Easy Ideas to do with the Family this Earth Day...

This blog post is in partnership with none other than, Ranger Rob!
In honour of Earth Day, Treehouse is hosting a Ranger Rob marathon April 22nd, 3:15 - 6:30 ET.
(US residents: Sprout 9am, repeating at 3:30)

I will be honest in saying I worry about my carbon footprint, everything in our lives is disposable...

An example, my grandparent's homes always looked the same, in 20 years I think I could count on one hand the number of things that changed in either set of grandparents home and it wasn't that they were too poor or didn't keep their house up, it was just the thought of 'why replace one good thing with another good thing?'

But my mom replaces good things all the time, I don't mean to rag on her but I can't help but notice when something good gets replaced with something equally as good and how its kind of weird. When I walk into stores now I see so much stuff that makes me wonder how much good stuff got tossed into a landfill to make way for this good stuff?

I think about it all year long but I really think about it this time of year because of Earth Day, Spring cleaning, Roadside pick up (if you live in our area there's a giant 'swap' date to put out things you don't want and others can take what they like) etc.

I am guilty too, I'm in part my mom but I will admit my vice is clothing and makeup, which I try to convince myself is better than house decor as its typically in smaller packaging.

There are a few things I try to do especially this time of year to tip the scales back to my grandparents time...



1. GIVE AWAY FREEBIES

You don't even want to know how often I put a bunch of stuff with a FREE sign at the bottom of my driveway. (at least twice a year, last week ^)

You may be done with something but someone else may be able to breathe new life into it!




2. CLEAN OUT THE KIDS CLOSETS AND DONATE

Ok, this is a problem for me because I am not sure if we're done having kids.. but I still try to go through and keep as little as my hoarding self will allow.



Same goes for playrooms!
I have been sorting toys into - donate, yard sale, going back to grandmas, and everyday use.
It's making a huge dent in organizing this mess! (this is the before)



3. BUY USED

If you have the shopping bug I suggest going to the thrift stores!
It always satisfies my itch and usually costs a small fraction of the shopping mall.
(the clothes are still as good as new if not NEW ^ this dress still has the original tags on)



Especially while the kids are young, they have no idea this isn't brand new and I don't think they would care either way! I still find 'cool' paw patrol, superheroes, etc. etc. stuff at the thrift store.



4. CLEAN OUT YOUR FRIDGE AND PANTRY

I am super guilty of letting food expire, mainly because I didn't know it was there.
I have been making a habit of moving the closer expiration dates to the front and putting my new groceries near the back.



5. COOK IN BULK

So, I just did this the other day and it feels really good to have a freezer stock full of food!
Not only because its easier on the wallet but I always feel like fast food/restaurant takeout comes with so much wasteful/ non-biodegradable add-ons!

- straws, cups, lids, ketchup packets, burger wrappers, plastic bags, plastic cutlery... x each family member!

6. PLAY WITH TOYS THAT DON'T USE POWER

I try to keep my kids away from screen time as much as possible, with a 3 year old that may not mean every day (he loves his Gameboy!) but when I can distract him from the video games I try to tempt him with things like sidewalk chalk, hula hoops, bike riding, sandboxes, anything that is outside is only a bonus.



7. SAVE WATER

I will bathe the kids together and/or let Elliott shower with Nick or I and I am forever reminding him to turn the water off while brushing teeth and washing hands!




Tips from Rob ^^

I love that we crossed ideas a couple of times but also love that Rob has more ideas that I can implement today!

Happy Earth Day to you!