To celebrate Earth Day, I decided to take an inventory of my environmental efforts to reduce, reuse, and recycle, and think about what I could do better. Here are those things that my family and I do already, and some thoughts on a few next steps to work on. It might be small, but if everyone could take a few steps, we'd be in a better place taking care of our Mother Earth.
Already do...
Recycle all household plastic, cardboard, newspaper, magazines, paper, glass
Reduce. We have reduced the number of magazine and newspaper subscriptions and instead use online subscriptions to reduce paper.
Reduce. We pay most bills on-line to reduce paper.
Reduce. Try not to buy products in glass jars as a way to reduce. (Salsa, mustard, tomato sauce, salad dressing, apple sauce) Reuse glass jars for storage of food and other items.
Reuse any plastic bags we do accumulate.
Reduce plastic bags by using reusable cloth bags for shopping.
Reuse. Use a napkin or paper towel more than once. Don’t buy bleached napkins. Use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins. Use reusable paper towels.
Reuse. Live in a 120 year old house.
Reduce. We live in a town where we can walk to many shops, restaurants, library, and post office. This way we can reduce the use of the car by walking or biking. We also batch our errands so we are not going out and back more than once.
Reuse. Keep house clean and repair items when broken or torn instead of discarding them.
Reduce the need for plastic wrap and aluminum foil by using glass food storage containers with a lid. Use a reusable beeswax sealer for food storage.
Reduce. My husband used mass transportation for work for 20 years, and my son for school for 6 years. When we go into the city we like to use the train or bus which of course cuts down on gasoline use.
Reuse. Sell or donate old clothes, shoes, electronics, books, and toys.
Reduce. Only buy new clothes a few times per year.
Reduce. Try to buy fresh produce not already in packages and don’t take a fresh bag to hold them.
Reduce. Don’t buy canned or boxed processed food. Buy whole food and cook it myself.
Reduce. Don’t buy bottled water, soda, other drinks. Carry a stainless steel bottle with filtered tap water from home.
Reduce. Don’t order take out food because of all of the packaging waste. Also, the meal kit companies have a lot of packaging, although most of them say you can recycle the packaging, it is still not necessary if you go to the grocery store and cook for yourself.
Reduce. Reuse. When I go to the bagel shop to pick up bagels for the boys on the weekend on my way home from the gym, I bring a paper bag with me. I don’t buy coffee out, but if you are someone who does, bring your own cup.
Reduce. Don’t use paper or plastic straws. Use stainless steel straw for smoothies and water. At restaurants I say “no straw please” and if they bring some to the table I hand it back unopened.
Reduce. Reuse. We don’t buy paper plates or plastic cups. When we have a party we use real plates, cups, glasses, and cutlery. Occasionally we take a shortcut with a large crowd. Have a big stock of washable heavy plastic plates.
Reuse. We have a rain barrel and I use trapped rainwater for the garden.
Reduce. We try not to buy conventionally raised animal food and go for organic, pasture raised, grass fed, or less animal products and more plants.
Reuse printed material on copy paper for scrap paper. I use scrap paper for shopping lists or to do lists.
Reduce. Keep the thermometer down in the winter and wear a sweater and use more blankets to sleep. Most people do this because of the cost incentive.
Reduce. Turn off the lights when you are not in a room. Use the sunlight for light when working, cooking, reading, etc. Use shades to block out hot sun to keep the house cool in the summer.
Reduce. We don’t run the water constantly when washing dishes or brushing your teeth.
Reuse. I use a reusable lunch bag or cooler bag to bring lunch and snacks to work.
Reuse. Buy a few reusable sandwich bags for sandwiches and snacks, thus avoiding single use sandwich bags. Before I bought these, I taught my son to put everything back in his lunchbox instead of in the trash. I washed out the single use sandwich bag and used it a few more times.
Next steps I can take...
Leave cloth shopping bags in the car at all times and remember to bring them into not only grocery stores but others as well.
I was once in the habit of riding my bike to the gym and other errands to reduce the use of the car and gas. I could do this again! Get the bike dusted off, find my lock, and don't be lazy.
Look at the household cleaning products more closely and use natural cleansers. Little by little, transfer over to cleaner products.
Purchase and use a net reusable bag for produce.
I go to the health food store once a week and get lunch, which is in a plastic container. Bring my own plate next time. They can tare it out on the scale.
Since we have the plastic plates, we can just use them and wash them. Don’t buy any more because we have enough for the amount of people we generally have over.
I could learn to compost.
Hubby likes the rib eye. What do I do!? But this is the thing. We like what we like – food, fashion, new clothes, new homes, the latest appliance or gadget. Our consumer mindset is butting up against a mindful mindset.
Happy Earth Day!