Christmas brings us joy, love, and good times, but it also has the potential to generate a heap of waste. Here are some tips to maintain conservation of our natural resources while celebrating this joyous holiday!

• When you are looking for that perfect gift, gravitate towards those with the least amount of packaging and those made from recycled materials
• Use the same types of cloth bags that you do at the grocery store for your holiday gift shopping. Use them again, and again, and again...
• Look for a way to recycle your tree instead of sending it to the landfill. Check within your community today to see if they collect trees for mulching.
• If you buy an electronic device as a gift, consider giving the gift of rechargeable batteries and a charger along with it. Your gift recipient and your fellow man will thank you.
• Reuse the fronts of old holiday cards to send out as postcards or to use as gift tags. It would make a fun project for you and the kids!
• When you go out to shop save yourself some stress, gas, and time by planning out your trip. Keep it as local as possible, combine several errands into one trip, and bring some friends along for a carpool and some company! The more planning you do, the more efficient you will shop, and the more time you will have to spend with your family and friends!

If you haven't gone out to buy that new Energy Star refrigerator yet, GO! But in the meantime, here are a few tips to keep that older refrigerator efficient until you get that shiny new eco-friendly one:

1. Just as your mother always told you, Keep that refrigerator door shut!!! Every time that door is opened, the refrigerator can lose up to 30% of its cooled air, and that means it has to work that much harder and spend that much more energy to cool it down again (that goes for the heated air in the oven as well). So listen to the wise words of your mother and do the right thing.
2. Be sure to check the seal(s) on your refrigerator and freezer door(s). This can be easily done with a dollar bill. Just shut the door on a dollar bill and if you can easily pull out the bill then it is time to replace the gaskets. Replacement kits can be purchased from local appliance dealers or home centers. Weak seals on your refrigerator and freezer doors can lead to significant energy loss.
3. About twice a year vacuum those refrigerator coils to keep that compressor running efficiently. It's a dirty job, but it will save you money and energy costs.
4. Don't make your refrigerator too cold, try to keep it at around 36 - 38ºF. The same goes for the freezer, which should be kept at around 0 - 5ºF.
5. Try as hard as you can to resist the temptation of overloading the refrigerator. In order to keep foods at the proper temperature and maintain optimum efficiency, the cool air needs to be able to circulate freely.

Although the decision to grab a glass and go to the tap or to grab a bottle from the fridge ultimately comes down to a matter of personal preference, there are some environmental, financial, and health benefits from choosing the water from your tap. Over the years, and especially since the surge of bottled water, tap water has gotten a bad rap. Some common misconceptions regarding tap water are that it "tastes funny", or that it is "dirty". The truth is that all municipal water systems that serve 25 people or more are regulated by the federal Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 (amended in 1986 and 1996, see www.epa.gov for more information) so that "funny taste" that you experience is not anything harmful or unhealthy. In fact, there are some elements found in most tap water that you will not find in most bottled water, namely fluoride. Of the 50 largest cities in the United States, 43 of them fluoridate their drinking water. Fluoride has the benefit of helping teeth resist decay by strengthening the protective layer of tooth enamel, and can actually reverse newly formed cavities. In fact, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), every dollar spent on the fluoridation of drinking water saves $38.00 in avoided dental bills.

So, if you are still not convinced that tap water is possibly a better option than bottled, consider the waste produced by the bottled water industry. Approximately 1.5 million barrels of oil are used in the U.S. alone to make water bottles from polyethelyne terephthealate, about 86% of which are sent to landfills or incinerated. In addition, a great deal of bottled water must be shipped from far away places, such as from Finland to Saudi Arabia or from Fiji to the Unites States, and therefore requires more fuel to be used by the boats, airplanes, trains, and trucks. What about all of those bottles? Well, the ones that are thrown away are burned or sent to landfills where they take up space. What about the bottles that you recycle? It is great that you do, in fact, get those plastic bottles recycled, but if you were to replace all of those bottles with a single cup or thermos, the time saved on recycling those bottles could be spent on some other recyclable material. So instead of buying bottled water, try tap. If you don't like it directly out of the tap, try a water purifying system, either attached to your tap or a pitcher that is refillable. The next time you need water on the go, grab your favorite thermos or insulated mug and remind that you are doing something admirable and green!

