This Earth Day, go beyond recycling to show your love and appreciation for this planet! For those who are unfamiliar with the annual holiday, Earth Day is held every year to raise awareness of environmental issues and show collective support for actively working towards a healthier world for all.

Going green can seem overwhelming, especially with the misconception that you can’t really make an impact by living more sustainably looming over you. There are plenty of ways- both big and small- to start being more eco-friendly. What better time than on Earth Day, this April 22! Still feeling a little lost? Lean on these tips for celebrating Earth Day right from the comfort of your home.

Plant a Garden

Adding a garden to your yard not only provides a unique opportunity to bond with your family, but also serves as a great opportunity to help the environment. Firstly, the addition of a home garden can improve your home’s general soil quality as well as increase the quality of oxygen due to the addition of life- suddenly those heads of broccoli and beet greens you avoided as a kid don’t seem so bad.

Although it will take some time to get your garden producing goods to harvest, opting for easy growing options like leafy greens, summer squash, cucumbers or tomatoes will have you chowing down on fresh produce in no time! Once your garden is bountiful, relying on it as a source of food will minimize food miles- the miles spent sourcing food from farm to store (and then to your plate!), which adds a lot to your carbon footprint.

Be more conservative with water usage

Being more conscious of your utilities can save money while saving the environment. This Earth Day, consider making some long-term changes in the home. With spring right around the corner, you may be itching to make some home upgrades. If major renovations aren’t in your budget- such as calling in a local plumbing professional to replace PVC piping with eco-friendly and recyclable materials like iron- start small with smart-gadgets to help conserve water. Flush monitoring gadgets for your toilet can create a dual flushing system, allowing you to use small flushes (and less water) unless disposing of solid waste. Installing a water tracker while you shower will keep you mindful of how much water you’re wasting rather than using to maintain hygiene! Utilizing eco-friendly gadgets like touchless faucets can cut up to 50 percent of water usage.

Eliminate Plastic

If you’re one to rely on plastic food storage containers, baggies, or water bottles, now is the perfect time to consider switching over to more sustainable materials. If you love to meal prep lunches for your busy week, consider buying glass containers with spill-proof lids in addition to one or two larger glass containers. Prep your food ahead of time, and portion them in each container. Put the leftovers into the larger dishes and re-portion new meals as you clean each container.

To eliminate plastic water bottles, switch over to an eco-friendly bottle in a sustainable material like BPA free steel or glass. If you’re not looking to spend a ton on a trendy water bottle, consider reusing a glass bottle from a small milk jug or Snapple bottle, or opt for a mason jar. If you buy plastic bottles for the filtered water, consider purchasing a filter for your water spout or a filter pitcher for your fridge.

Support local

Similar to the argument for growing your own garden, supporting local farmers or eating at restaurants that source their ingredients locally is a great way to minimize carbon footprint. Educating yourself on how the food you eat gets to your plate will help you be more conscious of the next time you grocery shop or go out. Food miles contribute to air pollution and increases the CO2 emitted, contributing to global warming.

Go for a hike

Probably the easiest on this list- get out and start enjoying all that the Earth gives you! Whether it be going for a walk around your neighborhood, tackling a true nature hike, or simply going to the local park for a picnic (with locally sourced ingredients and fresh veggies from your garden, of course!), you’ll give you and your family the opportunity to appreciate everything around you this Earth Day.

I rarely send cards that I buy. I like making my own and I’ve been doing more online cards as a way to have less environmental impact.

Paperless Post set me up with some coins to try out their card system. I saw I had some Christmas cards yet to send and thought this would be a perfect opportunity.

The whole thing was simple and I love the designs.

How to send cards

1. Pick a card from a variety of categories. They also do invites and flyers. (You can upload your own design, too.)
2. Customize the background, saying and font. Some have spaces to put pictures in.
3. Update the stamp, envelope and typeface.
4. Write in your name and subject line.
5. Enter the names and emails (Mine was 5 coins per recipient. They also have some free invitations and free cards.)
6. Schedule or send now.

It’s really easy and the cards are so professional looking. Here are some Christmas cards if you are interested (especially those of you who know you won’t have time to write out regular cards this year.)

This infographic I found very interesting. The 9.5 hours a day living for stuff is more than I would expect. Something to think about.

