These are my top three tips for getting your kids thinking green and becoming sustainable. By becoming less wasteful, they will learn the impacts it has on your wallet and their surroundings, which will in turn help them become true citizens as they grow. Chances are their lifestyle choices can rub off on you, too!

Teach the impacts of throwing away items instead of reusing.

Practically everything can be found for purchase used as opposed to new. Explain how this keeps stress off the landfill and gives new life to what is already available. Your kids will develop more appreciation for what they have.

Teach your kid about thrift store shopping when they ask for new clothing. This will exercise their creative mind and they will learn to appreciate a unique style while saving money. Thrift stores seem to be in style these days anyway...I've never shopped anywhere else!

A good field trip for the kids that will really open their eyes, and yours, is to visit a landfill. The technology is quite interesting to behold, and more importantly you can develop an appreciation for what you recycle and reuse. Visiting a landfill at a young age was easily one of the best life lessons that I then applied to everything in life. This will answer the "who cares" opinion that a good portion of young kids seem to have.

Put your kids in charge of waste handling.

Have your kids earn their keep by overseeing the recycling and waste disposal practices at the house. In short time, they will love the responsibility and most likely begin talking about it all the time. Minimizing trash is a task that they will enjoy.

If you provide an allowance, this is a great way to start it off. They will learn the importance of being sustainable, and understand the magnitude of their actions. Be supportive and teach them why materials can and can't be recycled. If you want to get really technical, explain why materials are used for certain purposes and where they're obtained from. Recycling is a deep subject, and the more you explain it, the more curious they will become.

Pick a handful items that were destined for trash and come up with a new use for them.

Tap into the creative and artistic side of your kids by challenging them to find other uses for items that are at the end of their lifespan. Before you know it, you will have created professional waste reducers in your home.

A good starting example may be something simple like an empty yogurt container. Ask them what else they could use this shape for. A small container for their penss A flower pots A container for screws, nuts or boltss You get the point. You can also try this with clothing. If you have a pair of pants with a hole in them, ask what to do with it.

Hopefully they will answer with "needle and thread" or even "donate". Getting them in this mindset will keep life simpler, and most likely keep money in your pocket, too.
As you can see, you can save money, benefit the environment and raise a more responsible kid just by teaching green practices. Culture change is worth embarking on when you can have great results such as these. Schools are teaching environmental behaviors more often than ever, so ride the wave and help them become true responsible and respectful citizens.

Of course, these tips are just the start of the green lifestyle. I really believe that kids going green is an extremely important step to take in preserving our future. Teach them how to repurpose things, how to conserve, and be creative. The results will benefit everyone and most likely rub off on you, too.