Being kind to our planet is something all of us can do — no matter how young or how old. With Earth Day coming up on April 22, this is a great time to think “green” and develop environmentally friendly habits.
Share these suggestions with your parents and other family members, too.
• Take reusable shopping bags with you when you and your family go shopping. Sometimes, stores will even give you a small discount on your purchases when you bring your own bags!
• Before throwing out a used piece of paper, turn it over to see if the other side is blank. If so, it can be still be used as scratch paper on which you can practice spelling words, figure out math problems or play a game of MASH.
• Vintage clothing can be cool! It’s fun to check out resale shops and antique stores to find authentic distressed jeans and true vintage T-shirts. Plus, you’re actually doing your part to recycle while putting together a unique look!
• Watch how much water you’re using. Don’t leave the faucet running longer than it needs to when you’re brushing your teeth. Also, opt for showers instead of baths. Showers shouldn’t last longer than 10 minutes.
• This one’s easy to do, but still, how many times have you left a room and forgot to turn off the light? Save energy! If there’s no one in the room, there’s no need to have the light on!
• Get on the recycling bandwagon. Encourage your family and friends to recycle aluminum cans and paper. Donate used clothing, household items and games and books to charity. Lions Clubs (which are community service organizations) collect used glasses and used cell phones are collected by many community organizations to be used by servicemen or servicewomen overseas or by victims of domestic violence.
• Grow your own vegetables. This spring, why not try your hand at gardening? Just-picked homegrown vegetables are yummier than you could imagine, and food that you grow yourself doesn’t have to be processed or packaged.
• Many kids take single-serve juice boxes or snack bags in their school lunch bags. To cut down on waste, pack the juice in a reusable plastic bottle and put the snacks in a recycled plastic container.
Do you have your own suggestions for ways to live “greener?” We’d love to hear from you! Drop us an e-mail (ec@indremcs.org), tweet us (twitter.com/electriconsumer), or let us know on our Facebook page.