What I'm doing to help cut down on mindless consumption

None of these tips are new, or earthshattering in any way, but they are effective and worth repeating. What it all boils down to, to my mind, is learning to become mindful of what you consume. That is not as easy as it sounds. Most of us here in the US have been raised to be mindless consumavores. It's the American Way - endless, mindless consumption is what makes our funny little hallucinated economic gears turn 'round and 'round. So actually thinking about and making conscious decisions about what we use is something that has to be learned.

1. If there are two lights on in the room and you don't need them both, turn one off. If you are leaving the room for even five minutes, turn the lights off.

2. Natural lighting is often more than sufficient for most tasks during the day. Only use artificial lighting when it's really needed. I've discovered that flipping on the lights when you enter a room is often more habit than anything.

3. Carefully monitor children's use of lighting. Flip off lights when they are not in their room, and make it a habit to check after they have used the bathroom to make sure they turned off the lights there, too. If the main light fixture in their room is one that takes multiple bulbs, consider using low-wattage bulbs, or only filling half the slots. Make it easy for the curtains or blinds to be opened to allow natural light in.

4. Don't let the water run excessively long when preparing a shower. Run it just long enough to get the water warm. If you don't have a water saving shower head, consider turning on the water pressure only half-way while showering, and/or actually turning it off while soaping up and scrubbing or shaving.

5. Don't run the sink water while you brush your teeth - turn it off and on as needed or use a cup.

6. Don't throw away leftovers - they make wonderful lunches and it saves money when you don't have to use fuel to cook again, or buy another meal's worth of food to serve. If you can save five dollars per adult, per day on lunch during the week (a very conservative estimate for purchased meals outside the home) that adds up to over $1,200.00 a year per person in monetary savings, not to mention less damage to the environment from waste.

7. Buy dry goods in bulk, repackage into reusable containers at home where needed, thus saving packaging waste and money. It's also nice to have a well-stocked pantry - it cuts down on trips to the store and on the late night aggravation when you find out as you are tucking your little guy or gal into bed that you are expected to send 2 dozen baked treats to school the next morning! For those of us that live where weather can become a bit dangerous, it's also quite nice to know that you won't be needing to head out in a snowstorm late at night for an emergency store run. There are many things worth risking your life for - but imho toilet paper is not one of them.

8. Every time a light bulb burns out, consider carefully whether you can replace it with a more efficient bulb (compact fluorescent) or a lower wattage bulb. In fact, if it is one of many in a particular room, you may decide you do not need to replace it at all. But if you do, stop and think for a minute about what you can do to use the opportunity to lower your household's consumption. If you do this for year or two, nearly every light in your house can be using less electricity.

9. Many things can be reused if you keep your eyes open for the opportunity. Even things like plastic bags can often be reused at least once. If you reuse something JUST ONCE, you've effectively cut your usage of that particular item by 50%, without even trying hard - and fifty percent is not a trivial amount! If you still think it is, think for a moment about how it would be to have fifty percent less room in your home, or fifty percent less distance to commute every day, or fifty percent less laundry to wash, or fifty percent less income. I'll bet fifty percent doesn't seem so trivial once you've thought about it that way, does it?