When the people I talk to hear the words "going green" they right away think about people that live in the woods, love nature, and eat figs and nothing else. The fact is going green is more than just not cutting down trees or driving less. There is a whole plethora of things that are considered "going green". Here are five things you can do today to go green.

Buy Organic

In a nutshell organic foods are foods grown without the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Breaking that down even further organic foods are also grown as part of a permiculture as opposed to a monoculture. A permiculture is farming where multiple varieties of vegetation are grown in the same area to maximize the soil, sun and compost. An example would be growing tomatoes next to sugar beets. A monoculture is farming where you grow just one type of vegetation in a field. The best example of this is a corn field. By going organic you are purchasing vegetation that does not use any means of chemicals. As the demand for non-organic foods goes down so will the need for chemicals. A lot of times organic foods are cheaper if they are grown locally.

Unplug

When items are not in use unplug them. Sounds simple right? Well you would be surprised at which appliances draw power that is not even in use. If you are not using an appliance unplug them to ensure that no power is being drawn. Not only does this help you go green by using less electric but will help you save some money as well.

Save Water

Even though water covers over 75% of the earth most of it is not drinkable. Therefore we must do our part to conserve the drinkable water that we do have. You can take a shower instead of a bath, make sure you do your laundry on the appropriate size setting, do not run the water while you brush your teeth or shave, to name a few. Again this is a tip that not only helps conserve water but will also save you some money.

Recycle

Sure this one is common sense since you more than likely recycle, paper, bottles, plastics and cans. But did you also know that you can recycle your food waste. The process of recycling your food waste is called composting. By burying your food waste (no steak bones) in a hole about 2 to 3 foot deep, what you are doing is supplying food to earthly creatures, i.e. worms, bacteria and fungi in the soil. When you do this their castings supply nutrients to the soil which creates an ideal growing environment for flowers, vegetables, trees and other plants. If you have a garden you should definitely give this a try.

Educate Yourself

Last but not least, but last for a reason is to familiarize yourself with what you can do in regards to going green. It can be as easy as doing a Google search on the Internet or reading a book from the library. Educating yourself will give you the tools you need to be successful in helping out your environment.

These are just 5 of the many ways you can participate in the art of going green. You will find as educate yourself more that going green usually translates into saving money. So not only are you helping the environment, but you are saving some money in the process.