Green decorating is the wave of the future. Sustainable products and recycled lumber, flooring, and lighting are not only fashionable ways to spruce up a room but they are also a superb way to help the environment.

However, since “green” decorating and remodeling is relatively new, the price tag can leave most of us scrambling for the cheaper, less-green friendly products more often than we care to admit. Even if you can’t afford the green items and are new to the idea of decorating with the earth in mind, here are a few inexpensive ways to introduce a few green aspects into your home today.

Create a can collage as an organizational system

I came across this great idea on HGTV.com. Instead of throwing away or even recycling opened and empty cans there are some green-chic ways to use them to create organized space in your house. From using opened cans with unique labels as a kitchen utensil organizer or using opened and clean-edged food cans for creating organization in a usually messy junk drawer, there are some wonderful ideas on how to turn trash into saved cash.

One favorite idea I discovered is to use cleaned and shiny aluminum cans as a way to store your children’s paint brushes and art supplies by attaching them to a pegboard or a corkboard in a neat row. What a cute and modern-looking way to add interest to a room.

Re-purpose old items in unique ways         

While there are hundreds of ways to do this all over the Internet and DIY sites, it can sometimes seem like we’ve gone on re-purpose overload. Do you really want to use that old, ugly box spring as a flower planter in your backyard or could you really pull off using that discarded old shower door as a coffee table top?

Sometimes, it is necessary to give the heave-ho to items that will only add clutter instead of add value- but if there is an item that you haven’t given much love to simply because you don’t “have a place for it”, and are thinking of throwing it away- think again.

Even if it is an old bookshelf or nightstand, entertain the idea of repurposing the wood to create hand painted signs around your house or if its unfinished wood, you could put it through a wood chipper to create mulch. Also, remember with so many options for eco-friendly paint, you can always take items that seem to clash and paint them to create a singular and harmonious look for a suite of furniture or storage units.

Splurge to Save: Go Organic 

Sometimes going organic can be pricey, but investing in organic cotton throw pillows, organic cotton prints, and organic grass cloth wallpaper, can be worth the price tag. If you spend the majority of your budget on items that help the environment, it is easy to get those finishing touches on the cheap. Forget pricey overhead lighting and buy a pair of vintage table or floor lamps at Goodwill. Paint them or find some inexpensive lamp shades and you have added a unique touch to your green room for pennies.