10 Ways to Start Being Eco-Conscious Right Away

We’ve all heard the term, eco-conscious however, do we really know what that means and how it can apply to our own lives? We can’t all go off and save the whales or stop the killing of wolves.

Merriam-Webster defines eco-consciousness as, “marked by or showing concern for the environment”. It is an adjective. What if we became more proactive and used it as an adverb? To do that we need to act, to be aware and informed as best as we can be on what and how we are doing that impacts the planet. What we do does not have to be expensive; keeping things simple is key to helping lessen our footprint on the Earth.

Here are 10 ways you can begin to help:

1. Keep things unplugged until you need to use them. Even something simple like unplugging the cord for your phone charger until you need to charge it saves energy and money. Bigger items like televisions, use more energy, even when not turned on. Set it up so it’s easy to plug in when you want to use it. Who knows, you may watch less if you it takes you a couple of extra seconds to plug it in. That is healthier for you and the environment. 
2. Pay attention to how much you flush. I’ve witnessed people using a facial tissue and then flushing it. The less we flush, the less water and energy we waste.
3. Use old clothing as rags and hankies. Tearing apart worn and unwearable clothing is a great way to save trees by eliminating the need for paper towels, facial tissues, and paper napkins.
4. Park it. Yes, parking it and walking or driving is great for your health and the environment however, I also mean park it quicker when you do need to drive. How many times have you circled the parking lot to get a closer place when you could have parked, walked and been where you wanted to be sooner than driving around and around?
5. I know most people have reusable water bottles, but what about parties? We are eco-conscious daily but when it comes to groups, we think we need to go back to individual plastic water bottles, flatware, and plates. Not so. I bet someone has a large cooler you can borrow and fill with water. Tell your friends to bring their reusable bottles and fill from the reusable cooler. Make it a “potluck” of sorts and even if you provide the food, ask your partygoers to bring their own plate and silverware to take home and wash instead of filling up the landfill or creating the need for more trees to be harvested.
6. Plant more trees. I ask people who have woods if they’d mind if I dug up a sapling that is too close to other trees and transplant it in my yard. It helps the trees have space to grow, keeps young saplings from being crowded out, and saves me money while I bring more beauty and oxygen to the world. 
7. Eat less (or no) meat. I’m not just saying this because I am vegan but, cattle use a lot of water and cause methane gases that warm the planet further. (This does not even address the treatment of animals we eat but, don’t get me started on that!)
8. And speaking of eating, make sure you are not wasting food. Store leftovers in your bowls and on your plates covering with the lining of cereal boxes so you are not buying plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Some things can be covered in a dishtowel as well. 
9. Compost and grow your own food. Even if it is just a few veggies in containers. It’s healthier and then you have the food at your fingertips, plus, you don’t have to drive to a store and buy it (which is  how old???)
10. Make sure when you recycle those plastic bottles, whether from vitamins, juice, or anything else that has a cap, you remove the cap before placing in the recycle bin. Many of the caps on recyclable bottles are not recyclable and if you leave them on, the entire item will get thrown away at the recycling center (they do not have the time to remove all caps, so they toss the whole thing). 

Theses ideas are just a start, and you may not do all 10 ideas, yet doing any of these can help. The sooner we all start doing something, the better things will be.

Let me know in the comments below what your ideas for being eco-conscious are. I’d love to hear from you and begin a community of like-minded people that share! 

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4 (More) Simple Ways to Better the Planet Now

There are plenty of things we can do to help Mother Earth not have such a hard time of it because of the human race. Here’s four simple tips you can do right away. (Plus, they save you money!)

 

1. Instead of using plastic wrap, save old cereal box liners and a piece of cloth (like from an old shirt). Wrap the item in the cloth and then place in the cereal box liner using a rubber band, twine or a reusable twist tie to seal tightly.
2. Is your bar of soap leaving scum om your shower shelf? Don’t buy more plastic, instead, reuse an old orange bag. Cut off the label and fold the orange bag into a rectangle pad. Lightly stich to hold the bag together. This becomes the pad for the soap; it also works great as an exfoliator!
3. Recycle paper products in your car and bathroom. We may be great at recycling while in the kitchen, but don’t forget about your car and bathroom! I keep a paper lunch bag between the seats for the clean paper I no longer need. That way, I just dump it all in the recycle bin and start again. No paper waste has to go in the landfill. Additionally, we forget the recycle the empty toilet paper tubes and outer paper packaging to bathroom products. Keep a special recyclable can under your sink and save all the paper waste from going into the landfill!
4. Use old clothes (cotton jersey, like t-shirts and cotton materials work best) as rags to wipe your windows, mirrors and counters- anything that you would normally grab a paper towel for! Just cut them into squares in any size you prefer. They also replace tissues and are softer on your nose. When you throw them in your wash, add a bit of essential oil and then they smell good and open your sinuses at the same time. (After all, if you need a tissue, you probably have them a bit stuff up! Lemon, eucalyptus and peppermint are good ones for that.)

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Facing Our Personal Fires

“Without fire life would be inert and frozen.”  – Unknown

We all have our own “fires” we walk though; those times we feel we will explode from the pressure of emotional pain. Some people have had those personal fires through the pandemic. All this alone time has asked us to face ourselves and walk through the burning desires to purge what no longer serves us (like dropping burning coals we’ve been holding.)

Think about the ways in which we use fire; it warms our hearts, as we tend to use candles to sooth and set a calming, even romantic mood. We use it for cooking, warming our bodies, staving off danger in the wilderness, or alerting people to where we are. Fire can clear and cleanse, allowing for new growth; it can save and it can also burn when we allow it to get out of control. Ignoring the fire that burns within can also make us cold-frozen in our old ways, inert in our lives, causing us to end up sad and angry.
As a collective, I believe this time is also asking us to rise up from the ashes like a phoenix anew; change our old habits of trashing Mother Earth and living fast-paced lives aimed at getting instead of giving. Looking outward instead of inward was the old paradigm.

Has there been a fire burning within you, asking to look at things differently? Are you wondering how to find a way to live more simply, to help keep the planet be cleaner and healthier (as we’ve seen she has been during the pandemic)?  Post your burning desires for change and growth. We are all in this together and as things open back up, it is even more important to understand the need to think collectively. Working together to create a more loving world that continues to shift to a more enlightened consciousness of the planet and human spirit

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