HEATHER THOMAS: We often innocently and unintentionally find ourselves taking things for granted, whether it is people, our careers, the environment, or even material objects, like our cars or homes.

It's like the old saying goes, 'you don't always know what you have until it's gone', so why wait until you lose something before you show it love and appreciation? At work, you would give your best effort to benefit your team, and on a personal level, you would return the favor to someone that went out of his or her way to help you. Treating people and situations with love and respect may be an easier concept to grasp than treating physical objects with loving consciousness. However, the same way you would perform regular oil changes and maintenance on your car to keep it running efficiently, it is also important to appreciate both our physical and natural dwelling place.

Your home is your sanctuary. The safe haven for your family, and your place of comfort. Where and how you choose to live has a significant impact on the environment. Consider the location of your home, the climate of the area, whether it receives morning or afternoon sun, and the amount and types of trees that boarder your property. Once you become familiar with your natural surroundings, you can modify your behaviors to leverage nature to your benefit, while still being environmentally conscious.

Here are some examples:

• Adjust your blinds - to keep the summer sun out puts less strain on your air conditioner, and allow winter sun in to help heat your home.

• Inspecting your insulation and checking for drafts and air leaks will increase the efficiency of your heating and cooling equipment as well as save you money.

• Switching to a programmable thermostat will allow you to set varying temperatures for different times of the day or days of the week, so your system is not running as often when everyone is at work or asleep.

• Planting a garden (inside or out) is a great way to reduce packaging waste and consume foods without the contamination of pesticides.

• If a garden of your own is too much work, make an effort to buy local organic produce. Not only will you be supporting your local economy, you will also be reducing the amount of pollutants from the transportation of groceries to supermarkets across the country.

While you will not be able to pick up and turn your house in the direction of the morning sun, there are still actions you can take to help save money and benefit the environment by conserving energy. It is not enough to go blindly through the daily motions assuming no responsibility to be earth-conscious. It is easy to forget simple things like your appliances operating efficiently, or leaving as many trees as possible on your property as simple ways reduce pollution and help keep the air clean. It is essential to understand that every little bit helps, so generate the motivation for change from a place of love, make any small changes possible, and be prepared to continue to move forward from there.