Earth Day

I know I'm late on this post, but I thought since Earth Day happened recently it was a good time to share. The other day while reading Dora's Earth Day to Riley I realized we're pretty green around here. We've been doing curbside recycling for almost two years. I LOVE it. Totally worth the $45 dollars a year. We used to collect our recyclables and haul them down to the collection center every two or so weeks. I find we recycle a lot more when we know we only have to have room in the bin for a week's worth of stuff. It's nice to keep all those papers that come home from school, junk mail and cardboard food packages from the landfill. So, there's that obvious one.

Any paper with some reasonable blank space goes into the kids "Art Cupboard" and we have a project box for other reusable materials. I like to save good bottles and boxes for Riley's play kitchen. Things like kids vitamins, lemon juice containers, spice bottles and jello boxes. Plus they are way more authentic than the ones from the toy store. We print on both sides of a piece of printer paper before we recycle it when we remember. I wrap birthday presents in the comics and I've found that kids like it better anyway. I wash and reuse any food containers with lids too. Those are my favorites for handing out baked goods in. Here's a picture of some goodies I made my neighbors at Christmas. One is in a Llyods Pulled Pork container the other is in a Country Crock Mashed Potatoes, but a card and some ribbon later they're even cute.

We keep an eye on lights and water usage, but every family on a budget does that. Isaac walks to school and Mike works from home most days, but again that's more to do with the budget than the environment. Sometimes you can help the Earth and the budget equally though. We grow our own herbs and some fruits and veggies. So far we've had mulberries, pumpkins, strawberries, scallions, tomatoes and collards. Soon we'll have limes, avocado, corn, sprouts and cucumbers. I really can't say enough for picking fresh produce and than eating it. It's so much tastier, healthier and cost effective. Now we've got to start some serious composting.

We donate or pass on clothes, toys, shoes and even expired coupons. My expired coupons get mailed to a US military base in Italy where they have an additional 6mo to redeem them. Between family, friends, charity drives and consignment stores everything the kids grow out of gets passed on. It's nice to see them being used and it's good kharma.

Riley and I try to always pick up litter when it's safe to do so and we always throw ours in the proper receptacle. The kids have lunch boxes not paper bags (but if they did we'd recycle them). However, in the book Dora's Daddy washes and reuses her sandwich bags. I don't do that, but now I get the bento box craze. We try to get recyclable items when we buy disposable. We almost always have plastic cups that can be recycled. I think we'll cut back on paper plates when we get a dish washer (soon I'm told). I always take my own canvas bags to the store. They hold more and some places still have incentives for using your own. If someone does come home with a plastic bag we use it or recycle it. Plastic bags and foam have to be recycled in special bins at the grocery store, but it's not like I'm not there every week any way.

How do you do your part? I'd love to here your green ideas.