More and more people are understanding that green living needs to be a way of life rather than just a cool slogan. But it can be a little daunting to implement the plan in your daily living. Here are 4 ways to reduce, reuse and recycle that will help the earth, and that are fun to do.

Choose Organic Foods–Look for a stand alone organic food store and support a small business. But if there are none where you live, most major grocery chains carry organic products and many have an organic section. Many stores offer samples of their wares such as fruits, breads, jams cereals and snacks. You’ll find the difference in taste to be amazing. Once you’ve tasted organic foods, it will be hard to return to the taste of foods that are not organic.

Organic food is generally more expensive, but for the taste you receive in return, and the guarantee that there are no chemicals used in the process means you’re getting more for your money and your health. What a delightful way to ward off long term health issues. It will definitely leave a good taste in your mouth. And if you can stay healthy by doing this, the extra cost is insignificant.

Organic and Used Clothing–Organic clothing is made from start to finish without the chemicals that are often used with clothes that are mass-produced and not labeled organic. These chemicals can cause children and adults to react with skin rashes, whelps, itching, and other uncomfortable symptoms.

The use of chemicals also pollutes our natural resources–the earth, and its water. Wearing recycled or used clothing reduces the number of natural resources used to make clothing, and now that this idea has become popular, there are some pretty posh used clothing stores around for both children and adults. Buying clothes that are only slightly used saves the environment and saves you money too.

Filter Drinking Water–The importance of clean water cannot be overemphasized. Knowing that any chemicals and bacteria have been removed greatly reduce you and your family’s chances of staying healthy.

These filters are generally easily installed and can be purchased at hardware stores locally or online.

Use an Air Purifier to Clean Your Air–Using an air purifier to clean your indoor air means that rather than simply recycling the air in your home or office, you are actually removing airborne pollutants that have been shown to cause acute and long-term health issues.

Removing dust, dust mites, mold and mildew spores, airborne chemicals, pet dander, bacteria and viruses rather than breathing them constantly means improving your health and your quality of life.

To live green means to help our environment from the dangers that are destroying it. Green living starts with each of us. Here are just few easy tips to help you get started.

1. Switch to fluorescent bulbs in areas where extended lighting is required. Though the initial price is higher than for incandescent bulbs, fluorescent lights produce four times as much light per watt, last up to ten times as long and therefore cost one-third as much to operate.

2. Consider getting a laptop. Laptops use 50 percent of the energy used by a typical desktop PC when plugged in and just 1 percent of the energy when running on batteries.

3. Shut down and unplug idle electronics. Your computer might be asleep, but if there’s a light on, it’s still using energy. Turn off and unplug your computer, printer, television, radio — any electronic device that you’re not using.

4. Keep your car in great condition. Of course, it’s best to walk, bicycle, carpool or use mass transit for your daily commuting, but for those who must use their own vehicles, improving even the most inefficient of cars’ fuel mileage is as easy as keeping your tires properly inflated and changing your oil and air filters regularly. And follow those traffic laws — your car burns less fuel when you drive slowly and obey the speed limit on highways.

5. An idling vehicle burns more fuel than a simple restart. If it’s clear that a train or other barrier will block your vehicle for more than 30 seconds, turn off the engine. An idling vehicle burns more fuel than a simple restart. And you won’t be polluting when the engine is off.

6. Laundry activities are the second-biggest water user in a home. New water- and energy-efficient machines can save big on utility bills, and the technologies employed in those machines also can be gentler to your clothes, help you use less detergent and reduce drying time.

7. Turn your thermostat down – Turning your thermostat down by just one degree can result in savings of up to 10% on your fuel usage.

8. Wrapping a water heater with insulation can keep as many as 1,000 pounds of global-warming CO2 a year out of the upper atmosphere.

9. Pipe insulation tubes will help prevent frozen pipes in winter. And properly installed, they will hold a hot-water pipe’s heat for up to an hour after the tap was last used, thus stretching your energy dollar and saving water.

10. Older showerheads can use three gallons per minute or more. New, efficient models can use two GPM or less. Also look for showerheads that deliver water in multiple small streams, rather than a fine mist; they keep water warmer and make rinsing easier. Avoid designs with multiple heads that compound water waste.

11. Reduce, Re-use, Recycle! – Its doesn’t take a whole lot of effort to reduce the amount of waste we produce or to recycle the waste we do produce.  Paper products, plastics and metals are all easily disposed of by taking them to the local recycling centre. You can recycle old batteries to use again in the home and most of the food waste from the kitchen can be used to make your own compost, especially useful if your already growing your own vegetables.

12. Food grown or produced halfway around the world didn’t just appear in the supermarket — it was shipped by plane, boat, truck or rail, and no matter which method of transportation it took, greenhouse gases were emitted along the way. Pick the apple grown in your state instead of the banana grown in another country.

13. Plant a tree. It seems simple, but just one tree can offset tons of carbon over its lifetime. If planted appropriately, it also will provide shade on a sunny day, perhaps reducing the use of energy for air-conditioning in buildings and homes.