Graphic from Masters in Human Resources

I am reading the book Zero Waste Home [aff link]  by Bea Johnson that I got from the library. The book is all about simplifying life by reducing what you throw out. Some ideas from Bea:

• Watch what you bring in the house like disposable stuff, freebies and junk mail.
• Reduce what you need: shop less, declutter, reduce packaging, drive less, print less, watch less media that makes us want to consume
• Re-use: bags, use a re-chargeable, re-usuable or refillable alternative for disposables, borrow, barter, buy used, repair, re-think an object
• Recycle – and think about what will happen at the end of a product life before you buy it. Earth911.com can tell you where to recycle hard to recycle items
• Compost
• Rags instead of paper towels, stainless steel water bottle instead of disposable water bottles, reusable jars and containers instead of plastic bags, cloth napkins
• Empty leftover drinking water to plants
• Use smart power trips for your electronics so they reduce energy consumption
• Create notebooks out of old school papers
• Read magazines online or on an e-reader instead of bringing them home
• Use online billing
• Clean your fridge filters twice a year for better efficiency
• Drip irrigation uses 50% less water than sprinklers
• Turn the shower on to get wet, turn it off when washing and shampooing, then back on the rinse

I just finished with the book 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker. It is a convincing book. She began an experiment when she realized how much she had and began fasting from things to help bring her closer to God. And to listen what He wanted from her. She did 30 day fasts from things like media and spending. Lived with 7 pieces of clothing for a month. And spent a month praying the hours and taking a weekly Sabbaath.

By the end I was convicted. Do I really need to spend so much money when that money could be used to help more people? And my recycling has been pretty haphazard lately, so I am rinsing out my cans again. It will probably be a long time before I buy new clothes again.

This books is not a how to simplify type book. This is a "this is what I did" book that may inspire you to take action as well.

It is always the simple that produces the marvelous.

– Amelia Barr, novelist

The other day I threw out a can instead of recycling.

I believe in taking care of the earth. We have the right kind of bulbs. We recycle everything that can be recycled. I use cloth bags. We buy mainly locally and organic if we can. We use natural cosmetics, grooming products and cleaners.

Yet I could not bring myself to wash out the potato soup can. I was tired of washing out the cans. I didn’t want to ever have to do it again.

But, the next day I saw a can. I rinsed it out. I kept going.

We have enough guilt in our lives, without adding eco-guilt. Do what you can. Feel good when you lighten your ecological footprint. But, don’t kick yourself in the rear with it when you can’t be pure eco-friendly.

ARSO is an acronym used by people working with the environment. It stands for…

Avoid

Reduce

Substitute

Offset

So what are things to Avoid?

• Certain plastics
• Pesticides
• Household chemical cleaners
• Non organic makeup
• Styrofoam
• Plastic with a #7 recycling code
• Things that are overpackaged
• Plastic utensils

What about Reducing?

• Car travel
• Temperature in house during winter
• Light use
• Printing paper
• Water use

What can you Substitute?

• Paper towels and napkins – use fabric instead
• Disposable batteries – switch to rechargeables
• Compact fluorescent bulbs instead of Incandescent bulbs
• Energy efficient appliances instead of energy hoggers
• Use a tote bag instead of a plastic or paper grocery bag
• Low flow showerhead instead of a regular one

How can you Offset your carbon footprint?

• Recycle what you can
• Give to green organizations
• Compost
• Socially responsible portfolios

Now since I am all for living simply, I would never suggest you start doing all of these at once. Choose one to work on this week and let us know how it went.

We woke up to a Snow Day today. We have about a foot of snow on the ground right now. I was thinking how wonderful it was to work from the house and not have to drive anywhere in this.

When my husband first got his job, we lived about 40 minutes away. In winter, especially it felt like a long commute. Others drive over an hour to get to his work.

We decided to get a house close to my husband’s work. Right now his drive is only 10 minutes (well 20 during the snow storm last night). And when I worked outside the home, it was only a 10 minute drive for me too. I looked for a place close to our new (at the time) house.

Cutting down the commute can have one of the biggest impacts on your every day life. This simplifies your life in a big way. If you live an hour from work – you are commuting for two hours a day. What else could you be doing for those 2 hours?

Shortening your commute also saves on gasoline and helps the environment. Longer commutes equal higher stress. When you have a long commute, time with family and friends and time for basic home and health maintenance dissolves. Bad traffic often leads to grumpy moods when you get home.

Is there any way you could find a house closer to where you work? This would be a perfect time to downsize. Some states even have grants and loans to help people live where they work.

Or if you don’t like your job anyway, you can begin looking for jobs closer to you. Even if the job pays less, you will be saving with fuel, wear and tear on the car, meals to go when you have no time to cook, etc.

If a new job or a new home isn’t in the picture for you right now, is there anyway you can telecommute a couple days a week. Or take public transportation so you can at least do something while you are going to work. At my husband’s work a few people got their work hours changed so they could all ride into work together. You can see how much money you would save with the Carpool Savings Calculator.

Just because you can’t move or change jobs now, doesn’t mean you can’t plan to do this for the future. Too often we think we are stuck – with our mortgage, in our jobs. We forget our choices. Things can change if you plan for them. Here is a 10 step plan for career change and here are resources to plan a relocation.

Is your job and commute worth the effects on your lifestyle?