Here are a few things we do.  We got a conversion kit for our toilet so we can do half flushes and full flushes as needed. We have a low flow showerhead.  We use fluoresent light bulbs and LEDs.  I make our detergents for the dishwasher and washing machine, and use a lot less hazardous cleaning products in general.  I hang the laundry on the line to dry.  We use a programable thermostat and keep things a little chilly in the winter.  I try to cook from scratch as much as possible and eat less meat.  We have a compost pile and a garden.  We don't water the lawn and use a rain barrel system.  We recycle.  I've adjusted my driving for maximum gas mileage.  I also try to be as conscious about our overall consumerism and spending in general because I believe the issues are related, say as simple as if I spend less on A then I can spend more on an ecoconscious item B that is usually more expensive than a non-ecoconscious variation of B.  Some money saving things we do is credit card reward programs, gas reward program through our local supermarket, coupons for everything from food to sneakers, hitting yard sales and thrift stores, using Craigslist, Groupon, and Living Social.  We try to avoid paying retail costs for as many items as possible by paying close attention to sales.

another KT:

Here are a few things we do.  We got a conversion kit for our toilet so we can do half flushes and full flushes as needed. We have a low flow showerhead.  We use fluoresent light bulbs and LEDs.  I make our detergents for the dishwasher and washing machine, and use a lot less hazardous cleaning products in general.  I hang the laundry on the line to dry.  We use a programable thermostat and keep things a little chilly in the winter.  I try to cook from scratch as much as possible and eat less meat.  We have a compost pile and a garden.  We don't water the lawn and use a rain barrel system.  We recycle.  I've adjusted my driving for maximum gas mileage.  I also try to be as conscious about our overall consumerism and spending in general because I believe the issues are related, say as simple as if I spend less on A then I can spend more on an ecoconscious item B that is usually more expensive than a non-ecoconscious variation of B.  Some money saving things we do is credit card reward programs, gas reward program through our local supermarket, coupons for everything from food to sneakers, hitting yard sales and thrift stores, using Craigslist, Groupon, and Living Social.  We try to avoid paying retail costs for as many items as possible by paying close attention to sales.

 

Very Inspiring :) 

We bought the nest thermostat for our new house (they didnt have a programmable one), and we LOVE it. You can track it's energy usage, and it has different options to make your house even more energy efficient.  You can also control it from your phone, so like for us, we keep the house fairly cold in the winter when we're not home....and now we can turn up the heat just before we leave the office at the end of the day!

 

Other ideas:  we've been making our own iced tea and cooking more frugally using fresher in-season ingredients.  When we do cook, we make enough for leftovers so that we don't have to use the oven/stove EVERY night. We also crack the oven open when we're done cooking to heat the kitchen a little =)

 We tried filling a water bottle and putting it in the toilet tank to reduce water waste, but our toilets didn't really like that solution. they're pretty old and finicky to begin with.

We keep an extra recycling bin upstairs in the office to promote more recycling of paper items.

In the spring, we're planning to plant a vegetable and herb garden, and perhaps start a rain barrel to water the garden. Down the line, we are also hoping to investigate solar panels...even just small ones might help us out =)

One's diet can have a huge impact on the environment. I've been vegetarian for a few years now, leaning vegan, and H doesn't eat much meat. We recycle, of course, and try to reuse stuff as much as possible (I wash out ziplock bags and wear the same clothes forever!). We live in a location where we can walk to the grocery store, bank, coffee shop, etc., and I take the bus to the university. H walks or rides his bike to work. We like to shop at thrift stores and neither of us own smart phones yet, because of the unethically mined minerals that are used in them. My next phone will probably be second-hand. I think just buying less is a really important step in living sustainably. 

you can also try replacing paper towels with unpaper towels.  Use cloth naptkins.  Some people even use cloth tp.  If you plan on having children you can also cloth diaper.  Its so much better for the environment and for baby.

Going green means loving nature. Personally, I am starting to educate and discipline myself of a good habit to diminish  environmental problems because I believe that this little thing could contribute for a big help. Mother Earth is crying because she is slowly dying of our bad behavior. Let us think of our future children. Let us give them a greener world, which is safer to live with. Let's save Mother Earth!

You can add in LED and CFL lights. That will save a lot of electricity. If you have good outdoors in your house like a garden, balcony or terrace then spend more free time there. This way you will not end up watching tv, or using up your home electricity. You can always chill there with family and friends and save on to a lot of electricity and energy indoors. Trust me, this makes a big difference.

The most efficient way to conserve energy is by going vegan, organic, non-GMO. 

I took a few classes in college as well, which made me research more and more, which led me from being a meat-eater to straight vegan.

 The United Nations came out in 2006 stating that animal agriculture is a larger producer of green house gas emissions than ALL modes of transportation COMBINED.  You're doing more harm eating meat every other night of the week than driving to work every day. 

Thrive Foods by Brendan Brazier is a great read to help understand more in depth  the consequences of our food choices. He talks a lot about the different ways to conserve energy and how different food choices help/hurt more than others. 

lindsaytan06:

Going green means loving nature. Personally, I am starting to educate and discipline myself of a good habit to diminish  environmental problems because I believe that this little thing could contribute for a big help. Mother Earth is crying because she is slowly dying of our bad behavior. Let us think of our future children. Let us give them a greener world, which is safer to live with. Let's save Mother Earth!

 

Umm.. Going green means loving ourSELVES.

Earth is going to be here looong after we're dead and gone. Earth can survive green house gases, ruined soils, and extreme weather. WE CAN'T. "Mother Earth" doesn't need any saving. I'm pretty sure she's sitting there laughing at us for destroying ourselves. 

Looks like you've got some good advice here, and you are off to a good start. I was in the same boat a few years back when I considering building a new home. I consulted with this mn home builder before we made any decisions, we wanted the home to be as green as possible and have a great value for when we are ready to resell. They were really helpful in making small/ inexpensive suggestions, much like the ones people have already shared. I'd read some blogs by professional green house builders because they have the best advice as they do things to improve green living everyday! :)

You can use home made cleaning products like vinegar, lemon, pumice stone, baking soda, etc instead of acids or other synthetic products so that the gases emitted from them may not be fatal for the living beings.

I've bought linen napkins to replace paper ones. We also use dish cloths and cleaning rags instead of paper towels. I've even bought small reusable face pads on Etsy that I use with toner instead of cotton balls. 

http://www.etsy.com/search?q=reusable%20face%20pads&view_type=gallery&ship_to=XX

I mentioned cloth toilet paper to my husband but he was having none of it, lol.

I've been saving old scraps of vegetables in the freezer to use to make my own vegetable stock once a week for soups and to add to dishes.  

I'm trying to use more kitchen towels instead of paper towels, maybe one day I can really phase into only using linen towels.

I don't use wrapping paper for gifts, just paper from the brown grocery bags. Sometimes I'll decorate it with a pattern or something.

Using reusable shopping and grocery bags is also good...my bags are all over the place though and lately I forget to bring them along. Always best to carry one of the bags rolled up in your purse for whenever you do some impulse shopping. That way you won't need plastic.

When you go to the ATM, have the receipt sent to your email or bank inbox instead of printing it.

Use things like fabric from old shirts and scrap paper to make decorations for the home and for holidays...