Take shorter showers.
Shower with a friend.
Make sure your clothes are good and dirty before you wash them.
Don't wash your hair everyday.
Don't shower everyday.
Don't leave the water running while you brush your teeth or wash your hands.
Instead of letting the tap water run to make it cold, keep some in the fridge, perhaps in an used plastic juice container or milk jug (or something like that).
Paper
Use less toilet paper.
Don't use paper towels (tear up worn out clothing and use it for rags).
Write on college ruled paper.
Write to or call the companies that repeatedly send you junk mail and ask them to take your name and address off their list (make sure you say both). If possible, use the postage paid envelope they include to send your letter. (That'll teach 'em.)
Consider using a handkerchief instead of tissues.
Electricity
Wash clothing on cold.
Use those new, extra efficient light bulbs.
Don't leave the TV, the radio, and all the lights on if you're just gonna read a book.
Gasoline and Oil
If you can walk it, don't drive it.
Don't use a weed whacker when clippers will do (small appliances like chainsaws and lawn mowers have MUCH lower emissions standards then do cars.)
Reducing Trash
Favor products with less packaging.
Favor products with more environmentally friendly packaging.
Favor products with reusable packaging.
Recycle!
Don't buy anything in "snack size."
Don't buy anything that advertises with the phrase "use once and simply throw away!"
Donate old clothes, toys, appliances, and dishes to charity, the goodwill, or salvation army.
Purchase nylon bags and take them with you to the grocery store (these are stronger than those plastic ones anyway, so not only are you reducing plastic, and reusing nylon bags, you can put more in them and they won't break on the way out to the car).
Wrap food in tupperware instead of plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
Many yogurt and sour cream containers aren't recyclable, but they make great tupperware containers. (Buy the yogurt cups with the plastic lids.)
Cut up old clothing and use it to make wallets, purses, necklaces, new clothing, a quilt, or play clothes for your little sister or brother.
Use empty dog and cat food bags as trash bags.
Consider alternatives to conventional menstrual pads and tampons. (www.keeper.com- haven't tried it, don't endorse it, but the site has some interesting information)
Being Crafty
Use some paper and the cardboard from cereal boxes to make a writing book for a friend, then decorate with magazine scraps.
Use broken bits of pottery to make chimes (be sure to sand the edges first).
The foil part of candy wrappers makes for good sparkly stuff in an art project.
The paper from candy wrappers is good for origami.
Altoid tins, and those tins that AOL CDs come in make good gift boxes, so just dress up the tin a little and give someone a cute little present in a cute little box.
