On Earth Day- when I taught environmental science we would have gone through all of the different environmental effects that humans are responsible for- how we can lesson our global impact as a nation-as a people- each of my students completed a full-report of their family’s energy and water consumption and then we would tramp around our entire campus looking at ways to make it more “green” and eco-friendly. One year we campaigned and got the lunchroom to stop using Styrofoam cups and plates- another we removed a hazardous species (zoo took them) that was encroaching upon the habitat of an endangered species of frog in our water and pond area of campus- one year the entire six grade took it upon themselves to start a community garden on campus- and then we even added sheep and chickens to the lot.
Now that I am a SAHM- I work hard to make sure that we have as little impact- or ecological footprint as possible. When the Toddler and our little girl get older I will make sure they understand the need to take care of our planet-even if we can just do small things-they can make a big impact. Captain Planet- he’s our hero-going to take pollution down to zero…. if you don’t know who that is-boy am I old.
Our Household Green List:
- Cloth Diapers
- Highly-concentrated cleaning supplies-less plastic product
- Recycle-how do you not?
- Hand-me-down clothes
- Goodwill and Garage Sales for items-wood furniture-clothes-lamps
- Planted two trees-made for the desert in our yard
- Toyota Prius- over 500 miles a tank- 52+ a gallon
- When an appliance breaks- many have- like our dryer-water heater-microwave-dishwasher-all in the last year- we replace it with an energy star approved appliance
- Buy antiques- yes we currently have four antique pieces of furniture in our house- hoping to add more in the future
- Instead of throwing items away we donate everything to the Goodwill-everything
- Eco-friendly bug repellents in our yard- cinnamon works wonders in the sand box
- Always wash clothes in a full-load
- Our thermostat is set up in the 80s- that’s hot for most people-but it gets to be 115 with lows in the upper 80s and 90s in the “summer”- End of May-September here
- Made the majority of our own baby food- with reusable pouches and jars
- Buy in bulk and place the items in our jar collection in the pantry- less plastic and packaging the better
- Buy local produce when possible-we live in the desert- but we do our best
- Our front yard is a “rock” garden- less water consumption
Hopefully I can continue to add to our Household Green List- and lessen our impact on our environment. I hope you all are enjoying your Monday on this beautiful Earth Day!
The Toddler and I are off to our first swim lesson for the month- he has been in classes since he was 2 months old- love my water baby!
How does your family lessen your environmental footprint?
What do you do to teach your little ones about Earth Day?
