass or glass bowl of cinnamon sticks anchored by whole cloves, this makes a pretty and wonderful smelling decoration.
4. Mix oil of cinnamon with water in a spray bottle and use for air freshener.

There are many ways you can make your house smell fresh without using chemicals and costly over the counter products which are harmful to the environment.

If you love the smell of lavender mix some oil of lavender with water and sprinkle your linens with the mixture. This will keep your linen cabinet smelling wonderful and your sheets will have that natural smell when you put them on your bed.

If you have a large outdoor space landscape with some herbs. They love about 6 hours of light daily and do not like overly moist conditions.

If you live in a condo or apartment you can grow your own herbs in a window box planter or on your balcony.

Fresh herbs are so much better than the ones you buy at the store or the freeze dried ones.

If you love plants these beat the socks off of those expensive plants you buy for your home that you do not know if it is safe for your children or pets to be around. They are very pretty and will save you money.