Kristie McNealy, MD

This morning, my oldest daughter enthusiastically greeted everyone by shouting “Happy Earth Day!.”  Her enthusiasm for the “holiday” waned a little bit when she realized there weren’t any presents or fancy meals involved.  I, on the other hand, began enjoying it a little more when I was able to claim saving energy as my excuse for serving cold cereal this morning, instead of bacon and eggs . . .

All joking aside, being conscious about the our impact on the earth and it’s resources, as well as the impact of using disposable everything on our bank accounts can’t be a bad thing.  With that in mind, I thought I’d share some of the things we’re doing today, in celebration of Earth Day, as well as the longterm changes we’ve made in our household over the past year.

Our Earth Day Plans

1. Using the power of the sun. Today, the kids and I are using only natural light from the sun to light our home.  It’s a beautiful day, and at about 70 degrees, we don’t need to worry today about keeping the cold or heat out with heavy blinds and curtains.  Opening up the blinds and letting the sun stream in is cheerful too.
2. Plant a tree. We saved some avocado pits a few days ago, and today, we’ll be “planting” them.  There is virtually no chance that these avocado trees will bear fruit, but they will add some green to our home for as long as we can keep them going inside.  Plants can improve indoor air quality, and they look great too.  We’ll see how it goes, but if you’re interested in growing your own avocado tree, check out these instructions from the California Avocado Commission.
3. Have a tree planted in your name. If you can’t plant your own tree, or if you’d just like to spread the love, Kiwi Magazine is planting trees for everyone who signs up for their e-newsletter on Earth Day.  Just visit their website to find out more.  I’m sure there are plenty of other organizations and companies doing the same thing today, so keep an eye out, and if you find one, leave a comment with a link!

Our Every Day Plans

1. No more disposable diapers. I shared a bit earlier this year about our transition to cloth diapers.  Thankfully, it’s been a pretty smooth and satisfying transition that has paved the way to a few other changes around our house.  There have been a few times that we’ve opted to use disposables in the past few months, like when we were stuck outside of town in a blizzard, but we’ve still put a major dent in the amount of diaper trash we are creating.  Also, I estimated back in December that we’d only need to use cloth for 4-5 months to recoup the money we spent on getting started.  I’m happy to report that we’re rapidly closing in on the 4 month mark and still going strong.
2. No more paper towels. When we had paper towels around the house, we used them impossibly quickly.  I swear we used a roll a day when they were available.  Then, I just stopped buying them.  By shopping the clearance rack at Target, I was able to stock up on an ample pile of cloth napkins and kitchen towels for about the same price I would have spent on a month’s worth of paper towels.  There are still certain tasks that we find ourselves wishing we had paper towels for, but then I remember my stash of rags and get over it.
3. Reusable bags and reusing the plastic ones we have. A while back, Sunflower Market opened in my area, and during their grand opening, they bagged all groceries in reusable shopping bags.  In two shopping trips, I easily accumulated enough bags for 90% of our shopping needs without spending a dime.  There are a lot of area grocery stores giving away reusable bags with purchases for Earth Day, so that would be a great way to build up your stash.  When we don’t have enough reusable bags with us, and we end up with plastic ones, we save them for trash liners and yard cleanup.
4. Going local. For the past year, we have purchased all of our beef from a local, organic farmer, and we’re very excited that we’ll be able to get most of our produce this year by participating in a community supported agriculture program based at this same farm.  We’re going super local and attempting to grow the rest of our produce right in our own yard.  I’ll be reporting on how that turns out over the coming months.
5. Reuse and repurpose. We’ve been eliminating plastic food containers from our home, and slowly replacing them with glass containers.  Beyond a starter set of pyrex storage containers, we’ve been getting most of what we use by repurposing glass jars from store bought pasta sauce, jam, etc.,  as well as being more conscious about always saving jars from home canned goods we’ve been gifted by friends and family.  We’ve been repurposing milk cartons, yogurt cups and newspaper as seed pots, and the girls and I have also been having a lot of fun turning old clothes and scrap fabrics into entirely new clothing creations.

There are an endless number of other ways that we can all reduce our impact on the earth and reduce the strains on our bank accounts.  Please share what you’ll be doing for Earth Day, and what you do every day to protect our natural and financial resources!

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