Going green can be expensive, but I am a believer in one step at a time, lots of small actions add up and sometimes the green option is the cheap option.

For example:

Cleaning:

Vinegar is a safe and powerful cleaner that is much cheaper than any of the harmful chemicals most people use. The production of these chemicals are very harmful to the environment most are petrol products in addition to being poisonous chemicals. Replacing them with Vinegar & Baking soda. You can unclog toilets and drains with a few cups of vinegar some baking soda, let it sit for 30 minutes and follow with boiling water. Floors, bathtubs, sinks and toilets all can be cleaned with vinegar. The only draw back for some people is the smell but it goes away quickly.

Gardening:

Replace a portion of that sprawling, water consuming lawn and grow something to eat: A small organic tomato & cucumber garden from seed will reduce the pesticide use to grow them for the grocery store, reduce the gas it takes to drive to the store and back and you will be sure that the food you grow is poison free. Stop buying plants that are in plastic tubs and trays, opt for the ones that come in peat pots or grow them yourself from seed.

Buy a push mower, it will pay for itself eventually in gas, it won?t pollute the environment and it is easier to use than a gas mover.

Pest Control

It is many times safer & cheaper to use natural pest controls, for example if you have an ant problem in the Kitchen and you unload a $5 can of raid on them you are poisoning your personal environment, the environment at large and its more expensive than using just Vinegar.

In your home and garden it is free to find 2nd uses for things you would normally throw away. If you don?t want it but it?s still useful, give it away or donate it. Giving things a 2nd life greatly reduces landfills.

stop thinking about the green movement in terms of consumption which is always costly, instead find ways to diminish your negative effects on the environment.

more examples that cost nothing or even save you money:

to save water - Put a sealed bottle filled with water inside your toilet tank and it will reduce the amount of water it takes to fill back up.

Don't just turn off unused appliances, unplug them, most will continue to consume electricity if they are continuously plugged in.

Walk or Ride a bike whenever possible.

Remove excess weight from your car, clean the trunk out, check your tires and fill your gas early in the morning or at night when it is cooler and don't wait until it is completely on empty before you refuel, refueling on half a tank will save you money in gas by reducing gas wasted by evaporation.

Eat less meat. Good for you and good for the environment.

Stop junk mail from coming to your house and business, get removed from catalog lists you don't want or need, pay your bills online and cancel the mailed statements.

Recycle, Reuse, Reduce

Replace the word re-cycle with re-purpose. I just saved 40,000 recycle bins from going into the land fill. I have homes for about half in prisons, veterans affairs, dorms, new green projects in elementary schools, etc. I even have a couple hundred reserved for a police department who wants to use them for evidence containers. If you see a need for 20,000 of the remaining containers you can email me at adamanddad@aol.com. I'm in the Seattle area.

I hate to burst your trendy bubble, but the global warming industry is a total scam.  At least watch this video so you're not a total victim:

www.moviesfoundonline.com/great_global_warming_swindle.php

It definitely can get expensive, but as other commenters have mentioned, the first step to going green is reducing your own consumption. Don't get rid of a perfectly good item you already have in order to replace it with a greener option (unless, of course, you are donating it to someone or helping out another who needs it more than you do). Find ways to reduce your impact in small ways: find a way to recycle or repurpose an item you were going to throw away; start with something small like buying reusable shopping bags or giving up disposable plates and cups.

However, if you are going to buy new items (which should be more out of need than want) be conscious of what you are purchasing. I blog about eco-friendly home products, and many of them are very pricey. But it is for this very reason that I set up price categories so that budget-conscious shoppers can find items they can afford.

You just have to be conscious of your buying options as a consumer and choose wisely.  And it's not always more expensive. I found recycled toilet paper at my traditional grovery store the other day that was cheaper than the toilet paper I used to buy. So I made the decision right then and there to switch. Simple.

Hope this was helpful :o)

It is difficult to find good deals on things we need that aren't going to make such a negative impact on the Earth.

I have found a great company to do my household shopping with - mainly they make every day household necessities... like cleaning, laundry, dental and bath products.  They also have health products as well like vitamins and weight loss products.

Anyway.. their products are great and they do not use any harsh chemicals and all packaging is biodegradable.  Most of the products are also concentrated so they save money and unnecessary packaging.  Most of the products are actually less expensive per use - the company does this by eliminating some of the "extra overhead" costs like national advertising and things like that and instead opts to rely on their loyal customers to spread the word about them.

Go to www.livetotalwellness.com/mcb and request more info - that way you can find out more....

Have a Great Day!!