If you want to be more environmentally responsible, but lack a lot of time, here are some tips that can help you get started right away with small steps you can do often.

People all around the world are concerned with protecting the environment. Nearly every day there is an inspirational story of a family who lives off of the fruits and vegetables grown in their garden. Or of the man who bicycles miles to work year round in any weather. Or of the mother who only uses cloth diapers and prepares her own organic baby food. Or of the young couple who traded in their SUV for a hybrid.

All of these are wonderful efforts to help preserve the earth’s resources—but maybe you’re not at that level of commitment yet.

Perhaps you share a genuine concern for protecting the environment, but you also have many other demands on your time and well, energy.

Feel guilty no more. While big steps certainly help the environment, small and steady ones can be beneficial too.

In preparation for Earth Day (April 22nd) but useful year round, here are some simple ways to help the environment that take very little time and effort, but can have a big impact.

Ways to Conserve

-Turn off the lights and fans when you leave the house to save electricity.

-Turn off your car when waiting in a carpool line. This decreases emissions and saves gas.

-As your incandescent light bulbs burn out, replace them with fluorescent ones. Compact fluorescent bulbs use 75% less energy than incandescent ones. While they are more expensive, they last years longer.

-Turn off the water when you shave or brush your teeth. According to Kiplinger.com, you can send up to two gallons of water down the drain in two minutes.

-Use one paper towel when you wash your hands in the public restroom. Or better yet, let your hands air-dry.

Want more of a challenge?

-Unplug your electronic devices when they’re not in use. Toasters, chargers and printers still draw electricity even when they are not on.

-Take the junk out of your trunk. The extra weight of last season’s sporting equipment still in your trunk decreases your gas mileage, so you have to fill up more often.

Ways to Recycle

-If every American recycled his newspaper once per week, 36 million trees would be saved each year. Make it easy by putting your recycling bin right outside your kitchen door. Toss aluminum cans, plastic bottles, newspapers and magazines in the bin.

-Put a recycling basket near your office or printer and put used paper there instead of in the trashcan.

-Recycle plastic trash bags. Use them for dirty diapers and for pooper-scoopers. Use them as car trash bags. Let them to hold wet umbrellas, wet swimsuits and towels, and lunches. Even use them as makeshift boots for short distances on wet or muddy surfaces.

More challenging ideas:

-Find out what other items your town may take, and add them to the recycling bin.

-Organize your neighborhood’s recycling of phone books. Some towns won’t take this with the regular recycling pickup—you may need to take them to a recycling center yourself.

-Take your empty printer cartridges to Staples, and you can get a coupon towards a future purchase.

-Collect empty sports drink bottles after your kids’ games and make sure they are put in the recycling bin.

Ways to Protect

-Get your butt off the ground. Extinguish cigarette butts and throw them away.

-Have a veggie meal once a week. Enjoy a veggie pizza or pasta meal without endangering any animals.

-Collect spare change and donate it to the World Wildlife Fund, which protects endangered animals.

Small changes like these can help you develop an eco-friendly lifestyle.