Considering that Memorial Day is on the way, as well as summer, are you ready to outdoors and begin cooking out? Cookouts are a great way to get out and enjoy the weather, and what’s even better is that you can easily switch up your traditional routine to make it green. If you are ready to be on your way to hosting eco-friendly cookouts throughout summer keep these 5 tips in mind in order to have the best green cookout.

1. Plan ahead so you don’t have an abundance of food.
2. Purchase all natural charcoal to cook with or use a propane grill.
3. Buy as much local and organic produce as possible.
4. Serve guests with plates and utensils that are reusable or those that are biodegradable or recyclable.
5. Set out recycling bins for waste

Do you know of any other green cookout tips that you would like to share? Let us know in the comments section!

Image from kiwilog

Now that you’ve gone green have you been making a conscious effort to purchase eco-friendly and organic beauty products, but with so many options on the market you’re having a hard time figuring out what’s really sustainable?  While it can be tricky to spot what items are truly green, remember these tips when it comes to choosing the best natural beauty products:

• Read the ingredients list. The majority of natural products will have pronounceable ingredients.
• Remember that not all organic products are created equal. The USDA organic seal will only be on all goods that are at least 95% certified organic.
• Check for the Natural Seal of approval which doesn’t mean that the ingredients are organic, but that they are largely plant or mineral-based.
• Check your product with the Environmental Working Group’s ranking to see how how it ranks on the group’s safety scale to see how green it really is.

Now that you know what to look for be confident as you head out and pick up an arsenal of new natural beauty products!

Source: The Daily Green

In your efforts to go green have you come across the term carbon footprint and tips on how to lower it more than you can remember? If so and you still aren’t sure exactly what it means, it is the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by an activity, organization or person. It’s important because it shows us how we impact the environment and reducing it essential to living within the means of our plant. But you can’t effectively reduce your carbon footprint until you know what it is.

If you are interested in reducing your carbon footprint in order to live a more sustainable lifestyle the first step is to calculate it, and you can do so with the Carbon Footprint Calculator from CoolCalifornia.org. By entering information on your family size, transportation, shopping and housing habits you can discover your footprint for each section, as well as your overall footprint. Once everything is calculated you can see how you fare against other households as well as the global average, and you can even make a personal pledge to lower each section

To find out what your carbon footprint is head over to CoolCalifornia.org now so you can be on your way to lowering it!

Image from Tree Hugger