Cleaning up all the world's various environmental problems may seem daunting.
It's much easier, and more practical, to start with your own home.
You can do it without waiting for multiple governments and corporations to come to agreement on the big problems.
Some few "energy anorexics" go to extremes in going off the grid and eschewing anything disposable.
Don't let them scare you.
Several million of the rest of us can have a much more significant impact on the environment if we all start greening our homes in smaller steps, a few at a time.
It might even be enough to induce the governments and corporations to follow our lead.
Greening your home can start with simple--and free--changes of habit.
For example, avoid throwing anything away as much as possible.
That doesn't mean to become a hoarder.
It just means to fix, recycle, or give away stuff instead of sending it to the landfill.
After all, there's no such place as away, and as landfills fill up, it's becoming very difficult to agree on suitable places to start another.
You can even recycle hazardous stuff like paint, used batteries, or obsolete electronic things if you take them to a hazardous waste collection center.
And don't waste a trip.
Plan some other errands on the way there and back.
If you eat at a fast-food restaurant, don't use the drive-through.
Park, get out of your car, walk in, and stand in line.
You'll be burning at least a few calories instead of getting zero miles per gallon in an idling car while breathing everyone else's exhaust fumes.
When you eat at home, plan your menus, at least tentatively, a week in advance before you go shopping.
Use up your leftovers and perishable food before it has a chance to go bad.
Cheap is almost as good as free.
Stop accepting plastic (or even paper) bags when you go shopping.
Instead, buy a supply of various sizes of cloth bags--and develop the habit of taking them into stores with you.
Stop buying water in plastic bottles and get a stainless steel bottle instead.
Your water will get colder and stay cold longer.
Prefer cloth dish cloths, dish towels, and napkins to paper.
You won't want to ruin a cloth towel cleaning the oven, but get in the habit of using paper as little as possible.
Also, you won't have to take dead batteries to hazardous waste disposal if you start using disposable batteries instead.
You'll probably need more than one kind of charger.
Things like programmable thermostats, power strips so you can actually turn some of your appliances off, or occupancy detectors to turn lights and fans off, and similar modern gadgets don't cost much.
Neither do making sure your plumbing doesn't leak and your weather-stripping and insulation are doing their jobs.
You'll like the return on investment! You can spend a lot of money on solar panels or wind turbines--and not need a cent to pay for the electricity they make.
For less money, but still a noticeable outlay, you can reduce your electric bills by installing solar-powered fans and/or lights for your garage, attic, or shed.
You can install a wide variety of outdoor lights and never have to pay anything more to operate them than changing the (rechargeable) battery.
Inside, one of the new (and very expensive) LED bulbs will probably last more than ten years and use even less power than the CFLs that so many are complaining about.
Prices will come down, but even now, it's the best lighting deal of all, considering how many times you would have to change other bulbs (even CFLs) and how much electricity they require.
A short article can only mention a few of the hundreds of ways of greening your home.
I have a longer article that I intend to update from time to time as I discover more ideas.
Remember: the more individuals care about the environment, the quicker the governments and corporations will catch up and do what only large organizations can accomplish.