My girls are resting comfortably in their crates recovering from their surgeries today so I’ve got a few minutes before leaving to pick up Jake after practice.

Today is April 22nd, the day known as Earth Day. We talked a lot about the earth today at school with the kids but they’re pretty savvy about recycling and are proud to be responsible for collection of the green bins on our floor each day and promoting recycling in their homes. We visited the landfill and recycling center last month and had a very informative and enjoyable tour.

Next month we’re taking a riverboat tour on the Blackstone River to test the water and check out all of the wild life. Our class is full of animal lovers as well and they are very caring, sensitive kids. So, brainstorming with them today about all of the things that we can do to take care of our earth was not an exercise in futility, rather something that they embraced whole heartedly. :-)

While there are many ways that I can improve and I’m striving to always get better at reducing, reusing and recycling, there are some habits that are just part of my every day life that come so automatically, that I didn’t even think of them until we had our discussion today.

If you click on the picture, you can read the notes on the original on the Flickr site.

Some simple things that I do that not only help the planet but save me some cash along the way:

  • Always keep reusable shopping bags in my car and either use them or say “No bag, please.” if I only buy a few things.
  • Bring my own coffee to work each day in my stainless steel mug.
  • Use a Brita water filter pitcher and use my Sigg aluminum water bottle.
  • Bring breakfast, lunch, and snacks from home which I carry in my washable canvas bag. I usually end up bringing leftovers as I hate to throw food away.
  • Cart everything back and forth in reusable tote bags.
  • Dry my clothes on the line as soon as the weather permits; usually April-October.
  • Diligently recycle and encourage family members to do so as well.
  • Grow my own vegetables and compost as much as I can.
  • Try to combine errands so that I can do them in as few trips as possible.
  • Buy organic whenever it’s available.
  • Limit the use of paper goods as much as I can.
  • Avoid purchasing single serving size portions and make as much as I can from scratch.
  • Whip up a weekly batch of soup to use up what I have in the crisper.
  • Use the public library to borrow books that I know I’ll read only once. (They also have movies, cds, software, games, puzzles, and passes to zoos and local attractions, etc.)

Some of the things that I’m pledging to work harder on and focus on this year:

  • Ramp up my composting.
  • Try to eliminate the remaining plastic bags that I may end up with while shopping.
  • Increase my garden size and keep on top of it to eliminate waste of vegetables rotting on the vine.
  • Switch to as many eco-friendly cleaning products as possible, making as many as I can from common household ingredients.
  • Try to be diligent about conserving electricity by reducing use and remembering to shut everything off when not in use.
  • Freecycle my unwanted items.
  • Reduce my purchases all the way around!

I know that I’m not even close to being where I want to be but each little thing that I do consistently will bring me one step closer.

Some great podcasts to listen to for ideas are:

More Hip than Hippie My fave! :-)

Living Green: Effortless Ecology for Everyday people

Green Living Ideas

The Victory Garden

Whole Foods Podcast

What do you do and what can you do better?


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kjcardoza on April 22nd, 2008 | File Under For Good, green living, nature | -