To celebrate Blog Action Day I am going to give you what I hope to be the opening chapter in a series about consumption.

Limiting your own consumption of natural resources is one of the most important ways to help the environment. So why is it that this is not being sung from the hills? One major reason is that the mass media is supported by advertising, and advertisers usually sell products, in other words consumption is good for the media.

So the first step in my approach is to prepare a budget. This budget isn't for the benefit of your wallet (though you will feel the benefit there as well), but rather for the planet. Analyzing your spending is the first step in coming to terms with your actual level of consumption. I personally had no idea how much money I was spending on frivolous items until I had a ledger screaming this at me.

Once you have a budget, stick to it. This means spending a set amount every time you visit the grocery store, or the mall, or the gas station. Like any diet, it is always a good idea to not go overboard at first. For your initial budget try to set aside an amount similar to what you already spend, and try and slowly decrease this over time. You can try and set aside one category to focus on limiting each month.

Paying direct attention to your spending will bring you one step closer to limiting your impact on the planet.