Thriftiness isn’t really "new" or "green"; people have found ways to reuse scrap or discarded items for years. The pre-industrialization U.S. didn’t have what we call "trash." Every bit of scrap and waste from the home was remade, reused in some way, or sold to peddlers where it was eventually recycled. With the Industrial Revolution came more products to buy with new kinds of packaging, and trash as we know it was born.

Dave and Lillian Brummet’s Trash Talk is a book that aims to get back to minimizing waste and finding everyday uses for trash. Think of it as "Hints From Heloise" meets Mother Earth News. The introduction reminds readers that reduce, reuse, and recycle should be precluded by refuse — as in, refusing to buy items that generate a lot of waste. The book is divided into four sections: the first has ideas for reusing common household items (some not-so-common — who has a plethora of old oven racks hanging around?), and the second has plans for habits you can implement that follow the four Rs, like composting, or cutting open toiletries bottles to get all the product out. The third section focuses on tips and habits related to paper, and the brief fourth section gives statistics that remind the reader that the little things do add up.

It’s clear that the authors walk the walk: many of the tips are reuse ideas that I hadn’t heard of, and their extensive gardening background was surprisingly helpful. The home garden seemed to be a playground for reuse. And, again, this seems to be more for the crunchier crowd — it definitely had the vibe of Mother Earth News as opposed to Real Simple. That doesn’t mean that it was packed full of radical ideas; most of the tips and habits are pretty practical for those who are in the process of going green. But there were a few that I know would cause the light-greenest of readers to drop the book and never look back.

There are issues with the text. The editing leaves something to be desired; I don’t know if the format of the book was the best way to present the information. The second section just seemed a catchall for random green-living ideas. Why is there a whole chapter about picking up trash while going on walks in a book marketed as "an inspirational guide to saving time and money through better waste an resource management?" I don’t think there’s really enough material here for a book like this: there’s a lot of unfocused information that, while interesting, didn’t really have a lot to do with solid waste reduction. And for $19.99, you’d think you get a lot more out of a paperback than 190 pages with a lot of white space.

All in all, the book is worth a read, but not a purchase. You’d be better off checking it out from your library, if you can find it.

My problem with The Lazy Environmentalist, green radio host Josh Dorfman's self-proclaimed "guide to easy, stylish, green living" isn't that it lacks information. It's actually a quite comprehensive guide to supporting green companies. I dog-eared multiple pages so I could visit websites of the companies in which I was interested. But it's not so much a guide to green living as it's a guide to green buying. I guess the tone set forth from the brief introduction rubbed me the wrong way:

These innovators make it easy for us to integrate environmental awareness into our lives. They understand that while so many of us are concerned about the environment, we don't always have the time, energy, or inclination to do something about it.

I only wish this was written in a less-than-serious voice. In my mind, if you don't have the "time, energy, or inclination" to do something about the environment, than you can hardly classify yourself as an environmentalist. You are looking to alleviate guilt for your conspicuous consumption, a culture of consumption that is devastating our planet. It's exactly the "culture of convenience" that's waging all-out war on our resources. Consider this passage from the chapter on cars:

There really is something for everyone–even those who drive Hummers, the most colossal of all urban assault vehicles…By offsetting the carbon dioxide emissions spewing from your car's tailpipe, TerraPass offers Hummer drivers eco-salvation.

Eco-salvation for Hummer drivers? A little too, oh, oxymoronic, for my tastes. Lazy is definitely geared towards a more high-end clientele, despite it's mention of Wal-Mart as an organic clothing retailer (Yeah, I know what you are thinking…I can't trust them quite yet, either).

Stepping off of my soapbox, for those of us who do have time, energy, and inclination to do something to lighten our footprint still have to buy goods and services, and Lazy provides a well-laid, well-written plan to finding greener versions of those goods and services. If you have to spend money, you might as well spend it on more sustainable products, right?

There are 22 chapters focusing on different products and services, from home furnishing to energy providers to media outlets (what, no shout out for Green Options?) Each chapter begins with a narrative insight into what practices these eco-companies are establishing to go green, then lists several companies, along with their websites and a brief description of what their business does or produces. Reading about different design innovations companies are using was fascinating (BraveSpace's hollow bamboo tables, anyone?), and I'll definitely check out many of the websites listed. If I'm going to save the planet, though, I've got better things to do.

Did you know that for most Americans, their home accounts for twice as much pollution as their cars? In fact, the average American home uses $1900 worth of energy per year–mostly due to heating and cooling.

Summer is fast approaching, and with it, higher energy bills when you finally break down and turn on the air conditioning. I know we'd all love to be able to afford solar panels for our homes or the new backyard wind turbines, and go off the grid. However, the first step to energy independence is energy efficiency and conservation. Need tips to save money by saving energy when you can't beat the heat? Look no further than Energy Star.

Last year, Energy Star launched Cool Your World with Energy Star @ Home, which allowed visitors to tour an animated home that featured tips on how to be more energy efficient. DIY projects such as installing a programmable thermostat (I easily did this at my house, and I swear I'm by no means handy), regular heating and cooling system maintenance, and proper sealing of one's home can save the average family at least 20% on energy costs. This year, Energy Star @ Home is going a step further by adding testimonials of real families and their quests to cut energy bills through energy efficiency.