Any household product that contains corrosive, toxic, ignitable, or reactive ingredients is considered to be Household Hazardous Waste, or HHW. It can be found in virtually any place in your home including the bathroom, kitchen, laundry room, and garage. Not only is disposal of these materials down the drain, onto the ground, into storm drains, or in the trash unsafe, but it is also illegal. The disposal of HHW is actually quite easy. Simply gather all of your HHW together and drop it off at a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center (HHWCC) for free disposal and recycling. Some of these centers even have a "stop & swap" program that lets you take partially used home, garden, and automobile products free of charge. Contact your local HHWCC today to get information regarding the disposal of your Household Hazardous Waste. Here are a few of the more common types of HHW:

• Batteries
  
• Paint and paint products
• Drain openers
• Household cleaning products
• Wood/metal cleaners and polishes
• Automotive products (motor oil, antifreeze, fluids)
• Grease
• Fluorescent lamps
• Pool/Spa chemicals
• Medications
• Televisions/Monitors
• ...and more

Are you tired of receiving those countless credit card offers, coupon books, and flyers stating that you have won the grand prize in a contest that you had never entered? There are a few different solutions to this problem, all of which will save you stress and save the world from excess waste and time spent on processing items through recycling. Try some of these tips to rid yourself of unwanted junk mail:

1. With your current address, other addresses from the past 2 years, and social security number(s), you can call the credit reporting industry's toll-free number at 1-888-567-8688, 24 hours a day, to stop receiving unsolicited credit card and credit card related offers. Be sure to make a separate call for each social security number and listen to all of the options (the last option should allow you to permanently remove your name from the list). Once you accomplish this, you should receive a letter in the mail asking that you confirm your request.
2. It is likely that your credit card company and any other company that you make regular purchases from (ie: banks, magazines, and phone/gas/electric companies) sells your name to other companies, who then send you unwanted junk mail. Feel free to contact them and request them to stop selling your name. This should free up some space in your mail box.
3. Be sure to contact the Direct Marketing Association to be removed from many companies' mass marketing mailing lists for up to 5 years. Visit www.dmachoice.org to find out how.
4. Many unsolicited mail items that you receive will have a toll-free number printed on them somewhere. Never hesitate to call this number and request to be removed from their list. 

The next time that you go to pack a lunch for yourself, for your children, or for anyone else that you care about, do it in a waste-free way. So here are some tips to reduce the waste caused by packed lunches so that you can start saving the Earth every day.

Let's start with that lunch bag. When we picture a lunch bag, more often than not, we picture the traditional brown paper bags. While many of these bags are now made from partially or completely recycled material, there is an even more eco-friendly option: the reusable lunch container. You can find these everywhere now and, whether it be a cloth bag or a lunchbox made from 100% recycled material, you will be eliminating a lot of waste every day by switching to one of these.

When it comes to what is contained in your lunch, think about alternatives to goods packaged in plastic, paper, or styrofoam. Instead of buying those individual servings of yogurt that come in their own plastic containers, buy a large container and take individual portions in a reusable container. You'll be saving money and reducing waste. The same concept applies to drinks. If you take water, juice, or even soda, try using a reusable thermos instead of bottled water, boxed juice, or canned soda.

If you bring napkins in your lunch, why not make them cloth instead of paper? If you need to bring utensils, why not make them reusable/washable instead of plastic? The goal of packing your lunch should be producing the least amount of waste possible. When you visit the trash can at the end of your meal, all you should have is maybe a banana peel, peach pit, or apple core.