Earth Day, Every Day!

Setting you up for success as Earth Month comes to a close.

This post comes to us from Christina Culver at Culver City Salads and is the last of a three part series!

As we move into May my hope is that we can all commit to at least one positive environmental change in our lives. Let’s look at it like we’re just completed a fitness challenge or cleanse and the goal now is to integrate what we’ve learned to better ourselves and this planet permanently. This is going to be different for everyone and I feel that the key will be to set ourselves up for success by making attainable goals. I think a great place to start is simply opening up the conversation with friends, family, and co-workers. You might be surprised to find that in doing so, you’ll learn a lot about what is going on locally and find new ways that you can better the earth. On the flip side you might find yourself sharing your newfound wisdom and helping someone else make positive change. I was chatting about the environment recently and one lady said that she’d made a deal with herself – she would only buy coffee if she brought her re-usable cup. I thought that was very cool, and totally do-able.

Setting yourself up for success is a great place to start. I like to stash reusable shopping bags by the front door, in my bag and car – preferably all with full reusable water bottles. If you don’t have a good recycling system set up in your home or office, now’s a great time to do so. It could be as simple as stacking sturdy bags side by side so that you sort as you go making the whole process easier.

Consuming less meat and animal bi-products will make a huge impact on the planet; being conscious of your consumption is a great place to start. I’ve seen many people switching to a plant based diet during the week and eating meat only on the weekends. It won’t just be the environment that thrives – you will too. I promise! Find some recipes that appeal to you and get cooking. If you’re already a super plant eater, way to go! Now would be a good time to move away from processed foods that mimic meat. There’s always room for improvement.

Try shopping more locally and as in season as possible. Hitting the local farmers’ market is really fun and super inspiring! See if your city has set up a refill shop yet. These shops allow you to bring in your own containers and refill them with premium soaps, household cleaners, personal care products, DIY ingredients and fine edibles. So cool! When making purchases consider the environmental impact. Is the packaging easily recyclable? Has this product been made locally? Is it water or energy efficient?

Driving less is kind of a no-brainer, but makes a huge impact. Biking season is certainly upon us. Get in a little workout while sending love to the earth. See if you can set up a car-pool at work, take public transit or simply walk more. Cutting down on flying also has a huge impact, but that might not be practical for everyone. Before jumping in your car to run an errand take a second to consider an earth friendlier alternative.

Cutting down energy use at home makes a big difference. Unplug. Use green products. Don’t leave that tap running and turn out the lights when you don’t need them.

Want to delve deeper? See what you can do locally, that could be beach cleanups or getting involved in other green projects in your city or town. This is definitely a chose-your-own adventure and I challenge you all to really take this on. I strongly believe that we can do a lot. We are living in scary times and we defiantly face a lot of adversity when it comes to climate change, but this is our time to shine. Collectively we can do a lot, every little step adds up. I’d love to know what you do to lessen your footprint, so please share.

Let’s make every damn day earth day!

“The environment is where we all meet; where all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share.” —Lady Bird Johnson

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Peace + Love + Salads xo