15 Easy Steps to be more Earth-Friendly on Earth Day

It can be more than just planting trees.   Here are some easy steps you can take.

1. Go Paperless.  Most vendors (i.e. credit cards, bank statements, etc.) have a paperless option.
2. Start your own organic garden. You can even do it on an apartment deck. Ask me how.
3. If you have a yard, replace the invasive plants with native plants
4. Take shorter showers and use less sudsing soaps (I can hook you up with some great ones)
5. Fix leaky faucets or shower heads.
6. Only run your dishwasher when full (Again, I have those non-sudsing products)
7. Make sure you are using recycle bins appropriate. Check your material (i.e. don’t put soiled cardboard into paper recycle)
8. Make sure you understand your area recycle do’s and don’ts.
9. Use re-useable bags, straws, bottles or utensils. We have gone to filling our own glass water bottles with filtered water. Saves us a ton of money and we’re not throwing away a ton of plastic bottles. We figured we went through at least 4 plastic bottles a day and that is a very conservative guess. I love using metal straws.
10. Buy local; farmer’s markets, coops, produce stands or farms.
11. Try to cut down on waste by watching how much you need so you have less that you throw away. I use left over veggies or soon to be ripe veggies to make veggie broth. I freeze them until I’m ready to make the broth.
12. Use non-toxic, chemical free cleaning products.   Have I told you all the wonders of Thieves? I’ve replaced all my cleaning products with this one bottle and maybe some vinegar, baking soda, and Castile soap.
13. Try to bunch your errands to avoid extra gas guzzling.
14. Lower the temperature on your water heater. Why keep it so high just to mix it with cold water to get comfortable?
15. Turn off your computer and lights every night.

Helpful Resources

• Plant Native Trees and Plants: National Invasive Species Information Center | The National Wildlife Federation: Invasive Species | Native Plant Finder
• Gardening: How to Start an Organic Garden | Video: How to Start a Garden | Apartment Gardening
• Recycling: Recycling Center Lookup for Cell Phones, Laptops, etc. | Local Recycling Information
• Shower Water and Energy Conservation: Shower Power Tips
• Reduce food waste: Garden Compost | Food Storage
• Fix leaky faucets and shower heads: How to Fix a Leaky Faucet | How to Fix a Leaking Shower Head