Do Just One Thing

When buying paint to give your home's walls a refresh, understand the difference between low-VOC and zero-VOC paints. Many national brands of paint will label their paint as "low-VOC" or low in volatile organic compounds, the odor paint gives off. While it sounds healthy and green, low also means that it contains chemicals that lead to poor indoor air quality. In fact, nearly all latex paints today are considered low-VOC. What you want for the greenest choice is zero-VOC paint, which is just that: No volatile organic compounds whatsoever.

Not all canned tuna fish is the same. Most national brands of tuna use fishing methods called trawl, pure seine or long-line fishing, which is designed to get the maximum catch in the fastest time. The problem? Instead of just harvesting tuna, these methods also attract a significant amount of "by-catch," which includes aquatic species like turtles, dolphins, stingrays and sharks. If you love tuna and want to do the right thing, look for brands that use pole fishing. This is the method done for centuries with a fishing pole, bait and fishing line to catch one fish at a time. Brands like Wild Planet practice this method and have nearly no by-catch.

Do you have retailer loyalty cards or "reward" cards that you use for in-store discounts and to rack up points that you can use for freebies down the road? These reward programs are often in supermarkets and drug stores like Safeway, Walgreens and CVS. But did you know you can register your loyalty card through the website eScrip.com and use it to also raise money for charity? When you register your card, you can choose three nonprofits, and when you use the card, it supports causes you care about. To date, over $400 million has been raised through the thousands of merchants who participate. Learn more at eScrip.com.