5 Ways Your Family Can Go Green This Earth Day
As Earth Day approaches and we celebrate the earth’s natural beauty and resources, it’s a great time to think about going green. Small changes can make a big difference to the environment and the changes you make today can have a big impact, not just on Earth Day, but every day of the year.
Switch to cloth
Making the switch to cloth products can help reduce waste. Families can choose what works for them by changing out a little or a lot of the paper products their family consumes for cloth alternatives. Using cloth napkins, cloth cleaning rags, reusable shopping bags, and reducing the amount of paper plates and cups are small changes your family can implement to make a big impact on the environment. Some families may choose to switch to reusable snack and sandwich bags for lunches or choose cloth diapers and wipes over disposable. For others, they simply switch to using reusable water bottles instead of plastic disposable water bottles and juice boxes. This will still have a big impact on the waste in our landfills.
Meatless Monday
Becoming vegetarian may not be the right choice for every family but designating one night a week to cook a meatless meal is a small change with a big impact on the environment and your health. Choosing a meatless meal once a week isn’t usually a big sacrifice but once a week equals 52 times a year and helps reduce water consumption and gasses that contribute to the greenhouse effect. Another little change that can make a big difference.
Recycle and reuse
If your family isn’t already recycling, it’s a great time to start and it’s not a big adjustment. Usually it involves having a conversation with your kids about what is recyclable and designating a place for those items to go. Another great way to reduce waste is to reuse items. Glass and plastic containers can be reused for food storage, craft items, lunchbox containers, and endless other uses. Old clothes and towels can be made into cleaning rags, rugs, or dog toys. An old toothbrush can be used for scrubbing. The possibilities are endless and the internet is full of great ideas.
Use less
Families can be intentional about using less resources with some simple changes. You can use less electricity by turning off lights when you leave the house and unplugging small appliances when they are not in use. Only do laundry when you have a full load ready to be washed to save water. You can also shorten your showers and fix any leaky faucets to conserve water. Consider carpooling or walking when it makes sense to save gas. Start a compost bin to reduce waste and give your garden a boost. Get the kids involved and be creative with how you can conserve resources.
Pitch in
If you want to clean up your neighborhood consider doing a family volunteer project. You can get friends and neighbors involved by picking up trash along your street, cleaning up a local park, or offering to do landscaping at a school or church. You could adopt a street and make cleaning it up a regular project. Serving in the community will help your kids understand the importance of protecting the environment and helping others.
It may not be feasible to make all these changes at once but thoughtfully consider ways your family can make a difference in your neighborhood and to the earth and environment. Ask the kids to brainstorm how they can pitch in and what they think would be a simple way to make a big difference this Earth Day.
