So you have accepted the realities of how global warming is changing our planet and you want to make some changes - great! Where do you start?

Years ago I would search the web for current info, particularly when I was building a house. Yet the information and product knowledge wasn’t always easy to discern. To get paints, you had to order them from many states away. To get cork flooring, I had to go directly to the distributer. CFL’s weren’t here yet. And forget about sustainable furniture or clothing.

The times they are a changin’. In Mt. Pleasant, there is actually a store — a physical locale — that can help satisfy your desire to do right by Mama Earth. Mary Gatch opened Dwellsmart this past November in the Plaza at East Cooper shopping center next to Twin Rivers Bowling. Whether you are exploring sustainable furniture, clothing, healthy cleaning products (for you or your home), or green building products, the folks at DwellSmart have done an admirable job of covering their bases.

I asked Mary for a “top 5 easy on the wallet list” of what customers can do to start making some changes. Here’s what she had to say:

1. A stainless steel, reusable bottle for $15. If you’re consuming one bottle of packaged water per day, you’ll break even in less than a month. And, you won’t have to worry about chemicals leaching from the plastic in your bottle.
2. Reusable bags for groceries, produce, and more ($3-$7).
3. Dryer balls for $20. You’ll save energy and money through reduced drying time, and you can save money, avoid chemicals, and reduce waste by stopping the use of dryer sheets.
4. Eco-Me Home Cleaning Kit for $30. Contains all you need to mix your own cleaning products using basic ingredients such as vinegar and water. You’ll save money, avoid chemicals, and cut down on packaging waste.
5. A permanent coffee filter for about $18. Improve the taste of your coffee, save filter waste, and avoid the stress of running out for more coffee filters.

She added that switching to CFL’s were probably a given with Gogreen readers, so she didn’t include that to the list.

As far as #1 goes, if you make that switch you will not be adding your plastic water bottle to the 22 billion (that’s right, billion) water bottles that Americans drank and disposed of in 2006 alone. I purchased dryer balls last year, as I am always looking for ways to consume less energy - but my favorite way to dry the clothes is the old fashioned way - on a line. It makes you feel good, plus putting your 5 year olds multi-colored dotted undies outback is a sure fire way to start a little social interaction with your neighbors!

So when you get a chance, stop by DwellSmart and see what they are all about.