Earth Week 2014!

Earth Week 2014 is upon us and we’re already a day in!

At my day job, I’m part of the Green Team for our office and we’re celebrating by reminding people to be good stewards of the earth and raffling off “green” prizes like small succulent plants, reusable water bottles, reusable tote bags and reusable food storage containers.  Tomorrow and Thursday, we’re also showing the movie Walle during lunchtime.  Lots of fun things!

Off the clock, this week (like every week) I’m being green by limiting my driving and carpooling when possible, composting, recycling, eating organic, using non-toxic products, buying in bulk to reduce packaging and waste, and so much more.  But while Earth Week is a good reminder for us to be living “green”, I want to stress that we shouldn’t wait all year until Earth Week, we should be green everyday!

How do you celebrate earth day (everyday)?

Eco-Purpose: Earth Day

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

What a beautiful place we have to live.  Earth.  It abounds with beauty of all sorts and it means a lot to me to take care of it.

But, there is a fine line to draw the balance between being good stewards of what God has blessed us with (our beautiful world) and putting what we’ve been given above Him.  Sometimes that line seems a bit fuzzy and I struggle to strike that balance.

I understand some of you may not believe in God or religion or even a higher power.  And that’s okay.  I’m not here to shove anything down anyone’s throat.  What kind of message is that, anyway? But, I want to stand for what I believe in.  And I believe in the Creator, God, who blesses us with much more than we deserve.  One of those blessings is the world live in.

Earth Day is this Sunday, April 22nd and what a wonderful opportunity to remember this gift and continue learning new ways to take care of it.

Maybe I’m just a hippie of sorts, but I can’t get enough of nature.  It’s beauty.  It blows me away.

Which is why I feel so inclined to make sure it stays that way.  What a shame it would be for future generations to miss out on such a wonderful blessing because we decided it wasn’t worth the effort.

Granted, it does take a lot of work to maintain it all.  But seriously, if everyone takes small steps, that adds up to a lot too.  Whether that means going out of your way to recycle or use less water or buy organic produce or grow your own garden or buy local or reuse things or buy less stuff or whatever it is.  There are so many ways each of us can contribute to keeping our world beautiful.  Find one or two or a few that work for you and your family and over time it will get easier.  It’s mind over matter.  It’s about a way of life.  Switching gears mentally allows the physical doing of those things to come more easily.  I started out small, doing little things here and there.  Then eventually those things became a normal part of everyday life.  Every once in a while I get the urge to add something else to the routine and I know sooner or later that too will just feel normal.

One of the things I’ve committed to recently is to start using all natural home cleaning products.  I bought a large bottle of Dr. Bronner’s concentrated Liquid Soap (which is amazing by the way) and created a toilet bowl cleaner.  I reused the bottle from the commercial toilet bowl cleaner I had been using and diluted the concentrate with water.  Works like a charm!  Next, I’ll be concocting an all purpose cleaner in a spray bottle for multi-purpose cleaning.  I can’t wait!  The bonus to all this is that it’s much cheaper than buying commercial products.  One purchase of the concentrated liquid goes a long way, trust me.  Then you can sleep more peacefully at night knowing your family and your pets are safe from harmful toxins and you’re helping the environment.

What are you already doing to keep our earth lovely?

What are you going to commit to change in your life right now?

I’d love to hear what you have to say about all this, so leave a comment below!  But in the midst of all that doing, don’t forget the real message here.  I promise, it’s worth remembering.

Just a Little Something to Think About: Recycling

We all hear about recycling, and lately it seems like we’re bombarded with pressure from all angles.  But sometimes we need a little perspective.  This comes from a post on EcoEtsy and I thought it might be of interest to you, or at least to help you understand why it’s good to recycle and why it’s good to reduce our consumption in the first place:

I semi-regularly recycle and most days do my best to lower my initial consumption. So things like this help to put it in perspective for me and boost motivation to do my part in all of this.

Any thoughts from you out there?

Reduce, Reuse, REPURPOSE.

[repurposed suits courtesy of ELLE Thornton Designs]

Today I want to focus on something that I’m pretty passionate about: reducing waste, reusing things, and repurposing them into something else.  Nope, I’m not perfect and sometimes I get lazy, but for the most part I try my best to do at least one of the above on a daily basis.  I know it’s so much easier said than done, especially coming from someone who already does these things on a regular basis (and enjoys doing them, too!).  And you can’t just add these to your life suddenly, they are processes, each their own, and they take time, effort and thoughtfulness.  But, I can tell you, much satisfaction comes from following through with things that can change the way you live, for the better.  And, hey, you might even enjoy doing them, too!

While all three are great ways to reduce what we throw in landfills, the latter two are the most fun!  So let’s get down and dirty! Yes, reusing and repurposing both lend themselves, at some point, to getting your hands dirty, but that’s the fun of it, right? At least that’s what I love about repurposing.  After a long day at work stuck in my chair in front of the computer screen, sometimes a fun creative project is just what I need to recharge.

I absolutely love turning everyday, take-for-granted things into wonderful and practical tools, or even just something other than trash.  I think most of my joy from reusing and repurposing stems from my love of multi-use items.  Even things thought to be single use, can really have a ton of uses if we think outside the box before throwing them away. And on top of the fun of creating, both reusing and repurposing translate into less things bought and less money spent.  Now that’s something to celebrate!

What things do I reuse? Like I said, I have a desk job, and with that comes paperwork and a lot of it would normally go into the trash. So, I collect it and separate recyclable papers (like envelopes, double sided prints and junk mail) and keep the single side prints of computer paper and give it to my father-in-law who uses it for his business, printing on the blank side.  Another thing I try to do regularly is de-label jars and plastic containers to use for them for future food storage.

And don’t get me wrong, not everything we reuse or repurpose has to become some miracle of a thing.  Sometimes, it’s just fun to sit down and create!

Here are some of the things I’ve repurposed:

[mason jars turned bathroom storage]

[wine corks turned trivet]

[soup cans turned pen holders]

And some examples from the web:

[upcycled wooden palettes turned jewelry display for sale by Blender Gallery]

[truck springs turned kitchen stools via Apartment Therapy]

 

[mason jar turned soap dispenser for sale by postroadvintage]

 

While these things take that time and effort I mentioned, they are not art forms or science.  Just ways of living. And even if you don’t reuse or repurpose things yourself, there are vast amounts of reused, repurposed and upcycled goods available for sale in stores and on the web. For starters, check out Etsy for some awesome ideas, inspiration and products for sale.

And last but most definitely not least, another thing to remember is the ultimate purpose for doing what we do.  For me, doing these things reminds me of my respect for my Creator.

Have you ever repurposed anything?  What’s the easiest or most fun for you: reduce, reuse or repurpose?