After reading this post, don't forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes.

Today's winner is Grace Kempenaar of Waterloo, Ont.

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We recently renovated our bathroom, and as we needed to dispose of the sink and the toilet, I checked the green pages of the telephone book for assistance. I was amazed at the number of items that were listed that could actually be recycled. (more...)

After reading this post, don't forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes.

Today's winner is Stacey Airhart of Kingston, Ont.

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Going green is not difficult when you realize that even small changes can contribute to improving our environment. Currently I'm attending graduate school which proves that even those on a budget can go green. Obviously, recycling is an easy essential element to going green. I am also fortunate enough to have a composter in my backyard therefore eliminating even more household waste. Another measure I have taken is (more...)

After reading this post, don't forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes.

Today's winner is Jackie Brown of Harcourt, NB.

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No, the subject line is not a typo! Our story began six years ago when we purchased our current home. It was a humble hunting/fishing camp situated on a lovely river and consisted of six acres of wooded land. It was also without electricity, water, sewer... all the "creature comforts" we had come to expect living in the city! The first two years were spent searching for "whats." We decided to go with solar electricity when the cost of running grid power was to exceed our budget by thousands of dollars. So we set off to purchase components for our system... (more...)

After reading this post, don't forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes.

Today's winner is Jackie Mandzak of Surrey, BC.

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I have a dirty little secret – literally. I have my own green living blog telling all about how I am living greener this year – and I – are you ready for this? I have a diaper genie. There. I said it. it's out. Wow.I've been working hard to turn off lights, buy organic, buy fair trade, use water wisely, use my own take-out mug, use natural cleaners, use it up, make do (I'm not so good at the do without yet) and tell all my friends and family to do it, too. But there it is – the ultimate in being un-green. Not only does it tell the world I use disposables (a necessary evil for this working mom) but that I wrap each offensive item in even more offensive plastic.I have to ask – does this cancel out all of the other things I'm doing? If I buy energy smart and do my best not to throw away things and I recycle all I can, does this cancel it out? (more...)

After reading this post, don't forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes.

Today's winner is Devon Flynn of South Hazelton, BC.

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The latest chapters of my life have been influenced by living green. I learned so much in the Katimavik volunteer program, having been a part of the environment committee. Upon my return after the nine-month program, I enjoyed a job working as a community kitchen chef and clearing trails for a running path, cooking with fresh vegetables and promoting healthy living. I gained a similar job the next summer, cooking, but using home-grown vegetables and fruits from a community garden that my friends and I planted. I would bike to this garden most days, enjoying the exercise and fresh air. It's part of a larger project that will promote buying local foods. I continued my healthy lifestyle in the Canada World Youth volunteer program. I lived in Kelowna, BC, and Beijing, China, where I began to REALLY appreciate environmentally friendly living. We learned a lot about the issues there and how they are affected socially and politically. I hope to continue doing so and learning more when I bike across Canada, and maybe join the Otesha project in the future, a biking organization that promotes environmental issue awareness.

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Thanks to Devon for sending in her story – and don't forget, if you still haven't entered, there's still time to send your own story to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com.Devon wins a gift basket of yummy organic and fair-trade goodies from Cocoa Camino, including the following:
• 1 Bittersweet 71% bar (100g)
• 1 Milk bar (100g)
• 1 Dark with Almonds bar (100g)
• 1 Cranberries and Almonds bar (40g)
• 1 Matcha Green Tea bar (40g)
• 1 Panama Extra Dark 85% bar (40g)
• 1 Chili and Spice bar (40g)
• 1 bag of sugar cane (1lb)
• 1 tin of Chili and Spice hot chocolate - dairy free (275g)

Today's code word: chocolate

Read more:
• What you can do about rising food prices
• New book about eating locally in Canada
• 14 delicious rhubarb recipes

After reading this post, don't forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes.

Today's winner is Kerry Kaufman of Calgary.

