I have always cared about the environment and our place in the world. I often think about the impact I have and how the choices I make effect the world around me. When it comes to saving the planet, I am obsessed with recycling.
I mean it. Literally obsessed. I can’t think of where all of our trash goes without breaking out into an anxious sweat. My mind wanders to where all of it goes and how so much of it will NEVER BIODEGRADE. I just can’t take the thought of accumulating SO. MUCH. TRASH.
The anxiety part hasn’t always been there, though. When I had my daughter Bella (20 months ago…how did that happen?!) in the hospital, I noticed how much waste we had just in our 2 day stay. Everything was sterile, of course, so it had to be wrapped in plastic. Whenever a nurse came to see me, she put on new gloves. When the doctor needed to give me medicine, they placed it in a small plastic cup. When I experienced the inevitable flow of fluids, there was plenty of plastic/paper liners to clean it up.
When I arrived home, the postpartum anxiety hit me. Hit me hard. I sobbed about the impact I had on the environment and even more so on the thought of the MILLIONS of people who are in hospitals everyday consuming more trash that will never be recycled.
Since then, my anxiety has not stopped. I panic at the thought when I see people using Styrofoam cups or plates. I cringe when you buy an item that is wrapped in a plastic bag for aesthetic reasons versus functionality. I am disheartened when I see people printing hundreds and hundreds of papers…and then throwing them away.
And don’t even get me started of thinking of ALL of the items that consumers purchase and that overflows our homes. I am surrounded by THINGS that may bring me joy, as they do others, but it’s hard to think of how much stuff one truly has.
My grandmother was raised during the Depression, so she was taught that it was important to save/use what you can instead of being wasteful. Since I lived with my grandmother a good majority of my life, I learned these same ideals. I have collected and hoarded SO. MANY. THINGS. with the assumption that I could one day use it or I could find something creative to do with it. (Think cookie tins used as sewing kit holders or margarine tubs used to hold leftovers).
As time has progressed, people have become complacent with needing more, and more, and MORE. We as Americans live in a consumerist society that thrives on buying instead of reusing/fixing. We believe we have to keep up with the Jones’ instead of utilizing what is in our homes.
We don’t NEED all of these things to fill our homes. We don’t NEED to consume so much that will one day fill a landfill. What we do NEED is to focus on ways that we can be better to the environment and the world that we are leaving to our children and beyond.
We MUST do something to save our world. We must realize the impact our trash has and think of recycling it instead. We can even decide to NOT purchase or use something we think can’t be used again/recycled. Take plastic ware for instance…in my county, these are not recyclable. If you decided to bring your own silverware or even a kind that can biodegrade, THAT is better than plastic ware that will sit in a landfill for longer than we will all be alive.
Recently, in an old MADD cookbook I found from my high school days, I saw a list for ways you can save the earth. I compiled the best ones for you so that you have somewhere to start in your mission to save the planet.
- Buy plain white toilet paper, tissues, and paper towels. Dyed paper pollutes. Or — you can even use napkins and towels that can be washed and used again. As for toilet paper — you could even use small shapes of fabric (if you are only going pee, of course). Just wash, and use again!
- Use vinegar, baking soda, and water to clean versus those with harsh chemicals.
- Reuse your grocery bags or obtain reusable ones. You don’t need to go out and buy some — there are always plenty that are given away or found around your home from different events. I have a ton and none of them have been purchased! Just be sure you recycle any plastic bags you have used (we recycle ours at Publix).
- Buy eggs in cardboard cartons when possible.
- Limit the number of baths and have shorter showers.
- Keep tires inflated to improve fuel economy and extend the tire life.
- Use mulch and natural ground covers in gardens to obtain moisture and conserve water use.
- Turn off the lights when you’re not in the room. And if you don’t need much light, use a candle; it gives such great ambiance!
- Avoid keeping your refrigerator or freezer too cold. Your refrigerator can be set at 38 degrees and your freezer can be set at 5 degrees.
- Plant trees. Strategically located, trees can reduce heating and cooling bills, help prevent soil erosion, and reduce air pollution.
- Compost your leaves and yard waste. You’ll improve your garden’s soil and avoid sending yard waste to the landfill.
- RECYCLE WHENEVER POSSIBLE. Review your county’s recycling requirements and be conscious of buying items that can’t be recycled.
- Use rechargeable batteries.
- Don’t use excessive amounts of detergent; pre-soak dirty laundry when possible.
- Buy recycled products or those packaged in recycled paper or cardboard.
- Ask your utility company for an energy audit to assess energy waste in your home.
- Insulate your water heater and turn it down to 121 degrees.
- Limit or eliminate your use of disposable items.
- Use cloth diapers instead of one-time use diapers. It’s easy to transition to washing the diapers twice a week (which our parents those before us did) and there’s a lot you can learn about how to do it best. I was very skeptical at first, until I found this video and it changed my world.
