Going green can be really easy, but even I don’t always remember these small ways to help reduce our impact on the earth. But every little bit helps, and it’s the little things that add up to the big results. So if your home watching the news wondering what you can do to help solve the problems of the world, here’s a couple things that are easy and cost not one single penny to do.

1. When doing laundry, hang dry as much as possible and clean the lint screen every time. This makes for a smaller load in the dryer for a shorter amount of time which saves energy. Cleaning the lint screen helps the dryer work more efficiently, which also saves energy and will help your dryer last longer.

2. Bring your own bags to the store. This really does cut down on so much excessive and wasteful overuse of plastic. I have to admit, I sometimes forget to do this, so just remembering takes practice. You could use a plastic bag or reuse a paper shopping bag or cloth bag. Keep one or two in your car so you always have them on hand when shopping. Since I don’t have a car I often keep one under our stroller and in my purse.

3. Unplug your appliances when you are not using them. This also takes some habit forming practice. Think of your coffee maker, toaster oven, phone chargers, printer. Even if they are turned off, the plug in the outlet drains energy.

4. Recycle paper. Print on both sides of the paper, and use junk mail for kids’ crafts, scrap paper and shopping lists.

5. Make your own cleaning products. I found this great article which gives recipes for cleaners of all types, with harmless ingredients you probably already have around the house.