It’s Earth Month 2024, are you feeling a little overwhelmed with the constant pressure to do better and do more? We are here to tell you to do less and give yourself some grace, we all need to pitch in and it’s not all on your shoulders.
Earth Day is a great time to re-commit to some of your goals and maybe take a few steps toward them…baby steps if needed. Earth Day was created as an awareness campaign and we would like to continue bringing awareness and encourage you to do what you can when you can without guilt.
This year’s Earth Day theme is Planet vs Plastics. While we know we need to have some plastics in our lives, there are some we can avoid at least most of the time. There is hope if we all do our small part.
Step 1 – Breathe. Take a moment and figure out what you are passionate about and what you believe you can do starting today. Is it committing to remembering to use your reusable bag more by putting it in your car? Is it committing to buying your groceries that are grown closer to home? Is it pausing before adding to cart, either online or in store, and taking time to decide if you truly need it?
Step 2 – Tell someone. It helps to hold yourself accountable if you tell someone and it might even inspire them to join you! It doesn’t have to be a huge declaration and there will be times you may be in a situation where you can’t avoid taking the bag from the store…and that’s ok! Give yourself grace. Then try again.
Step 3 – Do less. Yep! I said do less. Shop less to prevent over consuming. Do you really need another “xyz” item? Wash your clothes less to prevent microplastics from entering the water stream and to extend the life of your clothes. Of course if they’re super dirty, please wash them! Drive less and plan your route. This not only saves on gas and car wear and tear but it also helps the environment.
Step 4 – Repeat! Repeat outfits! Who says we have to wear new fabulous outfits all of the time? No one. Maybe change the undergarments though…don’t take this too far! =) Repeat types of meals so you can buy less condiments. For instance, have an Asian food week and buy a bigger amount of the ingredients that you can use throughout the week. It saves money too!
Step 5 – Enjoy! Enjoy the process! It is a PROCESS! “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey” Ralph Waldo Emerson. Enjoy the process, the journey to ditch single use plastic that is not necessary in our lives takes time. Enjoy how you feel when you remember your reusable bag, enjoy watching people around you take steps to commit to doing what you’re doing, enjoy cleaning up the planet.
Some plastics are necessary, think cars to make them lighter and more fuel efficient or medical supplies, or technology. Those are more “necessary”. We aren't saying get rid of plastic completely, just the single-use plastic we don't need.
If we can all commit to reusing 1 plastic item, just once, globally that is almost 8 Billion plastic items reused and saved from the waste stream. Wow!
Collectively, we can all make a huge difference with small changes.
Are you ready to commit to the Earth and make at least 1 small change?
