Looking to live greener in 2005? Then how about try these 5 Little Steps, as suggested by Toronto’s weekly NOW Magazine…

1. Revive The Hanky The problem’s not just the tissues or even the paper towels, plastic forks and Styrofoam cups, but the fact that we’ve taken such a liking to them. Judging by the rapid clip at which we’re embracing the latest wave of throwaway mops, dusters and face cloths, we haven’t even peaked. Step one of your personal green revolution is to say no to the onslaught of oh-so-convenient single-use items and take back the hanky as a metaphor for the whole landfill-clogging industry.

2. RETURN TO THE FIRE Afraid of the shadows? You’d have to assume our whole nation is, considering our obsession with lighting every corner of our homes, offices and malls as brightly as possible. Torontonians alone landfill about 10 million bulbs a year, not including the lights many merchants toss through private garbage haulers. The solution? Ask yourself, do you really need to turn on a light when you enter a room for a brief moment? If you do need more illumination, does it need to be glaring? Can you install dimmers (which save 10 per cent on energy if you dim lights by just 25 per cent)?

3. LOVE THE LOCAL Resisting the glitz of international clothing chains and the flavours of exotic (and cheap!) fruits from faraway lands can be hard. Just keep in mind that it also takes a heck of a lot of fossil fuel (hence tons of ozone-depleting CO2 and smog-inducing hydrocarbons) to fly, truck and ship all this stuff to your fingertips. Get creative with local produce, cherish the charms and idiosyncrasies of your neighbourhood merchants.

4. MAKE IT, SHARE IT, FIND IT With the holidays behind us, it’s the perfect time to reassess our shop-till-you-drop mantra. We buy, buy, buy 365 days a year. We need some of those things to sustain ourselves, but next time you’re reaching for your wallet, ask yourself: Can I make this myself? Can I borrow it from someone? Do I have to buy this brand new? Start with food. Cooking might seem like a downer in this era of fast food and faster microwaves, but lots of delicious dishes can be whipped up in the length of time it takes you to wait for your takeout. Cut out that extra layer of fat, the Styrofoam container, the hard plastic shield, the cardboard box that separates you from what you need. The internet can yield thousands of tips on how to make your own cleaning supplies for cheap. And you’ll also come across tons of great free stuff at freecycle.org. It’s a worldwide grassroots network of people just giving and getting stuff for free in their towns.

   5. LOVE SMALL FEET
   We North Americans have the biggest ecological footprint. If everyone lived like us we’d need four more planets to support us. How many takeout coffees did you drink or lunches did you grab? Was the container recyclable, or did you bring your own? Was that coffee organic? Was any of your food? Did you know you can ingest 20 pesticides a day just through your fruits and veggies, not to mention the quarter-pound of pesticides it takes to grow your cotton T-shirt? How often did you drive (even as a passenger) when you could’ve taken transit? Did you print on both sides of the paper at work? Is that paper recycled? Now, how easy would it be to change the way you do five of those things? Take the official Ecological Footprint Quiz!