12 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

1. Switch to Reusable Bags

When packing your kids' lunch or going grocery shopping, forget about brown paper bags or plastic bags. Use reusable bags instead! You can find these tote bags anywhere in cute designs and they're super cheap. You can also buy your kids insulated lunch bags with their favorite characters on them so they can show them off during lunch time.

2. Get Some Exercise

Instead of driving your car everywhere, try to walk places instead if you are going somewhere nearby. Get in some exercise and ride your bike to work if possible to save on gas and lower your carbon emissions. If it's too far to walk or ride your bike, you can also start taking public transportation or carpool to work.


3. Plant a Garden

Planting a garden is a fun and easy activity for the whole family and it will save you money on grocery shopping. You can plant your own fruits and vegetables and you don't even need a large space to do so. This has a really positive impact on the environment and you can also research eco-friendly methods of maintaining your garden such as composting and collecting rain water to water your plants.



4. Buy Local and Eat Smarter

Visit your local farmer's market whenever you can to purchase locally raised and organic dairy, eggs, meat and more. Not only are you supporting eco-friendly food practices but you're also supporting your local economy. Plus, local food tastes better and is fresher.

5. Use Eco-friendly Cleaning Products

Rockin' Green eco-friendly cleaning products are all biodegradable and gluten and vegan friendly. They don't contain phosphates, SLS, Parabens, or optical brighteners. All of our packaging is made from recycled materials. Being green can be fun, and quite possibly even cool. We can all do our part to make the Earth a better place. Green laundry detergents work hard to fight dirt and stains while being gentle to the environment and your budget. 

6. Unplug

Whenever you are done using your appliances during the day (including the tv, computer, etc.), unplug them. You can also use a "smart" power strip which will cut "phantom" energy use when it is able to sense that an appliance is turned off and not in use.

7. Buy E-books and Read Online

There's no need to continue buying paperback books when there are so many book titles available online as ebooks. They are inexpensive and can be easily transported with you during your commute to work without having to lug heavy books around. You can even cancel your newspaper and magazine subscriptions and read articles online.

8. Save Water

Your family can start taking shorter showers to save on water consumption which will also lower your water bill saving your family money! There are special shower heads you can buy for the bathroom which reduce water flow to save on water use and the money you save on water will be worth the investment.

9. Buy Secondhand

Think about what you need before you go out and buy brand new products and see if it's a product that you can buy secondhand. You can visit your local thrift store or even browse online for new or gently used secondhand products. Craigslist is a great site to check for furniture, appliance and more that people are selling cheaply or even giving away for free.

10. Save Energy

You can save energy at home by setting your thermostat a few degrees higher in the summer and a few degrees lower in the winter. This will also help you save on heating and cooling costs. Another idea to save energy is to hang your clothes up to dry on a clothesline instead of using a dryer which consumes a ton of energy.

11. Bring Your Own Cup



Do you go to your favorite coffee shop for a cup of coffee every morning before work or during your midday slump? Bring your own cup to your coffee shop so you will no longer toss out the plastic cups they give you during your daily trip. Also keep in mind that some coffee places will give you a discount for bringing in your own cup. Bonus!

12. Use Cloth Diapers



If you have a little one in the house you can cut down on waste and save money by getting rid of the disposable diapers and using cloth diapers instead. Cloth diapers are better for baby's skin and also much better for the environment. While disposable diapers get thrown away after one use, cloth diapers are washed and reused over and over again.