Gradually Going Green - Save Money, Protect Your Family & Be Kind to the Planet

Going green can be an overwhelming goal for most of us - myself included. If  you're anything like me, you would love to instantly change your lifestyle to one of a green, clean, organized super mommy but - in my case anyway - not gonna happen(not overnight anyway). There are some very simple changes that you can make  in your day to day life that will help protect the health of you and your family, save money and be friendly to the Earth at the same time. Here are a few very simple ways that may not seem like much but they will make a difference and will start your journey to Gradually Going Green.
1. Switch to rechargeable batteries - be sure to properly dispose of the old ones-go here for details on how to properly dispose of the different types of batteries. Chart is near the bottom of page.
2. Bring your own shopping bags to the store - if you don't have reusable ones yet, just bring the  bags you got from your last shopping trip. You can purchase good bags to use as shopping totes from thrift stores. Later on, I'll include a how to for making your own reusable shopping bags!
3. Change  your light bulbs to CFL bulbs - you can purchase a few now to make sure you have them on hand, so you replace your old bulbs with Eco Friendly ones when they need changing. 4. Use cold water when washing clothes to cut down on your energy bill. Do other things to save energy(the little things your parents taught you from the time you could walk) like turning off the lights when you leave a room and turning off the water when brushing your teeth. I believe in leaving off lights in the house unless you absolutely need them. I prefer sunlight to indoor lighting. When I was living on my own, I rarely used electricity - I think my electric bills were as low as they could possibly be. I was broke and luckily loved fresh air  so I kept my windows open and curtains open in the summer and in the winter I bundled up and used one lamp - those were the days. I also made sure to turn off the water when brushing my teeth and I took quick showers(mostly because it was freezing but it kept the bills low).
5. Check the air pressure in your tires to reduce wear and tear and save gas. 
6. The most important one, in my opinion, is this - cut down on red meat consumption. The shocking statistics from an article by Shasha Lyutse on the Natural Resources Defense Council blog site, gives us plenty  of incentive though to cut back on red meat: If everyone in America ate red meat two days a week less than they do now and ate poultry instead, and if they exchanged dairy-based calories for vegetable-based calories two days a week, the impact would be equivalent to taking 17 million cars off the road.
Coming up, learn how to green your beauty routine. Save tons of money and get rid of the harsh chemicals that you may be putting on your face and body daily. Also, think about the complexions of movie stars from the 30s and 40s - flawless! What do you think they used? They didn't have all our fancy acids and creams - just good, pure ingredients that made them glow.