Tree Hugging Family

February 2nd, 2008

100 Ideas for Your Green Family

There are so many great ways to contribute to a healthy planet. Some steps are larger than others; some are quick and some eco-friendly ideas take substantial planning. We’ll eventually talk about all these ideas at length but just to get you thinking here are 100 various ideas that can help your family go green.

1. Buy less stuff.
2. Fix that leaky sink
3. Change one regular old light bulb to an energy efficient bulb
4. Visit the library instead of buying books
5. Buy in bulk
6. Grow an egg carton herb garden
7. Invest in a kitchen compost
8. Hand down clothing from bigger kids to smaller kids
9. Eat at least three vegetarian meals a week
10. Use a flea comb on the family pet instead of toxic chemicals or try this method
11. Rotate the tires every 8,000 miles on the family car
12. Recycle old school notebooks
13. Look for the star
14. Grow your own container lettuce — click on the picture to see more cool container ideas!
    
15. Just say no; to Post It Notes (come on, you know you have scratch paper around the house)
16. Attend a beach or neighborhood clean-up as a family (note: this will open in pdf, but is a great resource)
17. Install a low-flow shower head
18. Have a green picnic
19. Power toys with rechargeable batteries
20. Stop using plastic baggies
21. Use cloth diapers
22. The next time you go to a park take five minutes and clean up some trash that other people left behind
23. Play material free; think hide & seek, leapfrog, and tag
24. Quit buying coffee filters
25. Buy recycled pencils for school kids
26. The next time you feel like redecorating try rearranging your current stuff instead — you may not need to buy any new items
27. Take your ink cartridges to a recycling center (better yet, mail them — no gas)
28. Get your next load of veggies from a local farmers market
29. One evening this week turn off all the lights and the television; light a candle and tell spooky stories
30. Put homemade pudding in the lunch boxes instead of pre-made pudding packs
31. Find your perfect green home
32. Make Halloween costumes out of items you already have at home
33. Make a natural air freshener instead of buying a commercial product
34. Use both sides of a piece of paper
35. Mamas, if you wear make-up try going natural one day a week
36. Live within your means
37. Buy organic apples
38. Decide what you want before opening the fridge
39. Visit a forest
40. Make popsicles and eliminate cardboard and plastic waste
41. Buy recyclable toothbrushes
42. If you build a home, build green
43. Cancel the newspaper if you don’t honest to god read it
44. Gather up used plastic easter egg containers and reuse them next year
45. Quit singing in the shower
46. Purchase Fair Trade coffee
47. Shop for household items at a thrift shop
48. Weatherize your windows
49. Invest your money using green sensibility
    
50. If you need a Christmas tree get a living tree
51. Spend 10 minutes a day discussing green living issues with your children
52. Forget the yellow pages
53. Find out what birds are local to your area
54. Make sure empty toilet paper rolls make it out of the bathroom and to the recycling bin
55. Buy or make organic baby food
56. Cancel two magazine subscriptions
57. Paint the kitchen toxic-free
58. Buy unsliced American cheese instead of individually wrapped slices
59. Use both sides of and then recycle your tin foil
60. Look into greener transportation
61. Donate your old glasses
62. Take a walk, late at night with your kids (does nature look different at night?) what does it sound like?
63. Quit using drinking straws
64. Color hair naturally
65. Give a hug and some time instead of a new toy to a child
66. Use baking soda to freshen your toilet
67. Cancel your junk mail
68. Introduce yourself to one new neighbor this month. Ask them if they like the idea of a neighborhood clean-up, pot-luck, or other community event.
69. Use refillable shampoo bottles (most co-ops have this option)
70. Spend less; work less; and be with your children
71. Design, your own art instead of buying new
72. Visit five other green-minded blogs (see my sidebar for ideas)
73. Make soup from scratch using some leftover item in your fridge before it goes to waste
74. Support at least one green business
75. Plant a tree for each child in the family
    
76. Be a breastfeeding family
77. Visit a butterfly conservatory
78. Read TreeHugger and learn something wicked cool every day
    
79. Use the sunshine to make fruit roll-ups
80. Throw away mothballs and use cedar blocks
81. Turn off the lights when you go to bed
82. Make every long distance phone call count
83. Share an electric or push lawnmower among neighborhood families
84. Carpool to work and school
85. Create or join a community garden
86. Go see what’s new at the local recycling plant (call ahead)
87. Stomp around in the rain and see how many worms you can count
88. Take off your shoes in the house
89. Stop using real bleach
90. Give used toys to a good cause like a woman and children’s shelter
91. Play eco-friendly kid games on the computer
92. Purchase bulk peanut butter in your reusable container from the co-op
93. Stay put if possible; relocation is not very eco-friendly.
94. Use fewer fabric sheets; see if one half works as well
95. Install solar outdoor lighting
96. Build or obtain a rain barrel and paint it a beautiful color
97. Kids; become an official planet protector!
98. Learn what size of footprint your family makes on the planet
99. Read Tree Hugging Family (I had to go there)
    
100. Dream that a greener planet is possible in your children’s lifetime

What are you already doing as a family?

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