The month of April, Green month, as I like to say, is a bookmark in my calendar season because it honors the awareness around sustainability. On Thursday, April 22, Earth Day is the peak of this month. It is the universal day of the year to celebrate and promote ways to best care for and protect our fragile planet. – and it’s my birthday too! 🙂
While the mission to save our Earth weighs a heavy responsibility, I’d like to introduce you to three ways to simply turn a mission celebrated once a year into your every day – because clean green habits and small acts practiced routinely can make the world a better place.
Renew
By this I mean get organized!
Renewing could translate as redefining the meaning of items we store in our wardrobe closets, investing in shelving, or labeling the pantry. Consider where you need to get organized best. Think about the rooms or the spaces – pantries, closets, shelves, drawers, cabinets, etc. that need a deep clean and restored order to their function. Organization can help bring peak utilization to items that have been hiding out, maybe even having you shopping for the same item simply because you don’t remember you already have it.
From organization, renovate! Rather than throwing out items or furniture, consider the possibility of refurbishing and redecorating. Find a home for the items that are bringing clutter to rooms and storage spaces, and if applicable, connect with your local consignment shop to find a “new home” for the items that you no longer use, wear or operate. Renew means finding new meaning and bringing new life to the items in your own personal life.
Reuse
Get inspired. This may require your creative side and possibly DIY projects you could enjoy with your spouse and children. Why not invite the whole family to the fun?!
The easiest way to start is in the kitchen. Reuse glass bottles for drinking glasses and carafes at your next dinner party. Turn jam and pickle containers into mason jars, for example. Think materials here. Glass is one of the most attainable because it can be easily cleaned for reuse. Paper and plastic are others – reuse paper and plastic grocery bags for waste bins in the bathroom or pet waste clean-up, for example. Alternatively, consider purchasing reusable plastic or tote bags sold at your local supermarket for the next time you shop. Store these bags in a closet near your front door, a coat closet, pantry, or the trunk of your car so you don’t forget!
Bring a similar mindset to your bathroom. Cotton and Polyester are the primary materials here. Are you finding spills and stains on the bath and hand towels? It’s time to turn these into floor mats and cleaning rags. Just remember to store them in the appropriate shelf or closet for this new purpose.
Giving these items a second life not only reduces waste but gives your home a more crafty and cozy space of comfort.
Recycle
Do you separate your glass from your plastics, papers, and metals? Have you considered introducing compost into your waste disposal routine? These are all new ways to reconsider the practice of recycling and are easily actioned by labeling bins for the appropriate waste. Research, inquire and connect with a neighborhood recycling program for local pickup and disposal.
Another way to recycle is to donate. Have your children gone through a growth spurt and grown out of their clothes? Or perhaps you are holding onto a wardrobe of coats, sweaters, t-shirts, or dresses you no longer wear regularly, and now they live hanging in your closet. We all have that ONE item! Trust me. ☺ Maybe it’s time to plug into your community and connect with a local consignment shop to donate clothes—this is a fun way to give back with a social aspect to it! Network, meet your neighbors and make friends while investing in your community and the planet. My daughter decided to put all her old t-shirts to use and made several t-shirt quilts for her and her brother.
Recycling has more meaning than one. Explore the ways your home and its items can lead you to connect with your community – through programs or local retailers – and give back!
Renew, Reuse and Recycle are the easiest ways to action the meaning of Earth Day into your every day. With small steps together we make a difference.
