Earth Day

You guys, I am obsessed with Earth Day. You know, now thinking about it, I wish everyday was Earth Day.

Over the last few months I have actively tried to reduce my carbon footprint, and I have learned a lot along the way. So I thought I would share some fun, easy ways to help nurture and take care of our beautiful Planet. 

1. Sponges

One quick and relatively inexpensive fix - swap out your grungy old sponges with these beautiful wood dish brushes. Not only will they up your kitchen game, they are made with natural bristles (aka no stinky sponge) and you can compost them when they have reached their final days of cleaning. Isn't that so cool? 

I bought mine at the Wild Minimalist.

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2. Stasher Bags

Instead of using plastic bags, try swapping them out with these cool Stasher bags. I love using mine to freeze fruit for my morning smoothies. These are also great to use for packing your lunches, or even while traveling to carry your knick-knacks.

They come in all different sizes, colors and can easily be thrown in the dishwasher to be cleaned. I absolutely love the feeling when I use mine. I feel responsible, and like such an adult ;)

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3. Dryer Balls

Dryer Sheets are FILLED with toxic ingredients. Ingredients that can cause asthma, headaches, and even dizzy spells. Plus when you're done using them they are just thrown away, and left to leach chemicals into the earth.

Wool Dryer Balls on the other hand are an awesome chemical free, and zero waste option! Plus you can even add a few drops of essential oils to these to make your laundry smell like lavender, or lemon.

Wool Dryer balls are reusable, reduce your drying time by 25%, reduces static, eliminates wrinkles, and of course...are chemical free!

I bought my Dryer Balls from Whole Foods, but I'm sure you can snag them from Amazon.

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4. DIY Beauty

Another great way to reduce your trash production is to make your own beauty products. As you may know, I am a big fan of DIY projects, so making my own skincare products is like a home run for me. I use recycled glass bottles or jars (sometimes store bought, too!) and fill them up with natural, chemical free products. This option is also a little friendlier on your wallet, too! 

I love to make my own facial toner, body butter, toothpaste, and even acne spot treatment. Follow @CleanLiving.LPOH to find recipes

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(Photo from @simply.living.well instagram)

5. Reuse

I am a glass jar hoarder - anything that has a lid, and the potential to be used again goes into my dish washer, and then right into my glass cabinet. So far I have saved cute kombucha bottles, spice jars,  coconut oil jars, and even some spaghetti sauce containers. I then reuse them for bath salts, collecting my own dried herbs from my garden, making my own reed diffusers with essential oils,  and even some homemade candles. 

Another great idea for reusable products

-Paper Towels

-Cotton Rounds
-To-go Containers
-Produce Bags

I love the options that Marleys Monsters offer for reusable Paper Towels, and Cotton Rounds. For To-Go Containers, check out the Wild Minimalist, or Package Free shop.

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(Photo from Package Free Shop Instagram)

6. Say no to straws!

This seems to be a big one right now, and something I am not always the best at remembering. I LOVE straws, so I really need to get myself one of these cuties from the Wild Minimalist.

Straws make the list of top 10 marine pollutants. This single use plastic never fully biodegrades, making this 20 minute utensil, have a forever lasting impact.

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7. Feminine Hygiene 

Okay, my true hippie ways may show in this post, but....tampon applicators are one of the biggest forms of ocean pollution. Isn't that so wild? But then again, it totally makes sense. One way to show our oceans some love is to switch to something a little more environmentally friendly. Yep, I'm talking about a menstrual cup.

I personally use the Diva Cup, and am a BIG fan. Yes I sometimes get grief for using this, but I really do prefer this over tampons anyways. I can go 12 hours with a menstrual cup, and it's nice to know I'm not producing as much waste as I once did. There is a little learning curve when it comes to starting out with something like the Diva cup, or Lunette, but it's worth it in the end.

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8. Shop Responsibly 

Before I studied Apparel Design & Merchandising, I was actually an Environmental Science major at University of Colorado. One summer, I sat down and thought, "How can I make Little Pieces of Hope be more environmentally friendly?" From then on, I have made it my mission to make LPOH as green as possible. 

For example, when you order from LPOH, you will receive a,

-Charity Info Card - Made from seeded paper - meaning you can plant it if you'd like and wildflowers will bloom! Even if it ends up in a landfill, nature will take it's course and allow it to biodegrade (pictured above)

-Business card - Made from Recycled Cotton T-Shirts - Can be recycled

-Jewelry Pouch - No plastic here! Just a reusable canvas bag

-Necklace Card - Made from Recycled Paper, with plant based ink. Recyclable.

-Padded Mailer - Recycled Material, that can be recycled again, or if it ends up in the trash it can biodegrade easy peasy.

-Tape- Plant Based tape! Can you believe that. So this can be recycled, or biodegradable. 

Some of my favorite stores that are making an environment impact for the better include

-Jungmaven

-Package Free 

-Elate Cosmetics

-The Wild Minimalist

-Tree House - Austin, Texas

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9. Windows

I know this one isn't something everyone can do - but my boyfriend and I just splurged to get new windows in our house. We did this for many reasons - yes the additional sound "proofing" will be nice so I won't hear my neighbors dang dog barking in all hours of the night, but this will also save on our energy bill. These windows keep in heat in the winter, and block the heat in the Summer. Living in Texas, this is a MUST in the Summer. Plus, we won't be using as much A/C in the hotter months, which really does the City of Austin some favors, too.

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10. Plant your own Garden

I am a newbie when it comes to plants. Just recently, my boyfriend made me a garden and I have fallen madly in love. 

I love the idea of growing my own produce, and potentially growing so much that I have enough to give away to friends. Gardening has a plethora of benefits that range from mental health to environmental perks. 

Now you may be thinking how can my little garden make a difference? But it actually can!

Commercial production of fruits and veggies produce a lot of pollution - harmful chemicals/pesticides, air pollution due to transportation to grocery stores, and even plastic. When you produce your own veggies, you won't ever forget your reusable bag, nor will you have to put your produce in plastic veggie bags. It's a win, win! 

Planting your own garden also helps our efforts to reduce the amount of Carbon Dioxide in our atmosphere. When plants undergo their natural process of photosynthesis, plants take in the carbon dioxide and turn it into valuable oxygen molecules. 

I love knowing my little garden is making a difference (yes, even if i can't seem to keep my damn cucumbers alive) 

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What are your favorite ways to reduce your carbon footprint?!