Indianapolis, account manager for health-care company

Going green has been a lifelong thing for me. I grew up in Cincinnati, where we always had recycling. I lived in a very urban area, and my parents had community garden plots in the city and green spaces. I came here to go to school at Butler University, and my philosophy and practices grew from there.

Five years ago, when I graduated, a lot of "going green" had to do with financial decisions -- conserving. I shopped at garage sales to save money. I bought tools, a big painter's ladder, a coffee table, bakeware and some other kitchen items, all secondhand.

My favorite recycled piece is my dining room table that I inherited from my dad's office when he retired. Most of the time it's covered with a tablecloth, but I've used it many times to roll out cookies, pie crust and pasta.

I do a lot of traveling, and one of my favorite things is to buy travel books at Half Price Books. I also trade books through the website www.paperbackswap.com. I swap magazines with friends, rather than buying new magazines, to give them a second life.