My Earth Week Goals

I do agree with the saying that "Earth Day should be Every Day".  It is true that we need to think about our carbon footprint each and every day of the year, not just on April 22nd.  That being said, I have a few of my own goals for the year that I plan to put into place this week.

1.  Get the Compost Pile Going

We got off to a great start last year but things went downhill fast with the crazy, emotional spring we   had around here last year.  This year I hope to compost until the snow falls (maybe beyond) and do some more research about vermicomposting (worms).

2.  Set up a Clothes Line

This has been something I have wanted to do for awhile now.  Having a clothesline will help me to save energy (money) by not using the dryer, whiten my whites naturally and I love the smell of clothes that have been out in the fresh air.  I think this will be a fun chore to do with Z as well (will let you know ;)).

 3.  Stop Buying Plastic

For both health and environmental reasons, reducing the use of plastic is our family's goal.  I have been trying to make a conscience decision to avoid it whenever I can.  I try to buy things in glass or at least in plastics that can be recycled (or reused).  I no longer microwave in or wash my plastics in the dishwasher but I would like to reduce our dependency on it.  We have slowly replaced our plastic storage containers with glass and we now make an effort to buy the kids toys that are made of more natural materials (this is hard though).

4.  Reuse as much as I can

Did you know that the average person throws away 4 lbs of trash a day??  That is 16 lbs a day for a family of four...CRAZY!  Every time I go to throw something away (or even recycle it), I plan to ask myself if it can be recycled, composted or used for something else.  This process should reduce the amount of trash we are throwing away and will force me to be creative. 

5.  Switch to Soap Nuts 

I have been very intrigued by the idea of Soap Nuts for over a year now but have decided that once the last of my laundry soap runs out, I am going to make the change.   Of course I like the idea that they have no chemicals, do not pollute and are fragrance free but I am most intrigued by the idea that they help to eliminate washer odor and build up.  This is a huge problem in my front loader and I hope that soap nuts are the answer (not much else has worked).  I will let you know.