Happy Earth Day everyone! Today we are switching things up a bit and having Jen's sister guest post for us. She is an Environmental Scientist for a large global environmental consulting firm, and we thought we would use her expertise to share some Earth saving tips with you guys. Take it away sis...
Hi,
Hope everyone is having a sunny and spectacular Earth Day! Helping to do your part to save Mother Earth can be easy and fun for everyone in the family. These tips are minor changes that you can incorporate into your every day life, but make a huge impact. (Psst...and they will also help you save some money!)
Tip 1: Recycle Recycle Recycle!
- Recycling is huge and should be available through your local trash pick up as part of the service. Some recycling centers will even allow you to bring your recyclables to trade in for money depending on the weight. Tin and aluminum are usually what centers seek most. Nice right? Trading in your trash for shoe money...how awesome is that?!?
- If you don't have a local service you can seek, there are a few fun online sites you can trade recyclables in at as well. There are tons of benefits to these. It's an easy way for you to donate fund to schools or non-profit organizations, retain funds for yourself, or trade recyclables for products made out of recycled products. Take a closer look and they even exchange wine containers for cash. Now if I didn't have your attention before I do now right? That's right...empty wine bottles in exchange for funds to buy more wine! I know a certain mom/sister who could get on board for that. ;) My favorite sites are:
Tip 2: Re-Pack That Lunch
- Many of you are in that stage of life where lunch boxes are getting packed and unpacked daily. One easy way to make an impact (and save you tons of money) is to trade in your plastic baggies and throw away drink containers for reusable ones. There are tons of super cute lunch box storage products on the market that are both easy to clean and fun for your little ones. Plus you will never have another panic moment on Sunday night when you realize you've got one baggie left for three lunch boxes. Some of my favorite products are:
- Bento Box Three Piece Set, $13
- Fit & Fresh Reusable Containers w/Ice Packs (14 Piece Set), $10
- Squooshi Reusable Food Pouch (8pk), $17
- Itsy Ritzy Snack Bags, $10 (multiple colors available)
- Skip Hop Snack Bags Set, $7
- The Safe Sippy Cup, $11
- Foogo Thermos Cup, $12-15
Tip 3: Trade In That Toilet
- Time to get down and dirty! I don't have children yet, but from what I witnessed families with young ones spend a large part of their day taking potty breaks. Or if you have a niece and nephew like mine apparently just like to see the potty flush. 500 times a day. Wouldn't it be nice to know that every time you flush you are conserving water and helping Mother Earth? And saving money? Makes all that wiping worth it right? Maybe? What if I were to tell you, you could make the change for free? Currently, many states have a $100 rebate program for purchasing water conserving toilets. Most are around $100 and available at Lowe's or Home Depot. So free, an upgrade to your home, and saves money on your water bill. Time to get that handy husband of yours and put him to work!
- Info for Georgia Residents, click HERE.
Tip 4: Grab A Tote
- You know you've seen them everywhere, but do you use them regularly? At every checkout counter in most retail stores there are the reusable shopping bags. An easy way to help the environment and your pockets is to use these shopping bags or totes. Most recycling centers won't take plastic bags and while there are tons of creative ways to reuse them ultimately the process it takes to make them still hurts the environment. Plus they aren't nearly as cute. Some places will also discount your purchase if you bring your own bags (hello, Target ladies).
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| Cute Collapsible Shopping Totes |
Tip 5: Get To Work On That Garden
- Playing outside is probably one of your child's favorite things to do. Imagine how excited they will be when you let them plant their own little garden. One of my favorite non-profit organizations is The Arbor Day Foundation. Arbor Day is April 24th, and this foundation does a ton of fun things to celebrate. A membership is a tax deductible donation of $10, and as part of your membership you receive ten free trees. There are tons of options to choose from and a lot of specialty trees for your geographic region that you normally wouldn't find at Lowe's or Home Depot. The trees come in sapling size (think table top tree size), and the site does a great job of helping you figure out what would grow best in your yard. Free landscaping and advice...you can't go wrong!
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| Photo Credit - Arbor Day Foundation |
I can go on and on about this subject, but hopefully these tips are an easy start for you to incorporate into your everyday life. Happy Earth Day! ~ C
Thank you C for taking the time to share with us. We hope you enjoyed this guest post and we hope you have a wonderful day celebrating this great planet!
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Excellent post ! Keep sharing such a useful post.
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