SOUTHWEST FLORIDA - Going green at the grocery store is not all about buying organic foods. Our Green Guru Carol Newcomb Jones says we can all make changes to benefit the environment and our families.

"We have really got to consider how we impact the environment in all regards now," says Carol. " We've had kind of a free for all for so many years now and it's time to get back to basics."

Carol starts with the difference between natural and organic.

"Natural food, it's sometimes not the most healthy way and it's not always organic."

If it's natural, Carol says the food could still be grown with pesticides and fertilizer, but not if it's organic.

Mother of two, Carly Schwartzel says, "I wouldn't say I use everything organic, but things they consume the most of, I definitely try to choose organic."

Carly points out, there are a lot more options these days when it comes to organics...juice, yogurt, pasta, fruits, veggies and baby food. Some are more reasonable in price than others.

"I'm really concerned about milk, if you can buy organic milk...milk is packed with hormones and a lot of things that aren't good for children, so that's another wise choice," says Carol. She says the same goes for meat.

Carol advises us to think about how many miles our food travels to get to us. In some cases we're paying for fresh fish, fruits, and veggies from other countries and all of the fuel it took to get here.

When it comes to detergents and cleaners, Carols advice:
"Really consider what you're putting in your house, the chemicals do we need all of this?"

You have green options that don't cost much more than the other brands.

Carol warns, stay away from air fresheners, sprays and plug-ins.

"Especially for small children, this is like breathing in pure chemicals. It might smell good and make your house smell good, but these are not environmentally friendly."

You can go green with a re-usable bag, you'll find them at a lot of grocery stores including Publix and Super Target.

"We in the United States use a million plastic bags a minute. That's how many bags we end up using and only 1% end up recycled the rest in a landfill," says Carol.

If you can't buy organic fruits and veggies, you can use a veggie spray to wash your food. We got this recipe from Gorgeously Green by Sophie Uliano, it was featured on the Oprah Show.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup water
1 cup distilled white vinegar
1 Tbsp. baking soda
20 drops of grapefruit seed extract*

You can also make your own household cleaner. Go to www.google.com and type in 'make my own cleaner' and recipes will pop up.