Need cardboard boxes for moving, or to get rid of the ones you've unpacked? Let the website boxcycle.com connect those who need boxes with those who have them to give. The website is simple to use: Just type in your zip code if you need boxes, and it'll find boxes near you. Or you can sell the boxes you have and make a small profit. While cardboard boxes are recyclable, it still takes energy to pulp them and make new products. Reusing perfectly good boxes before recycling them is both an economical and ecological choice.

Do you want to avoid disposable plastic bags when buying fruits and vegetables at the store? While reusable bags are common, they can be difficult to keep clean and can be heavy -- adding extra cost to your produce purchases. But new reusable bags made from featherweight polyester aren't just strong, they let your produce breathe, too. And the best part? When you bring apples, broccoli or whatever's fresh from the market home, they can be rinsed and drained right in the bag.

Here's another reason to invest in a reusable coffee cup: disposable plastic lids may be bad for you. Disposable coffee cups use plastic lids made from rigid Styrofoam -- a No. 6-grade plastic -- that has the chemical bisphenal A (BPA) in it. When you sip your hot latte through a plastic lid, you're slowly sipping chemicals, too. In addition to investing in a reusable mug, you can avoid BPA in other plastic containers by simply looking at the recycling symbol. If you see Nos. 1, 2, 4 or 5, the product has low or zero BPA in it.