Happy Earth Day!

I almost didn't get a post done for Earth Day, but I'm sneaking it in last minute since baby G just went to bed.

I watched Oprah today and she said there is a trash heap the size of Texas floating in the Pacific ocean. It is mostly made of plastic. Plastic bags, bottles, nets, containers of all shapes and sizes, toys, you get the picture. The animals are eating it, getting stuck in it, and it is giving the whales breast cancer.

I would love to find a way to help get it cleaned up. Right now there are a few little things I do that I want to share with you because we can all do them.

My daughter has food allergies, so she must take her lunch to school every day.

I send her lunch in a nice reusable lunch bag that is going on it's second year.

I use Tupperware containers and a thermos for everything in her lunch box. I have been phasing out plastic baggies, and due to my recent purchase of reusable snack and sandwich bags from Mamamade on Etsy (snack bag pictured at top; she is sold out but takes custom orders), I will now be able to end the use of plastic baggies in our home completely!

When I do use plastic bags I wash them out and reuse them several times for food. When they are too beat up for food I clean them again to use in my art studio.

I also send metal silverware in the lunchbox, not plastic disposable stuff. I have a few forks and spoons that I don't care about, and they are the official school lunch utensils.

We don't buy paper napkins or paper towels. I have a stack of rags and a stack of kitchen washcloths and towels that serve as napkins and paper towels.

I always put reusable shopping bags in my car for grocery shopping. I put them back in my car immediately after unloading the groceries so they will be there the next time I need them.

I also use those shopping bags for art supply shopping and all of my other errands. It just takes practice to get into the habit of having them with you every time.


There are some very cool bags called "Chico" bags (above) that I love to give gifts in. They are light weight nylon and they fold into a little attached pocket and they have a clip so you can put them on your purse strap or key ring. I keep one in my purse so I always have a little back up bag in case I forget my shoppers.

I heard that Ireland started charging 33 cents for plastic bags in grocery stores and the use of plastic bags dropped by 94%... wow! We need to do that here.

I also use Craigslist to buy just about everything I can. I get all my baby stuff on there, and I sell things I'm finished with. I also get free shipping supplies from people on Craigslist and on Freecycle, another cool reuse site where everything is FREE!

I hope you get some inspiration from this. It's easy to take a few steps toward a greener tomorrow!