Today is Earth Day! My Facebook feed has been full of people and pages trying to spread the Earth Day message. Today I thought I share a few things we do all the time to do our part and make the world a better place.

Plant a Garden

I have a small garden that I love. Getting it set up was quite a bit of work but after that it was very easy. I just water it occasionally, shade it in the summer ( I live in Arizona, this is necessary), and enjoy its bounty. My garden doesn’t produce year round but that is mostly because I don’t have a lot of experience gardening and I tend to neglect it by the middle of summer when it’s 115° outside. I stick to a spring garden but I want to keep it up this fall too.

Cloth Napkins

Years ago when we only had 3 kids we would go through a roll of paper towels at least once per week. We would use them for napkins at each meal, for spills and general cleaning. I decided to give cloth napkins a try and bought a pack of 12. They worked great! We were already doing a load of laundry everyday so they didn’t require much extra effort. I know have about four sets and buy them when they are on sale. We still use paper towels but not as often, a roll lasts about a month now.

Cleaning Rags

I mentioned above that we used to use paper towels for cleaning and we still do occasionally but mostly we use old rags. I keep them in a drawer next to the “cloth napkin” drawer in the kitchen. We have lots of spills but these do the trick. Most are old wash cloths made from terry cloth and some are crocheted. They save us a ton of money.

Recycle

Our city prioritizes recycling. We have a special bin for recyclables that is picked up every week. I don’t know if I’d recycle as much if it were more difficult. You can also recycle by reusing or gifting things. Hand-me-downs aren’t just for kids. Some friends of mine have organized Swap events were we would bring clothes, shoes, and accessories that were gently worn and trade.

There are also groups that facilitate selling household items that are still useful but of no use to you. Even if you old couch as seen better days and young couple or college student may love to give it a good home, and keep it out of a landfill. My first few apartments almost completely furnished by hand-me-downs.

Reusable Water Bottles

Everyone in our family carries Reuseable Water Bottles. This keeps us from buying plastic disposable bottles all the time. You can find them everywhere. I prefer bottles with a loop handle so I can hang it on my pinky when my hand are full and a flip top straw but find one that works for you.

Energy Saver Curtains

I had never thought of spending money on curtains until I moved to Arizona. Our living room would get so hot with the sun shining though our large sliding glass door every day. I discovered Energy Saver Curtains, sometimes called Blackout Window Curtain, that blocked the sun light and left our whole downstairs much cooler. We don’t need the air conditioning set quite so high, that saves energy and money.

Our Food

Our choice to eat a plant-based diet helps the earth by decreasing our dependence on the meat and dairy industry. You can read some mind-blowing facts about what the meat industry is doing to the environment. I also try to avoid products that lead to deforestation like palm oil.

There are many other ways to help the environment, some I’ve been too scared to try like the DivaCup. Other things like composting just didn’t work for us.

I’d love to hear your tips for making the world around you a better place.

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