Blog Action Day

Today is Blog Action Day! Tens of thousands of bloggers all over the world are participating by writing about the environment. I think this is a great way to raise awareness.

I think that one of the problems in today's world is they find themselves needing more and more in life to be happy. Needing more *stuff* in the long run has a very bad effect on the environment. There are small ways that people can help in reducing waste and those small things all add up. If everyone just picked a few of these things what a difference it would make!

1. Use Cloth diapers. I used these for two of my kids and while it was not fun, it didn't kill me.
2. For woman use cloth (reusable feminine products). I have some and have started using them. Billions of disposable diapers and feminine products are thrown into the landfill every year.
3. Cook more from scratch instead of buying prepacked everything. How long do you think those plastic microwave tv dinner trays last in the landfill? Probably forever!
4. Turn down your thermosat a few degrees in the winter, up a few in the summer. Just think of the energy savings if everyone did this.
6. Hang out your laundry. I'm doing it out of necessity but it's not that hard believe me. You can even hang clothes in the house over the bathroom shower rod and they do dry.
7. Reduce your trash by buying in bulk. Even single people can do this. For example buy a large package of meat, divide it up in portions in reusable containers and freeze.
8. Buy less stuff period. Use what you have until you wear it out and make do with what you already have.
9. Save gas for your vehicle by doing all your errands at once. Or carpool if you have the opportunity.
10. Before you throw something out that is still in good condition just because you bought a new one....ask yourself if someone you know may be able to use it. Example...many schools will take old computers and fix them up for student use.
11. Plant some trees if possible around your house (if you don't have them) to save on energy usage because they keep your house cooler.
12. Reduce usage of chemical products. Do you really need all those lysol wipes, swiffer pads, and many different products to clean each individual item in your house? What's wrong with cleaning the good old fashioned way? It's possible to clean your whole house using nothing but bleach, baking soda and vinegar. You've got the Internet so it's something you might want to look into.
13. Cut down on eating out at fast food places. Just imagine how much fast food trash is thrown away every day.
14. Donate to the Salvation Army or Goodwill if possible when getting rid of stuff that is still in decent condition.
15. Teach your children to live frugally and be environmentally aware. After all you are doing this for them. They are our future. :)