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Great ideas. Already do some of them, but need to become more diligent The one in the first comment though about a totally sustainable meal - I don't understand that. Could someone please explain for me?

That's an admirable list. I'd only add one thing: try to avoid food waste! Composting is important, but reducing the amount of food that you need to dispose of is even more so.

I like the idea of bringing your own leftover container for eating out! Good list :) Instead of buying packaged goods, buy in bulk. Not only is it less packaging (especially if you bring your own bags) but you buy only what you need. Check out second hand stores for clothing first, especially at those that buy and sell clothes, because they only take the good stuff for resell. Wear a beanie and slippers in the house to keep the thermostat down and you warm.

Taking the reusable bag everywhere is a biggie. Around here the Grocery store is the only place you see them. Great post!

I have become quite accostomed to carrying the reuseable bags and now know the high points to the right bag for me: grogery-bag size, no bigger, or things get lost in them. Must have a loop for hanging while bagging the groceries, and a flat bottom with a cardboard or stiff bottom. I bought high priced bags in a nice canvas with a pithy saying and these were ok until I washed them. Now they can cart books, but pretty useless in the market becasue they don't stand up on their own. I bring my own container when I go out to eat and try to put half of my meal in before I eat my first forkful. ("try" being somewhat realative) I can use my own coffee mug at the fast food places if I go in, but not at the drive through. I tell them at the drive through No Bags or extra paper, please! because they sometimes give you a bag for your styrofaom coffee, a bag for your sandwich and a bag for your cream and sugar. Some places will put your sandwich in paper vs. styrofoam if you ask, but I have one place that won't even put my sandwich in one of their recycled, washed plastic containers. Claim it's a health risk for them. I have taught my children not to buy or consume water from water bottles. They are used to filling thier own bottle at the water fountain. I often run my dishwasher with half as much or even no soap at all. The high temp water gets things clean with less. Lights on-electronics off in our house, which means I tell the kids we have only so much electricity available to us, and if they waste their allotment on an appliance or light in a room they are not using, they lose a comparable amount of electronics time from thier recreation. That gets their attention. :-)

If I have just one item, I tell at the stores, especially at the bookstore..."Save the plastic trees." And I walked with my books...normally from a resale bookstores and I do book swaps with my sister and my friends. I am a slow reader and end up spending the cost of the book from the resale store in library fines, so I buy or swap. I also do magazines swaps and then if conditions are bad then recycle. Normally schools will take used magazines for projects. I also try to hang the clothes out to dry, but I live in a very humid place, so it takes a bit longer to dry.

Use unscented laundry detergents and stop using the dryer sheets. They are full of toxins and perfumes. Your dryer will last much longer too-the filter and other parts of the dryer won't get all the sticky chemicals all gummed up on them. Hang out laundry when weather permits-you'll save energy and get exercise.

I think these really are some excellent suggestions, particularly the re-usable bag elsewhere than a grocery store. Also here's a thought for students, dependent on your discipline and area of study it is sometimes nearly impossible to use up your notebooks from the semester, so instead of tossing out a 60% blank notebook, why not simply discard the used and continue using the notebooks. Also buy notebooks composed of a high concentration of previously recycled paper. Also someone mentioned about attempts of eliminating meat, particularly beef, from their diet occasionally, that is a terrific idea. The environmental impact of the meat industry actually outweighs the damage caused by automobiles.

when i shop for food i often shop without a pre-conceived idea of what i want. i just buy whatever looks great(mostly the in- season stuff) and that's what we eat. i don't spend any time driving around looking for the one ingredient that the store didn't have. in summertime i go to my local little farmers market and again shop without plans. i try to buy at least one thing from every single vendor so i support every one of them. i buy the nicest vegie each of them has to offer. then i go home and we eat simple amazing fresh food. i also make do with what i have which means throwing things together and not running around looking for specific ingredients. we rarely waste good food this way. i've learned how to use a few key spices and this helps.