Putting Little Green Thoughts Into Practice

There are a bunch of green things that I've heard I should be doing and I'm finally getting around to doing a few of them.  I still have a list of others waiting to be tried, but one at a time, I'm adding them up!  Here's what I'm up to:

1. Putting the lid on my pots when I'm boiling water.  I've finally made this one a habit and I can definitely tell the difference in less cooking time.
2. Catching 'gray' water in our shower.  I put 2 open top watering cans in our shower and catch the water that runs when our shower is heating up...since our house is built on a concrete slab, it seems like the hot water takes a while to get upstairs.  After each shower, we empty them into a big container with a lid to use for our garden.
3. We've been doing cloth napkins for a while, but now I've started to think of ways to use less tissues.  This idea was stolen from my Mom, who does many green things that she doesn't give herself credit for!  Instead of using a tissue for my eye makeup remover, I started using one of the boys' old baby washcloths.  It's just as soft as a tissue and that's 365 tissues I will save this year!  Thanks, Mom! :)
4. My Mom has to be the queen of quick showers...I think she would win a contest!  So taking my cue from her, I've started cutting down on shower time.  Once the water is hot, I quickly lather up my hair & rinse, then turn the water off while I condition my hair and wash my body.  I also skip showers on days that I'm home and not in need of one, which gives my hair a break and saves resources.  Still on my radar to try is getting rid of shampoo and conditioner in favor of more earth-friendly ones.  Has anyone tried this?
5. I've been turning off all of the lights after the boys have gone to bed (usually around 8:30 pm) and working by candlelight or just keeping one small light on.  I'm looking into those Smart strips that conserve phantom energy for our tv, computer, etc. - who has these and do you have any recommendations?

Those are just a few that are on my mind right now, but I'll post more later.  What little green thoughts have you put into practice?  Thanks for reading and sharing!