Thursday, April 22, 2010

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day everyone! Today marks the 40th anniversary of the first Earth Day celebrated.

I'm a firm believer that every little effort counts, so I do little things everyday to reduce the amount of resources I use. If my son makes a huge mess and his clothes need pre-washing, I bring them into the shower with me. Once the laundry is done, I hang them dry. When I boil pasta or broccoli for dinner, I let the water cool down and then give it to my plants.

One of my favorite "green" items I have right now are the shopping bags shown in the photo! They fold up to about the size of a wallet, so I carry them everywhere and whip them out whenever I shop. I got them at Christmas Tree Shops, but I'm sure you can make one easily if you are handy with a sewing machine. (Unfortunately, I am NOT! LOL)

The best part is, these small gestures take very little effort AND save you money!

What kind of things do you do to help the Earth? I'd love to find out!

Also, if you don't know about them already, please visit sites such as care2.com, The Rainforest Site, and Red Jellyfish to make a small difference everyday!

P.S. If you add salt to the water when you boil vegetables and/or pasta, please don't give it to your plants! My mother insisted that I mention this :)

3 comments:

  1. I like your bags... they're pretty ♥

    we recycle, reuse, donate rather than throw things out so others can reuse our stuff, compost, harvest rainwater, have a stack of reusable bags including mesh bags for produce and cloth bags for items we buy in bulk like nuts, avoid plastic in general, garden... lots of things... but I'll stop there ♥

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  2. Love the shopping bag! Should be VERY convenient since it folds so small. Great item!

    I like your idea about reusing the pasta and veggie water. I reuse the water when I boil eggs but hadn't thought to do the same with pasta water. I'll start doing that. :)

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  3. Thank you for your comments April and Lisa!

    Lisa, I forgot about the eggs! I also reuse the water when I rinse out milk cartons before recycling. Added bonus: they are all great ways to "feed" your plants!

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