Even though April 22 has been designated Earth Day this year, that doesn’t mean you only have to be eco-friendly on that day. It also doesn’t mean you have to change your whole life in order to lessen your negative impact on the planet. The following is a list of ways you can easily reduce your carbon footprint year round.
Many of the Earth Day activities are not only healthy for the planet, but healthy for us as well. If you aren’t already doing these things, let Earth Day be your starting point. Kick off a year of reducing your carbon footprint and start living a more eco-friendly lifestyle.
Earth Day activities to improve your health and planet
*Looking for an activity in our Hometown? Check out the Earth Day Trails Clean-up on April 22nd! Click here for more details!
- Leave your car at home and walk to work, school or public transit. (Cliche, I know, but adding a little more movement to your day is never a bad thing; it helped our ancestors to live healthier lives)
- Wash and dry the day’s dishes by hand. (A great arms and core workout while simultaneously saving electricity. Also a great skill to teach your kids…)
- Hang your laundry on the line. (Squat, press, repeat with no lint trap to be cleaned afterwards)
- Weed, hoe and water the garden. (Not only will you be getting in a whole body workout, you’ll also be reducing the future ecological footprint of your food consumption by growing your own greens)
- Prepare a raw meal. (Turn off the oven and microwave for the evening; fresh, raw foods are full of vitamins and nutrients and simple to prepare)
- ‘Free-cycle’ no-longer-used household items. (Just carrying those couches and televisions down to the curb is a strength workout in and of itself and it’s fun to watch and see who picks them up!)
- Enjoy an out-of-doors walk, run or stair workout.
- Trade computer games and social media for ‘kick the can’ or ‘patio hockey’. (Interval training at it’s best AND you’ll be modelling active behaviour to your kids)
- Go to bed when the sun sets. (Save electricity, reduce stress and perhaps spend a little ‘quality time’ with a loved one).
General Earth Day Tips
- Unplug your charger. We’re all guilty of leaving our laptop or cell phone chargers plugged in even when we’re not using them. It may seem harmless, but these chargers continue to use up electricity even when not in use. Next time you charge up your favorite gadget, unplug the charger from the wall when you’re done.
- No more plastic bags. Considering plastic bags take roughly a thousand years to decompose, the next time you go to the grocery store bring your own reusable cloth bag or opt for paper.
- Turn out the lights. Turning off the lights when you leave a room could possibly be the easiest thing you can do to conserve energy. In addition, when buying new light bulbs, check out low energy bulbs, as they give out the same amount of light, but run on a third of the power.
- Keep frozen food on hand. Frozen fruit and vegetables picked at it’s peak so you can ensure maximum nutrients. Also, an empty freezer requires more energy to freeze things than a packed one. You don’t need to freeze empty space, so buy in bulk and filler up!
- Buy locally. Purchasing your fruits and veggies from area farmers will cut down on the energy it takes to transport your food from places unknown.
- Wash in cool temperatures. Washing your clothes at lower temperatures, or ideally cold temperatures will use far less energy, but still clean your clothes just as well.
- Bathroom water savers. You may like to relax by soaking in a nice hot tub, but taking a bath uses far more water than showers and costs more to heat. In addition, installing a low flow showerhead will help conserve water, as well as limiting your time getting clean.
- Recycle as much you can! Keep as many bottles, cans, newspapers, junk mail, etc. out of landfills and don’t forget to compost We are so lucky to have compostable pick up here in Uxbridge. Take advantage of this service
- Adjust your thermostat. Make sure your home is well insulated and your windows are sealed up so as not to let in the winter and up two degrees in the summer.