Easy Ways to Go Green + Earth Day Giveaway
I am really excited about today’s post. Today is Earth Day and my youngest child, Hobie has an Earth Day Birthday. He is seven today! In honer of this special day, I am going to share some easy ways to “Go Green”. We also have an awesome giveaway for you.
A few months ago I watched a documentary that forever changed my life and the way I chose to live. It is called Plastic Paradise, The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. (It’s on Netflix) It is about plastic in the ocean and it is powerful! I am telling you, it opened my eyes right up! That night, I made a vow to stop using single use water bottles and to never leave the store again with a plastic shopping bag. So far, I have stuck to it and I have banned these items in my house! My husband said, “Next thing you know, your going to be making your own deodorant, growing a garden, homeschooling the kids and eating granola.” He thinks he is very funny because I already do all those things.
The cold hard facts
- Almost every piece of plastic that was ever made, unless it was burned, is still on the earth today. Yikes!
- 50% of the plastic we use is single use. Which means it is used once and then discarded.
- There are 5 gyres (huge garbage patches) in the world’s oceans.
- Plastic pollution endangers ocean wildlife as well as seabirds. Animals are often entangled in plastic or they eat it.
- Plastic pollution endangers humans! The fish eat the plastic, we eat the fish.
- Did you know the average American uses between 300 – 500 plastic bags a year! That is crazy!!!
- You can make a difference!
Here are some great products and tips that will help the earth.
1. Bring your own bag, or crate- I recently started using Cresbi Crates. I love them!!! Seriously, I am giving these as Christmas gifts this year (Shh, don’t tell). They fold down flat so they are easy to stow and then pop right up when you need them. Genius! They have a sturdy strap to carry them by and there is even a thermal bag you can easily insert to keep food hot or cold. Another thing I love about it is, how much stuff you can pack in to one crate. You could replace up to 6 bags with one single crate!
2. Use reusable lunch and snack bags- I pack a lot of lunches and snacks. These Lunchskins reusable bags are such a neat alternative to plastic sandwich bags. Not only are they green, and economical, they are super cute! True story, Hobie left his lunch box it the car all weekend and when I found it I was terrified to look inside! The half eaten sandwich in his Lunchskin bag, still appeared to be still pretty fresh. I didn’t try it, (Eww!) but I was impressed. My kids love that they are doing their part by helping keep the earth clean.
3. Use reusable water bottles- I want to use reusable water bottles, I really do. The problem is, I do not like tap water. I also don’t like buying gallons of water because, isn’t that just as bad? That is why I really like the Clearly Filtered Pitcher. It removes toxins and contaminants leaving you with pure, clean water. Each filter provides 200 gallons of clean water. It is easy to use, it saves money and the earth.
4. Use Reusable produce bags- You know the plastic bags on a roll that you use to put produce in? Those are awful! Seriously, are they even BPA free? Who knows? I do know this, they are so light weight, they probably fly right out of the recycle bin and into the ocean, terrible! Don’t fret, there is an alternative. Reusable produce bags from Love for the Earth. These are really cute. I love the tags! They are easy to keep in your purse, are washable and dry super fast. I really like this product!
Thanks so much to the sponsors of this post, who supplied product for me to review and giveaway. All opinions are honest and 100% my own.
Enter to win these great products via the Rafflecopter link below!