- Close off or shut off vents to unused areas in your home.
- Review Energy Guide labels when buying appliances.
- Use an automatic setback thermostat to change the temperature when you’re not home and at night.
- Thaw frozen foods in the refrigerator to reduce cooking times and to ensure food safety.
- Choose latex and other water-based paints instead of toxic enamel or oil-based paints.
- Repair leaks and drips as soon as they occur. A moderate drip wastes two gallons of water or more per hour.
- Rent or borrow items you don’t often use. Efficient use of products conserves resources. This is especially important when it comes the hundreds of products that women use!! Try to find ways to either make your own products or only buy what you need.
- Run your dishwasher only when full, and use the energy saver cycle.
- Avoid products made from tropical rain forest woods. This one makes sense, but I am unsure how you would know where it came from?
- Instead of buying cleaning products, find other ways to create cleaning solutions – vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, etc. There’s a ton of great recipes online! Baking soda has such versatile uses…it can even clean a toilet! General Cleaner: 1/2 cup of Borax and 1 gallon of water. Use equal parts white vinegar and warm water to wash windows or glass; dry with a soft cloth.
- Baking soda and powdered sugar can be used as roach killer – I have never heard of this before!
- Use chili powder to hinder entry and kill ants.
- Use pump sprays instead of aerosols.
- DON’T LITTER…ever! Pick up any trash you see, recycle it if possible, and cut up any plastic rings that can trap animals.
- Reduce the amount of plastic bottles and use reusable water bottles.
- Buy recycled paper, stationery, and greeting cards. Better yet — make your own!
- Shop at your local farmer’s market. Products are fresh, packaging is minimal, and foods are less likely to be made with preservatives. Also use produce bags versus the plastic bags they have at grocery stores.
- Live the minimalist lifestyle (see my previous post here) and let go of unnecessary items in your home. You can donate/recycle/sell…whatever it takes to help you rid your home of clutter!
- Start an organic garden.
- Buy in bulk to avoid over packaging and save money.
- Keep lint screen in dryer clean.
- If you live in an area that does not recycle, research ways to bring it to your community.
- Start a recycling program where you work.
- Give leftover paint to theater groups, schools, church groups, etc.
- Educate and research long-term sustainability.
- Educate your children about the environment. Think about the kind of earth you would like to see for your grandchildren’s children.
- Learn about global climate change and what changes you can make on a daily basis.
- Join an environmental organization.
- Investigate the environmental record of companies you invest in.
- Talk to your friends, relatives, and co-workers about the environment (hence why I am writing this blog post for you!)
- Love the world you’re in and be proud to be ALIVE!
These next few ideas come from an article in Allure Magazine from The Good Issue 2018:
51. Put an extra wastebasket in your bathroom (or even in other parts of your home). This way, you can be more conscious of what is being recycled and what is thrown away. I usually take the recycling to my kitchen basket (which has a dual opening – one for trash and one for recycling…I bet you can guess which one fills up faster in my home!)
52. Buy local – this one I personally need to live by more often. I LOVE the convenience of buying things on Amazon (who doesn’t have a Prime account these days?!), BUT think of the shipping burdens, the wasted plastic & Styrofoam packaging, the cardboard boxes…all of it being used just to send you that one item you could have easily purchased from a local vendor or even a store nearby. If possible, make your own products as well, so you don’t have to rely on someone else to do the work for you (and overcharge you in some cases).
53. Read labels every chance you get. Be conscious of those companies who use sustainable ingredients and steer clear of those with questionable ingredients. Also – sunscreen with Zinc is much better for ocean life and coral reefs versus oxybenzone and octinoxate which are harmful to the ocean waters. Of course, wearing rash guards or wet suits are another viable option, if you know you are staying in the water for quite some time.
54. Refill, reuse, repeat. I feel like I have heard that saying since childhood, but it needs to be referenced more in our daily lives! Think of our grandparent’s generation who reused butter tubs for leftovers; now you see people utilizing brand new plastic/glassware and tossing it at every turn when it doesn’t look “pretty” anymore. Our grandparents pretty much followed this advice (at least my grandmothers did). The truth is (and damn if it didn’t hurt to hear), recycled good are not always recycled. Sometimes recycling centers get too bombarded and have to send off the excess to landfills…cringgggggge. So, with that being said, REUSE whenever possible. Use glass bottles or candle holders to hold hair ties or cotton balls and eye cream jars to hold travel size portions of your beauty products.
55. Be sure to think of how much water you may be wasting on a daily basis. Don’t run the faucet while you wash your face or brush your teeth. Your bath uses approximately 36 gallons of water and your shower uses approximately 5 gallons of water each minute. Look into water-saving shower heads (comment below if you find one you love! They suggested Waterpik EcoFlow Showerhead) which can whittle the amount of water down to 2 gallons of water a minute.