A lot of times, when people hear the term “going green”, their mind instantly conjures an image of a barefoot hippie wearing a peasant skirt while standing in a field full of flowers, holding some granola in one hand and the other one is giving a peace sign.

Okay – so maybe it’s just me.

Either way, the thought of going green can be really intimidating. People don’t seem to realize that you can live in the 21st century and enjoy the luxuries of the modern world while still making a positive impact on our environment and the lives of our children.

As you may already know, the BP oil spill is what finally triggered my desire to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. Initially I thought people would call me a hypocrite for refusing to buy bottled water ever again but still prefer to soak in a bath of water versus taking a shower. Then I realized that most people don’t care what I do and decided to embrace baby steps.  In order to successfully “go green,”  you need to start small and slowly build your green habits until they’re ingrained in you. If you were to run out and buy a hybrid, sixty-two reusable grocery bags and refuse to use any product for fear of it’s environmental impact, well, being environmentally conscious would probably be overwhelming and get old quickly.

It’s all about compromise, baby.

There are a shockingly large amount of “little” things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint, reduce your dependence on oil and, in the end, create a huge positive impact on the environment and your quality of life. The amount of d’uh factor in this article will astound you.  I promise.

4 Easy Things You Can Do To “Go Green”

1)  Wear your clothes more than once. I know – a lot of people already do this because they don’t want to add more clothes to their ever present mound of laundry to wash.  Over the last few weeks, just by having my kids wear their jeans a second time and rehanging my work clothes at the end of the day, I have eliminated at least one load of laundry per week from my to do list.  But if my son gets ketchup all over his pants or I was sweating like crazy and my shirt isn’t smelling so fresh and so clean, clean, I didn’t let any guilt seep in that those clothes were only worn once.

2)  Make your own laundry detergent. When I googled the ingredients for laundry detergent, I wanted to throw up in my mouth.  The dangerous chemicals and, strangely enough, the presence of petroleum in my laundry detergent was a huge eye opener for me.  So, I finally made my own detergent.  It works just as well, if not better, than my favorite brand and only has three ingredients, all of which are derived from natural sources.  Also, it took less than thirty minutes to make so that’s a major win for me.

3)  Make your own household cleaners.
The same can be said for household cleaners as laundry detergent.  There are so many toxic chemicals in the cleaners and yet, you can deodorize, sanitize and de-gook-ify your entire house using ingredients you can find in your pantry.   Personally, I now use water and a microfiber cloth to clean my mirrors and windows and vinegar for just about everything else, but I still use my Scrubbing Bubbles to clean the bathtub.

4)  Use Reusable Shopping Bags. I know, I know….it’s such a pain to remember to bring them with you to the store.  That’s why I leave mine tucked into the little pouch on the back of my driver’s seat.  No matter how rushed I am, I don’t have to worry about forgetting them.

These are just four of the many “small” changes you can make in your daily life that will add up over time and make a huge impact on the environment. Remember, we’re baby stepping here, people.