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While driving through the Banff Park gates about a decade ago, I was handed a brochure that said something along the lines of, "When your grandchildren ask you what you did to save the earth – what will you tell them?" Now in 2008, with a husband, two children and a dog (non pure bred), that caption resonates with me on a constant basis.What does my family's "footprint" on the environment look like? Is it a sleek stiletto (tiny heel, small ball of foot) or is it like a winter moon boot (large, blobbish and bulky) in shape? I hope to be aiming for more of the former than latter. (more...)

After reading this post, don't forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes.

Today's winner is Carla Ehrenreich.

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When I lived in the city I always rode my bike or took transit but now that I live in a small town and have kids I find myself driving all the time. We often end up driving the 20 km to a slightly larger town to do our shopping or go to playschool or gymnastics... you get the idea. I was feeling so guilty about all the fuel I was consuming until I heard a report on how slowing down can conserve gas. So I've broken my bad habit of speeding by putting the car on cruise control at the speed limit as soon as I'm on the highway. Then I started feeling guilty about all the speeders trapped behind me, until I decided that it just meant that I was being even more environmentally conscious by causing them to conserve fuel too. Keeping your tires well inflated and aligned also helps to decrease fuel consumption as does regular engine maintenance. Now if only I could figure out how to compost my guilt.

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Thanks to Carla for sending in her story – and don't forget, if you still haven't entered, there's still time to send your own story to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com.Carla wins a gift basket of Bio-life green cleaning products, courtesy of Shoppers Drug Mart, including the following:
• bio-life 3X cold water laundry detergent
• bio-life liquid fabric softener and dryer sheets
• bio-life tub & tile soap scum remover and all-purpose spray
• bio-life glass cleaner and paper towels
• bio-life kitchen compost bags
• bio-life dish detergent in 2 wonderful fragrances
• dish rack, cleaning/drying cloths and scouring pads
• dust pan and brush
• luxurious bath towel and attractive laundry basket

Today's code word: mileage

Read more:
• Cut your gas usage by up to 30 per cent
• Make your grocery shopping greener
• 5 ways to be eco-friendly at the office

After reading this post, don't forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes.

Today's winner is Nena Erickson of Dalhousie, NB.

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I work for a program in which I live in a house with 11 teenagers. These youth are so eco-conscious it's amazing. When we go for groceries we take only cloth bags. At the grocery store we try to buy only local or Canadian made and items that don't have a lot of packaging. If the choice is between frozen Canadian or fresh elsewhere we buy Canadian to reduce our carbon footprint. By buying local or as close to local as possible you are able to save the fuel and packaging and issues that deal with a long trip. (more...)

After reading this post, don't forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes.

Congratulations to Leigh Smith of Halifax, the first of our 30 daily winners.

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I used to live in a rural area of Nova Scotia. Along with the pretty scenery and laid-back living, I had to contend every day with the complete antithesis of the laid-back life – rush hour traffic, the bane of my existence. To encourage my longevity and provide a good example to my son, I decided to move into the city. We now live in a much smaller two-bedroom condo with fluorescent lights, programmable thermostats, cold-water washes in the washer – all the good things a little environmental Do Bee does and happily, I might add. (more...)

After reading this post, don't forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes.

I love trees. I also love wooden furniture and flooring, so I can't say I'm completely against cutting them down. But there's something very sad about the idea of virgin forests being clearcut to make paper products – tissues, toilet paper and paper towels – that are used once and then thrown away.

And there's really no excuse to buy them anymore. There's a wide range of brands available that include up to 100% postconsumer recycled content, Cascades, Seventh Generation and President's Choice among them. And even if you have to spend a little bit more money, you can feel good that you're not contributing to the worldwide deforestation that's contributing toward climate change.

Really love your favourite nonrecycled brand? At the very least, switch out once in a while, and write the company a letter telling them you want to see postconsumer recycled content in their products.

Today's code word: recycled

Read more:
• Simple green cleaning products
• How to use less paper
• Make your bathroom eco-friendly