Ah, spring. There’s something so exciting about seeing the first buds and little green shoots appear after a long, dormant winter. It’s time to get outside and enjoy the fabulous weather, get gardening, deep-clean your home and give your body a detoxifying rest from all that heavy cold-weather food. Here are seven tips to help you make green, earth-friendly choices throughout the lovely spring season.
1. Skip the chemicals when spring cleaning your home. Spring tends to be the time that we tackle the really big cleaning tasks, and some people think that means you have to use heavy-duty cleaners to get the job done. Not so. Check out this incredibly extensive list of easy, eco-friendly, non-toxic cleaning product recipes – you probably already have most of the ingredients in your home!
2. Choose organic, heirloom, native plants for your garden. It’s almost time to plant most spring and summer vegetables, fruits, herbs and ornamentals. If you haven’t already started your own seeds indoors and are planning to buy plants from the nursery, go local. Local nurseries will be able to help you choose plants that are uniquely suited to your area, which means less work for you – native plants don’t need as much water and fertilizer. And, look for organic heirloom varieties of edibles. By planting heirlooms, you’re helping to preserve biodiversity.
3. Throw an eco-friendly garden party! Garden parties are such a fun way to celebrate spring. Decorate your garden with recycled accents, invite your friends over and serve local, organic food and beverages – get tons of tips over at Greenopia.com.
4. Cleanse your body and spirit naturally. Spring is a time of rebirth and renewal. Give your body a fresh start with a spring detox: sip teas that help your body eliminate toxins, eat a light, cleansing diet and welcome tranquility into your life with these fantastic tips from Fresh Living.
5. Visit a national or state park, or a botanical garden. A big part of living an eco-friendly life is embracing and appreciating nature. In the springtime, there’s so much to see – wildlife is active, flowers are blooming and the weather is mild. Take a pair of binoculars and you might just spot some adorable animal babies.
6. Try your hand at a few creative recycling projects. Green DIY ideas abound on the internet, so put it to good use! Taking on an eco-friendly DIY project can be as simple as making some fun recycled crafts with the kids, or complex as building your own wind turbine or solar array.
7. Set a goal for being greener by summer. We’re not talking about committing to hugely ambitious changes – just baby steps. Changes to your habits that are better for the earth and for your family’s health stick better when you take it slow. Little things like skipping the drinking straw at restaurants, buying a reusable coffee filter, and eating ice cream out of a cone instead of a cup are so easy and attainable – get more baby step ideas at Tree Hugging Family.
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It’s Earth Day, the one day of the year when the mainstream public plants trees and attends environment-themed events and us greenies do our best to ramp up our efforts. Of course, planting trees is far from the only thing you can do to celebrate America’s favorite (and perhaps only?) green holiday.
First and foremost, get out of the house! Attend an Earth Day festival in your area, take the kids to the park, join a litter clean-up or choose a few other things from About My Planet’s ’22 Things to Do on Earth Day’. As for what NOT to do on Earth Day – well, abstaining from purchasing a polar bear fur coat or feeding a cow beans would be a start.
Ever wonder how Earth Day got started in the first place, and why it’s held on April 22nd? EarthFirst.com covered the history of Earth Day from its birth in 1962 to its growing popularity with the general public in recent years.
For a laugh, you’ve got to check out The Huffington Post’s compilation of the funniest Earth Day jokes, from David Letterman’s top ten list of Earth Day pick-up lines to South Park’s tongue-in-cheek look “behind the scenes” of Earth Day.
Which celebs have really gone green? PopCrunch.com gives us the details on what movie, music and television stars are doing to help the earth – and calls out the eco-hypocrites – in the video below, and Ecorazzi.com has the scoop on the latest green celebrity stories as always.
Trade in your old books, music and movies for new ones for free at Swaptree.com any time today and they’ll plant a tree in your honor. And if you actually do go out and plant a tree yourself, be sure to take a photo – Figs & Ginger, makers of adorable eco-friendly jewelry inspired by nature, will be giving away a free necklace plus a pair of earrings or a tie tack to the first 50 people to send in photos.
Looking for some movies with green themes to watch today? Check out this list of 18 environmentally-themed flicks, which include some picks for the kids, like Fern Gully, as well as documentaries, comedies, dramas and more for adults.
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