When it comes to selecting greener choices, sometimes it's difficult to separate fact from fiction.

Depending on whom you believe, a more eco-friendly lifestyle can either seem exciting, empowering and financially enriching -- or depressing, deprived and expensive.

Having trouble sorting through it all? Here are 10 green myths, along with some real information, to make it easier.

10 myths about green living:

Sometimes it's difficult separating green facts from green fiction and that often results in inaction. Don't let these 10 myths stop you. Myth No. 1: Small changes don't matter. Myth No. 2: "Green" choices are painful and expensive. Myth No. 3: Keeping old appliances is "greener" than buying new. Myth No. 4: The U.S. needs more power plants for energy needs. Myth No. 5: The cost of your commute is a fixed expense. Myth No. 6: At the grocery store, eco-friendly options are expensive. Myth No. 7: If an appliance is off, it's not using power. Myth No. 8: Hybrid vehicles are automatically better than nonhybrids. Myth No. 9: There are millions of vehicles running on ethanol. Myth No. 10: There's only one "right" answer to your eco-dilemma.

Myth No. 1: Small changes don't matter.
One of your biggest weapons in the green movement is your own wallet. Recent numbers demonstrate that a few smarter buying decisions translate to big changes in the planet. One that's fairly easy: When you buy household paper goods (like paper towels, napkins, toilet paper and copy paper), look for products that use high percentages of recycled or post-consumer waste.

One live nighttime concert event can burn as much electricity as 700 households use all year.

A lot of the major paper manufacturers are cutting virgin forests to make the items you use, says Jennifer Powers, spokeswoman for the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group. But some well-known green-label brands, like Seventh Generation and Whole Foods Market's 365 line, use recycled materials instead.

If everyone in the country elected to buy one package of 100 percent recycled napkins instead of the non-recycled variety, that act alone would save 1 million trees, says Powers.