What steps did a family like yours take to save energy? Check out the launch May 21st, just in time for summer's arrival. Have you already completely energy efficiency projects in your home? Hit up the site and submit your family's story.

We got new next-door neighbors, who haven't moved in yet, but have been working on updating the house for the past few weeks. On Saturday, my husband called me over to the window.

"She's washing out her paintbrushes with paint thinner ON THE GROUND!" I looked. Sure enough, our soon-to-be neighbor was pouring paint thinner all over her paintbrush, right into her yard, along with the paint from the brush. "What should we do?" he asked. What should we do? We didn't want our first encounter with our new neighbors to be us acting as the neighborhood eco-police, but we also didn't want paint thinner going into the ground that we plant food in.

"Maybe she doesn't know that that's not okay," I optimistically offered. It wouldn't surprise me. Take a look in a neighborhood dumpster. Chances are, people in your neighborhood are probably disposing of things that they shouldn't.

When my kids visited the landfill, their pre-trip lessons included one about BOATY. BOATY is an acronym to help consumers remember what shouldn't be disposed of with your regular household trash:

Batteries, in general, shouldn't go into the house. Newer alkaline batteries have 97% less mercury than they used to, so many landfills have lifted bans on alkaline batteries, but you should check with your local hazardous waste agency on how to dispose of these. Rechargeable batteries, particularly nickel-cadmium (NiCd), are a better choice than alkaline because they can be reused many times, but are identified as hazardous waste and should be recycled after they can no longer be charged. Automotive batteries should be recycled, and button cell batteries, such as those in hearing aids, should be disposed of as hazardous waste.

Oil and other hazardous household fluids (like paint thinner) have the potential to pollute groundwater and harm wildlife (think Exxon spill). The EPA estimates that 40% of spilled oil comes from consumers in their homes changing their own oil. The good news is that you can recycle used motor oil–fossil fuels are finite, right? AutoZone and Jiffy Lube both accept used motor oil for recycling. Other household fluids, like cleaning solutions, antifreeze, fertilizers, solvents, paint, and degreasers should be disposed of during hazardous waste pickup days. Most solid waste management departments have these once or twice a year, where your hazardous waste is picked up by your municipality and properly disposed of.

Appliances and e-waste take up a ton of space in our landfills. Roughly 10 million refrigerators are disposed of each year. Ahem, did you get that? TEN MILLION! Forty percent of those are salvaged and resold/reused, but the rest go to landfills. Those old fridges release refrigerants and insulating foams that aren't exactly eco-friendly (read: ozone depleting). How do we fix this problem? First of all, repair your appliances. Use them until they completely cash out and cannot be fixed. If you are dead set on buying something new (like an incredibly efficient refrigerator) make sure you aren't throwing away a perfectly good appliance by donating or selling your old appliance via Gigoit or Freecycle. Goodwill and the Salvation Army will accept many used appliances. E-waste, a growing problem in America due to constantly emerging technology and built-to-die products, Only 13% of the 20 million computers that became obsolete in 1998 were recycled, but discarded electronics contain cadmium, lead, and mercury, all extremely hazardous to humans. Thankfully, e-cycling programs are springing up all over the country–you can even get rebates and discounts from many retailers for trading in your used cell phone, computer, or printer cartridges. Try E-Cycling Central to find programs in your area.

Tires, until the 1960's, were almost all recycled. When oil (the material used to create synthetic rubber) became cheap and abundant and steel-belted tires came into prominence, that recycling almost completely shut down. Thankfully, our country has started recycling tires again, because their durability allows them to be recycled into a plethora of items. Tires are bad for landfills because they are large and bulky and the steel-belt can puncture the , the geotextile liners of landfills, leading to ground contamination. Tires can be recycled at almost any car dealer or tire service center, but it's worth checking around–some places charge a small fee to drop off tires. Those tires are turned into roads, playground surfaces, and athletic facilities, among other things.

Yard waste, such as leaves, grass clippings, branches and sticks, are high-volume and take up a lot of space in landfills. More importantly, yard waste is easily reused by consumers and communities. Hello, composting? Grass clippings are great natural fertilizer for your lawn, but can be composted, along with leaves and your home food waste, to create a rich fertilizer for your plants. Most communities collect extra yard waste, either in special bags for pick up, or in special dumpsters. That yard waste is turned into mulch and compost used throughout cities and towns, and often available to citizens. In my hometown of St. Louis, residents can pick up mulch and compost for free, which is awesome when getting your garden started in the spring (we're taking a trip next week!)

The best resource available to figure out how to reduce, reuse, or recycle your trash, or properly dispose of it, is Earth911. They have a wealth of information and can direct you to resources in your area to help you reduce and clean up your household solid and hazardous waste. The EPA's solid waste site is also good.

(What did we do with the neighbors? We walked up to the grocery store, bought them a six-pack of locally-brewed beer and stopped by to introduce ourselves. This weekend, we're going to offer to help them move in and properly dispose of the household hazardous waste associated with moving, cleaning, and refinishing their floors. Wish us luck!)