Ditch the High-Maitenance Front Lawn and Plant Natives

    As a Northern Californian experiencing a serious drought, I am thrilled to see more and more gardens being cultivated with plants that need no water. This method is called xeriscaping and is gorgeous and has enormous variety. If you're tired of the constant mow/water/fertilizer cycle of your lawn, consider getting rid of it altogether. It's not as bizarre as it sounds. Some water conservationists estimate that up to 40% of a household's water usage during the summer months is spent on outdoor watering, so ditching the lawn altogether can save you time and money, not to mention a precious resource. One eco-friendly option is to replace that turf with plants indigenous to your region, which will require less water and look far prettier than any ol' square of green grass could ever. Start a xeriscaping movement on your street

Go Plastic-free with Your H20

    Give up the bottled water. Please? Not only is it ridiculously priced and horrifically wasteful, but also fails to offer any benefit over tap water. Many brands draw their water from a municipal supply- as in, the same water that comes out of your tap for free. Additionally, bottled water companies aren't held to the same stringent standards as public waterworks. And, adding final insult to injury, plastic bottles can often leach harmful chemicals into the water and then languish in landfills for thousands of years if not properly recycled. It's better for everyone involved if you carry a jar of reusable water bottle to fill up instead. Drinking from a Mason jar is the ultimate in chic, too!

Just Say No to GMO

    Buy organic heritage seedlings whenever you can. Most fruits and vegetables have an incredibly diverse range of varieties, but we typically only see one or two different kinds in the grocery store. By choosing to grow heritage plants, we can preserve that diversity and give a big green thumbs down to monoculture.

More Ways to Avoid Plastic

    *Jars. So many jars. For salads, soups, sauces, juice, opened packages of things. Justy jars. Lots of jars.

    *Aluminum foil is a great stand-in for plastic wrap and can be easily recycled or saved for reuse.

    *Wax paper is great for wrapping sandwiches. So are reusable sandwich pouches you can make or purchase. Many close with velcro and are easy to launder or wipe clean.

    *Reuse empty yogurt, sour cream, or cream cheese containers. You've already got them and you have to wash them before tossing them into the recycling bin anyway, so you may as well use them again.

    *Invest in reusable lunch containers like bento boxes or tiffins to avoid waste hen sending off your little one (or yourself) with a bagged lunch.

Planting Trees is Good for All

    In 1872, J. Sterling Morton founded Arbor Day, and the year, over a million trees were planted in Nebraska. It's usually celebrated on the last Friday in April (some states choose different ages depending on their weather for best tree planting times). Probably now, more than ever, we need to honor Morton's big idea- trees hugely improve the quality of our lives. They provide shelter and food for our wildlife, clean the air, absorb carbon dioxide, and release oxygen. They mask noise, prevent soil erosion, and provide wood for fuel and buildings: all this plus the joy and wonder of such a majestic and wonderful plant.

    Celebrate Arbor Day this Friday by logging onto arborday.org and finding out what you can do in your area. Save a tree by recycling paper. Plant a suitable tree in your garden or neighborhood and dedicate it to someone special.

Making the Most of a Rainy Day

    Get a rain barrel:

    *Install the rain barrel at least six feet from your house. Locating it near an area, you'll be watering the most makes for convenient use later.

    *Ensure that your rain barrel has an overflow at least as large as your inflow- for example, if you have rigged it so that water is collected directly from your eaves' trough downspout, your overflow value should be as large as your downspout as well. This will allow your rain barrel to get rid of excess water as fast as it collects it, which might be necessary if you live in a city with crazy, unpredictable weather like my brother does.

    *If you are using the rain barrel to water your garden, consider using a soaker hose. You can attach the hose to the rain barrel and then run it through your garden so that it covers the area you'd like. Now, every time you see a rain cloud, you'll get really excited.

Be a Pre-cycler

    Try to recycle all the product packaging that an item comes in, from the cardboard box to the plastic sleeve. Buy fewer, but better-quality, products to ensure you won't end up with a makeup drawer filled with stuff that doesn't live up to its promise. And finally, check out companies like TerraCycle (terracycle.com) that offer recycling programs for things like mascara tubes and lotion bottles. I am very proud that on my business card, alongside my title of "Publisher," it also says, "Office Composter" because I set up a full-scale recycling and zero waste program.