Reducing could refer to lowering the amount of objects you throw away, cutting back on the amount of energy you use or, in the overall picture, reducing your carbon footprint! Here is a handy carbon footprint calculator, provided by carbonfootprint.com, so that you can see how much your lifestyle is impacting the environment. After you find that out, read these tips on how to further reduce:

• Reduce the amount of energy you use by replacing your appliances with Energy Star appliances, adding foot pumps to your sinks, replacing your light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs and hanging your clothes to dry instead of using the dryer.

• Reduce your heating and cooling costs by replacing your thermostat with a programmable thermostat, using draft dodgers by the bottom of doors, adding screens or an extra pane of glass to windows and adding energy-efficient insulation.

• Reduce the amount of trash that you toss into landfills by starting a compost pile, gathering recyclable items and finding a place to recycle them or reusing items in original ways. Replace plastic water bottles with aluminum bottles, use towels instead of napkins and get rid of all paper and plastic plates and silverware.

• Reduce the amount of toxins that you release into the air by using green cleaning products, natural pesticides and by replacing your paint with zero or low-VOC paint.

• Reduce your overall carbon footprint by making lifestyle changes, such as carpooling more often, riding a bike, purchasing locally grown foods, hosting green dinner parties, and planting perennials instead of annuals.

Reducing your carbon footprint isn’t just good for the planet; it’s good for your pocketbook! Look forward to future articles with more green tips!