Wellness Wednesday- Earth Day Edition
I love the celebration and awareness that Earth Day brings to local communities, such as our very own Ventura. But I also believe we should have some sort of regular awareness for how we are impacting this place that we inhabit.
I wanted to provide a fun spin on our Wellness Wednesday for this particular celebration of Mother Earth. I thought rather than filling this page with a bunch of facts about what we are all doing wrong… why not pledge to just make it better. Focus on the positive and the things that I can change on an individual level.
I’m pledging to adjust 5 small things in my life to do my part to make a difference. I’d love to challenge any and all of you to do the same. Strive for something that doesn’t uproot your life and something you know you’ll be able to follow through with. Think of it as a New Year’s Resolutions to better the footprint you leave behind. Let’s strive to leave this place better than we found it.
Jessy’s 5 Earth Day Pledges
Go buy that expensive water bottle:
Ok, I wrote that sentence and realized I’ve been delaying the purchase for far too long. I paused and drove to The Refill Shoppe to purchase mine. Otherwise I knew I’d write this and dilly dally about purchasing it OR (as my next pledge mentions) I’d buy it online out of convenience.
The best part of my $25 purchase, is that it will repay itself. I’ll be saving myself time of not running into the store to buy a plastic water bottle before yoga, it will save me money in the long term by buying a quality product that will last, and I’m doing my part of saving the earth from the 100’s of plastic water bottles that the average American disposes of each and every year.
I pledge to use my reusable bottle and limit my plastic bottle purchases!
Walk with a plastic bag:
I’m already carrying them to clean up after my dogs, so why not clean up after those that were there before me? This is an idea that came to me recently while on a jaunt to find sea glass on the beach where I was stumbling over pieces of garbage. While I’m scouring the earth’s surface for gems, why don’t I also pick up trash that’s washed ashore or been left behind?
I pledge to leave my trails/beaches better than I found them.
Loco local:
The current state of my recycle bin is loco! It’s littered with Amazon Prime boxes. Some of this is a result of products we needed for Pop Up that just couldn’t be sourced locally. Other purchases are my lack of planning and the need to get something affordably within two days. When considering the amount of packaging, the delivery truck fuel, and all the energy it takes to deliver my single 2 day package with ONE item in it; it’s enough to open my eyes to start planning ahead so I can support more local businesses.
I pledge to find new ways to support and shop local!
Don’t discard that item just yet:
I was at a luncheon a few years back and the keynote speaker was discussing their work to bring their company to a ‘Certified Green Business’ status. The audience’s initial thoughts automatically went to what fantastic products did this company implement in order to achieve this “Green” status?! The biggest shocker was when she mentioned the discussions they had on water efficient toilets. Their decision landed them to keep the current toilets even though they didn’t have the “Green” stamp. Their thought process was, that if they rip out all the current toilets for new Eco-friendly products, that they are actually doing a disservice by throwing perfectly good toilets into the landfill.
This concept has stuck with me for years. Think twice before you purchase a “better” product than the existing one you have that works!
I pledge to hang onto my perfectly good items just a little longer than the current consumer market might encourage.
Finding something old and make it into new:
This is my favorite because it’s something I already love doing, but I have been coming across so many new ways or ideas to re-purpose existing products. Whether that’s using old tea cups for succulent holders, fixing up old pieces of furniture and using them in a new way, or using ornate thrift store pieces to store my office supplies. The best part is, it creates a one of a kind item that the big box stores wish they would have thought of.
I pledge to re-purpose and reuse items in a new or creative way!
I look forward to hearing your ideas on how you can make a pledge to make a personal difference.
