I wanted to throw a green party. No, this was not some gala to gather support for Ralph Nader's next presidential run. In an effort to show how simple it can be to make small shifts of habit, I decided I would consider a few eco-friendly details at my next dinner party. In the name of fun, I didn't want to gather my guests around for a lecture on the value of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), but I plotted to have them participate in other, more enjoyable ways. I channeled my inner Danny Seo. And while I didn't make coasters out of old leather belts or gather twigs to use as corn-on-the-cob holders, I had fun discovering how easy green can be.

Invite everyone electronically. If you're already in the habit of e-viting, great. Paper constitutes roughly 40 percent of the municipal solid waste burden in many industrial countries. If you're a stickler for snail-mail invitations, try using note cards made from recycled or tree-free paper. Good on Paper in Berkeley, CA, makes some of its note cards from 100 percent recycled paper; envelopes are of 30 percent post-consumer waste. The company also uses vegetable-based inks. Bella Figura, located in Syracuse, NY, custom-makes stationery from 100 percent cotton. The company's facility is carbon neutral (the management offsets electricity use by buying wind-power credits), and it donates one percent of sales to environmental causes. Bella Figura will be coming out with a line of preprinted invitations later this year. Oblation Papers in Portland, OR, creates cotton-paper designs from garment industry scraps.

Buy all produce and flowers at farmers markets. I am fortunate enough to live in New York City, where greenmarkets are organized in many neighborhoods. I often claim I will shop at the farmers market, and then find an excuse to dip into my nearest supermarket-it's so close! This was the perfect motivation I needed to walk the talk and go the additional five blocks to my nearest greenmarket-naturally, with canvas bags in tow-and peruse the locally grown goods.

I enjoyed meeting some of the people who were involved in getting these food items to my plate, and it was fun to have no menu in mind and instead buy whatever was fresh that day (I had no idea I'd be making flounder from the waters off Long Island). I got this party started by feeling good about supporting regional agriculture, and about making the right decision from an environmental standpoint-locally produced fare means fewer food miles traveled. And ask around: I had a friend of a friend provide me with some homegrown heirloom tomatoes that were unbelievably delicious.

If you're not familiar with a farmers market in your area, the USDA offers a listing by state. Throw a dinner party if that's what it takes to get you there.

I did forget to pick up fresh flowers at the farmers market, but now that Whole Foods is pushing local items in a big way, I easily found a sign touting locally grown buds-those bright daisies from New Jersey were mine.

Decorate with reused, nontoxic stuff. I was worried I was veering into crazy old lady territory, but in advance of the party I nonetheless began saving receptacles that would have second lives as vases. An empty glass milk bottle held the fleurs from the Garden State, and I also used a cylindrical tin spaghetti container for another bouquet. I placed soy candles around my apartment (they aren't made from petroleum) for a little glow.

Stick with organic and local booze. The green movement has firmly taken hold of the beverage industry, and my guests were more than happy to dive right into the trend. Figuring we could keep the local vs. organic debate going, I instructed my enthusiastic friends to bring one or the other. (If we were measuring by number of bottles drunk, local won.) Folks brought an organic white wine from Argentina, a Riesling from the Finger Lakes in upstate New York, Brooklyn Brewery beers, and Wolaver organic brews.

The green claims on the bottles of spirits are many. They include organic ingredients, such as those in 360 Vodka, which is made from organically grown grain; eco-friendly processes, touted by Bull Dog gin, which uses nontoxic dyes to color its glass bottles and minimal packaging; alternative ingredients, embraced by 3 Vodka, which is made from soy; and even green energy usage, a feature of Iceland's Reyka vodka, which is distilled using geothermal energy. Select your issue, and sample the cocktail of your choice.

Forgo the disposables. Using washable plates and silverware might seem like common sense, but it can pose a challenge-at least in a cramped, one-bedroom apartment with 15 guests for dinner. Things started off well with real dishware, but I almost blew the green theme (see: too much wine) when I broke out plastic cups to serve ice cream (I quickly recovered with ceramic bowls). If you have more guests than you have dishes, try using disposables made from corn, which are compostable, or Preserve's line of products, which are made from recycled yogurt cups.

I also offered tap water served in glass bottles. To go one green step further, look for bottles made from recycled glass. The Green Glass Company makes old bottles new again (instead of melting down the glass and reforming it, they make changes to existing bottles, so occasionally they won't have bottles in stock). TranSglass also makes bottles and vases from recycled glass, and they can be purchased from home design stores such as re:modern.

Cloth napkins are the eco-friendly way to go-doubly so if your guests aren't so sloppy that you have to wash all the napkins after dinner.

Compost your food scraps. I am seriously interested in composting. But with no backyard and various species of critters waiting to infest my urban apartment at the slightest crumb dropped, I have been too scared to maintain a compost bin. This party provided me with an opportunity to try it (the New York City beginner's way, anyhow). The Lower East Side Ecology Center runs a composting program and maintains a collection booth located at the same greenmarket where I purchased my food. New Yorkers can save fruit and veggie scraps, as well as other compostable items, and drop them off at the LESEC's stand. If you can't make it to the greenmarket on a regular basis (or have an exaggerated fear of critters, like me), you can freeze the full bag and bring it to the stand later.

Avoid the plastic. Having managed to serve water in glass bottles and avoid disposable tableware, I suggest also trying to store your leftovers in a more eco-friendly way. While they can be harder to find than ubiquitous plastic, glass food storage containers are available.

Suggest a recycled-gift swap. Everyone was instructed to bring a used possession that was in decent shape, wrapped in newspaper, to give to another guest. We picked names out of a hat, and all opened our gifts at the same time. In addition to being a great way to rid your home of something you're sick of or that you keep meaning to bring to Goodwill but have yet to, it was a hilarious moment of fun. Gifts included favorite CDs, a garish painting from Jamaica, a corporate-sponsored bottle of personalized barbecue sauce, and a Frank Sinatra puppet doll (!). I gave a CFL as my gift-I know, I broke my own rule: It wasn't used-in hopes of subtly passing on a little eco-education with the flounder. (Oh, and a note to the lucky recipient of the Jamaican-sunset painting: You "accidentally" left it at my house.)

Clean up with green cleaners. After such an enjoyable evening, I didn't want to scorch my nose hairs with harsh, toxic cleaners. Bottled green cleaners, such as Method, Mrs. Meyer's, Seventh Generation, Ecover, and Shaklee are so easy to find in stores (or purchase online), and you can enjoy the cleaning process knowing you aren't disrupting your body's systems with toxic ingredients. These brands use biodegradable ingredients and recyclable packaging.

Sleep well! Rest easy knowing you've created good times for friends without creating more problems for the environment.

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