Be a sassier shade of green with these eco-friendly tips and tricks for both in the office and at home. These eco-tips will provide insight, level-headed advice, and recommendations for people who want to make small changes that add up to big results.

The paper trail:
Stop junk mail by removing your name from mailing lists. Annually, 100 million trees are cut down to make junk mail. The website ww.directmail.com is a free and easy link to remove your name from commercial mailing lists.
Most banks and credit card companies now offer online banking in an effort to cut back on mailing long paper statements and bills.
Take the paper out of your news! Be up-to-date on current events by reading your newspaper online!

The power is in your hands:
Unplug appliances when you are not using them, as they require energy even when turned off. Use a “smart” power strip that senses when appliances are turned off and cuts off all energy flow.
Replace old light bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs. These last much longer, have lower energy costs and reduce pollution.
Wash laundry with cold water since eighty-five percent of the energy used to wash clothes comes from heating the water!
Empty the lint filter in your dryer after every load to save energy!

Rags to riches:
Reach for a cloth instead of paper towels the next time you need to clean the counter. Americans send 3,000 tons of paper towels to landfills each day.
Dress up your dinner table with cloth napkins instead of paper ones!
BYOB! Bring Your Own Bag when shopping at the grocery store instead of using paper or plastic.
Check out garage sales, websites such as Craig’s List, or postings within the firm for gently used items instead of buying brand new.

A Run for your Money:
Check out eco-friendlier running shoes that allow you to keep up with the best of them. Companies like Asics, Nike and New Balance now produce shoes with “green rubber”.
Instead of kicking your old sneakers in the trash, recycle them into new sports surfaces like basketball courts, tennis courts, athletic fields, running tracks and playgrounds. For further information on where to donate, please visit http://www.letmeplay.com/reuseashoe/locations/usa.html
Need a “green” gym bag? Check out Martha Stewart’s tip on how to create your own from an old t-shirt! http://www.marthastewart.com/article/good-thing-t-shirt-bag
Throw on those shoes and take your workout outside! Cincinnati parklands consist of 5 regional parks, 70 neighborhood parks, 34 natural areas, 5 neighborhood nature centers, 30 sites managed by the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, 5 parkways, 16 scenic overlooks and 65 miles of hiking & bridle trails!

Food for Thought:
Support your local farmers! Shopping local farms saves the resources needed to ship and preserve fresh food and provides fresher produce than anything in the supermarket. It is also good for our local economy--buying directly from family farmers helps them stay in business.
Buy food items in bulk instead of individual packaging to cut down on waste and save big bucks. Glitzy packaging makes up ½ of all U.S. municipal solid waste by volume. Buying in bulk will also reduce the number of trips you need to make to the store.