Oh man, oh man. Since we’ve been working on educating ourselves on various ways we can save the planet (using this book I shared about last week), we’ve definitely all been feeling a little bit convicted. The big girls and I have really been enjoying going through the book and talking about things we do and how we can improve. They aren’t major things, but it’s definitely a start. Plus, awareness and intentionality is key.
We talked about how we need to use both sides of the paper because we want to help preserve trees. They’ve also started turning off the water as they soap their hands and then turning it back on to rinse. Brave has a tendency to take a long time to wash her hands, but now we agreed singing the “Happy Birthday” song while washing is sufficient time. They used to keep the bathroom light on at night (they’re afraid of the dark), but now they turn it off because they say they don’t want to waste energy, even that one surprised Ben a bit because they loved having that light on!
We made a small list of practical things we can do on the whiteboard, which the girls then wrote down in their journals. They also made a little picture to accompany each tip. Then, they even made their own eco-warriors! True named hers Princess Earth, and Brave named hers Laura. Not sure what that has to do with saving the planet, but that’s what she decided, so Laura it is!
Here are some bits of information from You Can Save the Planet that startled us…
“The average person uses and disposes of the equivalent of seven trees a year.” That’s a lot of trees!
“Up to 2 gallons of water can run out of the tap in one minute.” Imagine all that water we waste so fast!
“A color TV left on standby can use 85% of the energy it uses when it is actually one.” We don’t have a TV, but my computer is always on standby, I need to shut it off more often.
It is kind of cool to see the girls taking an active role in these little things. I know these things are minor and small now, but hopefully it will instill in them an awareness in helping take care of this planet. It’s a beautiful place and I want them to take care in keeping it that way! Like Tinajo said in a comment last week, “Everyone can’t do everything, but everyone can do something!” That is so true and I want to teach my kids that though they are little, they definitely can do something.
I loved all the suggestions you gave last week about other books/blogs to read regarding this subject as I’ve looked some of them up already. We’re definitely enjoying learning how to be eco-warriors together and I encourage you all to do what you can too! What sort of things do you do in your own home to help save our planet? I’d love to hear your tips and tricks too!
you are an amazing momma! I’m glad we’ve got princess Earth and Laura looking out for the planet!
We eat almost no processed food so our packaging is at a minimum! Jana @ 333 Days of Hand Lettering
Hi Jana! I’d love to hear what your typical weekly lunch/dinner plans look like!
Love their eco warriors – very cute!!!
There are people on our street/neighborhood who put out trash TWICE a week and have multiple bags each time. It’s insane. We are a family of three and we don’t even put ONE bag of trash out every month…it’s probably every 1.5 to 2 months (at that’s pushing it) that we put out one trash bag that’s most times not even completely full. Here’s how:
-COMPOST!!!!! This is obviously huge. I wish everyone could compost and cut down their trash a ton!
-We’re vegan and only eat whole, unprocessed foods – so no cans, boxed food, etc.
-With above, obviously no canned drinks, sodas, etc. (except when my hubby buys beer now and then or myself a kombucha)
-Produce co-op…and then farmer’s markets and local pick your own farms whenever else we can.
-Reusable produce bags
-Reusable shopping bags
-Cloth napkins, dish towels, etc.
-Cloth family wipes/hankies/face wipes (we buy eco TP too for when we need to use it too tho)
-Reusable beverage bottles
-Reusable snack bags
-Metal and glass food storage containers
-We buy eco plastic storage bags for storing things (not food) so when we use those, we wash and dry them, and reuse.
-Make our own cleaning products, soap, etc…buy ingredients in bulk.
-Buy in BULK…so beans, quinoa, dried fruit, etc, is all bought in bulk and then we reuse the bags
-RECYCLE, recycle, recycle…I am a recycling freak – thankfully our city takes a ton of stuff, but I have places all over our metroplex I take stuff to (lighbulbs, batteries, plastic plant pots (ones come in), electronics, styrofoam peanuts/packaging, etc.). It takes time (and storage space) but it’s worth it to me.
-When we did diaper ages ago, we cloth diapered…only way to go really if you want to reduce your waste.
-We have a large garden and although we compost alot from it, we do have clippings, weeds, etc that we do not compost – for that we use the brown paper lawn bags from Home Depot or Lowes, which are far more biodegradable.
Other stuff too but that’s what first came to mind…:)
We do not use Glad products…glad to see they have a 65% plastic trash bag (just saw online at their website) now but I do so wish large companies like theirs would truly make a stand by making ALL their bags a much higher percentage of recycled material, etc. and far more biodegradable. Now, that would be cool.
Thank you for taking the time to share this! I’m totally making notes!!! We do some of those things already, but I know we can totally improve!
I’m @ourgreennest if anyone wants to follow our journey! 🙂 Love following yours Ruby!
Um, Prinsass Earth is pretty much the most awesome name for a princess EVER. If only all the Disney princesses were actually prin SASS es!
We try to cook from scratch and buy a minimum of processed food. We recycle everything and avoid using any type of plastic bags or containers. Glad is usually not my first choice. I use glass containers for leftovers or I reuse the containers yogurt or cheese come in. For sandwiches, I have fabric pouches or I use a recycled paper sandwich bag from whole foods, but that’s pretty rare. It’s great to involve children in the process caring for our planet. I love to see that!
Yes, cooking from scratch helps so much! We try to limit the processed food, but we do have some stock in our freezer. I use plastic tupperware for leftovers because I’m afraid of all that glass, but maybe I need to rethink that. I need to look up the recycled paper sandwich bag too! Thank you for your tips!