While many people hear the term green living, they think that is a fad, but more people are realizing that this needs to be a way of life for everyone in order to ensure we do not deplete the earth’s resources.  There are little things you can do right now in order to do your part and if everyone does the same, before long people begin living a greener lifestyle automatically.  Some ways you can begin your green living include:

1. Do you receive paper bills in the mail?  Most companies have what is called an e-bill or paperless bills, meaning rather than generating a paper bill each month, they send you an email of your bill.  You can then log in and pay your bill via an online check or credit card.  Check with all your bills today such as credit cards, utilities, cell phones, home phone, and cable most if not all, offer e-bill statements.

2. Get in the habit of recycling.  Many neighborhoods and apartment complexes actually participate in recycling programs.  This means they give you the needed bags and pick up the recycled materials for you.  Even if you do not have such a service where you live, your individual city will have recycling bins set up around the city, so you can simply place your recycled items in the can.

Additionally, purchase recycled products and those that have the recycled emblem on the label.  The more people that refuse to purchase items that are not recyclable, the more you put pressure on companies to change their packaging.

3. Everyone likes good tasting water, but did you know that those plastic water bottles you love so much are not biodegradable?  This means they hang around the landfills for 100’s of years.  Switch to a filtered in-home water filtering or system.  These are quite popular now, such as pitchers and it allows you to filter your tap water so that it tastes just as good as bottled water and you save money since purchasing bottled water by the case adds up quickly.

4. Do you have a bike and live relatively close to work or school?  Start riding your bike instead of driving, you save on the emissions your car puts out and you get in shape.  It is a win-win situation.

5. Change all your light bulbs in your home to the florescent variety, these come in many sizes and the compact ones work great for replacing bulbs in your lamps and bathrooms.  These bulbs normally last about 5 years, so you are saving money and helping the environment.  Another win-win situation.

In conclusion, if everyone would live by these five simple suggestions, the planet as a whole would be in much better shape, especially when you think about 200 years from now.  Remember, what you do today affects others in the future.