In my last post, I shared some thoughts on the biblical mandate for faith ecological stewardship. But for someone who has simply not thought much about environmental responsibility, where do we begin?

Here are five small steps toward a more ecologically sound lifestyle:

1. REDUCE. "Paper or Plastic?" Neither! Start carrying cloth bags to the grocery store instead of having the cashier bag your items in paper or plastic. This is one way to reduce your post-consumer waste (and how many of those flimsy plastic bags are actually reusable, anyway? They usually come home with holes in the bottom!) Plus, some stores offer a small discount for bringing your own bags.

2. REUSE. OK, so say you forget the cloth bags every now and then, and you end up with a "bag of bags" in your kitchen pantry. Find other ways to use them! For example, I use them to pick up after my dog (a must when you are a dog-owner in an urban setting!), line my kitchen and bathroom trash cans, and carry lunch to work. I know a woman who uses them as shower caps, and another friend makes bags from those plastic shopping bags. Get creative!

3. RECYCLE. In New York City, recycling is a law and the recycling is picked up curbside twice a week by the city sanitation department, so I admit, it is more convenient than in many places. However, I used to live in Roanoke, VA, where (unfortunately) recycling was not required by law. We separated our recyclables in the garage (make sure to rinse the food items well!) and every week or so, drove to a recycling center and dropped them off. It's a pain, but c'mon - we find time to do lots of things that are inconvenient, because they are important to us. This should be one of those things we make time for.

4. BUY IN BULK. This is a good way to reduce the post-consumer waste. For example, buying a large carton of yogurt rather than small containers leaves less plastic behind. Same with most things - cereal, soda (buy a 2-liter rather than bottles or cans), vegetables, etc.

5. PLAN YOUR ROUTE SO YOU DRIVE LESS. I have noticed that the convenience of owning a car can sometimes lead to many short trips around town, running errands back and forth from my house several times in one day. However, by taking a little time to think through my day and plan ahead, I can reduce the number of miles I drive around town.

In addition to reducing my carbon footprint, this saves money on gas too!