If you read my post about finding your passion, you might already know that saving the environment is important to me. But you may not have realized how many ways you can help. I know that my actions alone will not save the planet. What I can do is share some ideas with you that might help you make small changes. Together we can make a bigger impact.
Thanks to being raised by John Denver loving parents, I know that we should “Celebrate Earth Day, every day.” But of course, the day we all officially celebrate Earth Day reminds us how precious our world is. Earth Day makes us stop and think about how important it is to take care of our planet!
I recently spoke to friend and former classmate Allen Ellison who is running for Florida’s US Senate seat in in 2022. He is committed to curbing the effects of climate change and preserving our natural resources to reduce the impact on our children’s health and future. When asked how his campaign’s platform on protecting the environment affects moms Ellison stated, “All moms should want the best future for their children and that means supporting a clean environment for them to enjoy. As Senator, I will push for ways to combat climate change, clean our water, protect our environment and save our public lands through legislation and strong advocacy. “
How Can Moms Help Save The Environment?
There are many little things that moms can do to help their families be a part of saving the environment. Instead of seeing the problem of climate change as something out of our reach, we can make small changes in each of our homes.
Over spring break this year, we visited a sea turtle rescue in the Florida panhandle. I didn’t expect my family to be so interested, but we ended up spending almost 2 hours there. We learned a lot about how our everyday behaviors can pose a threat to our animals.
For example, bringing a plastic grocery bag with you to the beach can actually stop a sea turtle from being able to nest. We often bring these types of bags with us so that we have somewhere to put all of our trash. Then we can make sure to bring our trash out with us and throw it away. But think about how easily a plastic trash bag can be carried away by a strong gust of wind! Instead of bringing plastic bags, make sure to bring a canvas bag or something that is actually biodegradable in case it does accidentally blow away.
Here’s another thing that I learned years ago that stuck with me. Avoid buying soda or drinks that are packaged with plastic rings around them. These plastic rings can get stuck around our animals necks. If we do end up buying drinks like this, I always make sure to cut the rings up. At least that way they won’t get stuck on an animal.
Make Small Changes
I used to get overwhelmed when I thought about eliminating all of the products that my family uses that might be harmful to the environment. But I’ve changed my mindset. Now I try to think about how making small changes can have a bigger impact over time.
If we use reusable silicone bags instead of a ziplock bag for my kids’ school lunches, that saves around 400 ziplock bags per year! Even if I use reusable bags only half of the time, we are still stopping 200 plastic bags from ending up in landfills or oceans!
Here are 10 other changes you can make that might seem small, but that can make a big impact over time.
10 Simple Changes For Moms To Help Save The Environment
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1. Skip the straws.
You may have noticed recently that many restaurants don’t offer you a straw unless you ask. Some don’t have straws at all which has forced people to start carrying around reusable straws. There are so many options for reusable straws, but my preference would be stainless steel like these by VEHHE.
2. Avoid buying new decor for your house just so it can match.
This isn’t something that I thought about having an impact on our environment. A friend pointed out that wanting to have all of your plastic storage containers match is going to use more plastic than necessary. Does it really matter if you have mismatched plastic bins in your closet or under your bed? Instead of going out to buy new ones, use what you already have.
3. If you do want to get rid of household items, make sure to donate them to someone that can use them.
We have a really cool Facebook group in my community called Buy Nothing. You can pretty much find someone to take anything off your hands. You can also find things you might need there too. What you might consider old and useless may actually be something that one of your neighbors can use!
One person’s trash is another person’s treasure!
4. Use reusable bags.
I’ve been trying for years to use reusable shopping bags when I go grocery shopping, but for some reason I can’t get myself in the habit. I asked some friends their tips on making this a habit and here’s what they suggested:
- Put reusable shopping bags in your car where you will see them when you get to the grocery store.
- One mom suggested putting them under her daughter’s car seat. So when she grabbed her daughter, she would see the bags.
- Another friend suggested putting the bags right by the door so that I would remember to grab them on my way out.
5. Stop buying bottled water.
This can seem so simple, but it can have a really big impact. I actually prefer the taste of drinking water out of a filter from our fridge to bottled water. Plus I can fit a lot more water into a reusable water bottle and keep it cold longer.
6. Replace ziplock bags with reusable silicone bags.
Like I said before, this can have a really big impact over time even if you don’t use reusable bags every day. Here’s one brand that several of my friends recommended:
7. Stop using makeup remover pads or cotton balls.
My sister-in-law crocheted the women in my family some make-up remover pads and they actually work better than cotton balls. They are machine washable and will last a really long time. If you don’t have a crafty sister-in-law like me, you can
8. Switch to unpaper towels.
I recently discovered unpaper towels! They might sound silly, but they’re basically just a towel made from terry cloth that you can use multiple times, wash, and use again! Plus they usually have a fun pattern that makes cleaning a little more fun. (Ok ok maybe not fun, but at least they can brighten it up a little).
9. Buy concentrated cleaning products.
Norwex has many products that can help you make an impact on the environment. One of my favorites is their thieves spray which you can mix with water and use to clean your counters, degreasing, or even as an air freshener.
10. Limit the amount of meat you cook with.
A friend of mine Lori Randall, has a blog that shares how her family is making changes in how they live to reduce their carbon footprint. You can read her blog Kissing Carbon Goodbye here and learn more simple changes to make to reduce your carbon footprint. She also includes changes that will take more effort, but have an even bigger impact.
Lori points out that raising livestock accounts for 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions annually, especially ruminants like cows. She refers to Paul Hawkin’s book Drawdown. In his book Hawkins ranks reducing food waste #3 and changing to a plant-based diet #4 out of 80 solutions to stop global warming.
This one would be hard for my family, but you can make small changes here too. If a recipe calls for 1 lb of meat, use .75lbs instead. That probably wouldn’t be enough to really notice a difference in your meal. Over time it can have a big impact on the environment though.
Some of these changes may seem like a lot. But any change worth making is hard. Over time, it will become part of your lifestyle and you won’t miss it.
What other changes can moms make to help save the environment? What would you add to the list? Please share them in the comments section!
