Top Ten Tuesday: Going Green

Top Ten Ways I'm Going Green (On a Budget)
10. Eliminating paper towels. I've invested in a good supply of cloth dish towels for cleaning. I'm not spending money on paper towels every few weeks and I'm not throwing them away either!
9. Reusable shopping bags. You'd think this one would be a no-brainer, but I can't tell you how many times I've just forgotten the bags at home - or worse, in the car. I'm committing to not bringing home any more plastic bags!
8. Wooden pencils. Yes, the point of mechanical pencils is that you can refill them and reuse them. But I know myself, and I know that I am much more likely to throw the pencil away and grab a new one than I am to buy little packs of graphite. So I'm opting for old-school wooden pencils. Use them up and they're just gone!
7. Real dishes. Plastic silverware is convenient for parties, and the styrofoam cups in the library are perfect - but I think it is worth inconveniencing myself to keep from being wasteful. So I'm taking real mugs to the library and carrying dinner to class in reusable containers. Maybe it means more dishes to wash, but that's ok.
6. Looking for opportunities to repurpose. The coffee canister is empty - I could toss it OR I could use it to store my next batch of coffee beans. Just think it through!
5. Embrace nature. If it's the middle of the afternoon, do I need all of the lights in my house on? No, unless the sky is black and ominous from an impending storm. Open windows! Draw the blinds! 
4. Research. This one will take time and effort, but I want to know more about where things come from. I want to buy food and products that are produced responsibly and without hurting the planet - or people. This concept goes beyond "green" - I think caring about the earth means caring about the people who inhabit it. So be aware of where things come from and don't support companies that don't take care of their employees (again, this will take time - if you have any good resources on the topic, send them my way!).
3. Less paper. As much as it pains me to read books and articles on screens, it really is better in terms of eliminating waste. Don't get crazy - I will ALWAYS be pro-paper book. But now as I do research for a presentation, I don't need to print all the articles. I don't need to buy magazines when I can usually find the article online. I can downsize. And of course, what paper I do use I can recycle!
2. Being a thoughtful shopper. I've recently realized how much food I waste. It's a challenge cooking for one. I'll make a bunch of something, save the leftovers, and never get around to eating them. So this means taking more frequent trips to the store and buying just what I need for the next few days. As long as I'm on my own, I don't need to stock up on a lot or cook huge portions. Time to think it through.
1. And at last, now that it is warm, I can walk to class and other places on campus and not drive like a lazy bum.