12 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

Happy Earth Week! At Abundance Organizing, we’re committed to offering eco-friendly organizing solutions and products, to teaching our clients how to increase sustainability within their households, and to enhancing our own business practices with a mindful eye on prioritizing the planet. It can be overwhelming when you start researching how to be more green! Just start with one small step at a time. Make one goal – whether that be to increase sustainability, to better support the environment, or to commit to an eco-friendly change – and stick to it before adding another goal. Use each small step to contribute to your goal. Every action and choice makes an impact and no commitment is too small.  Here are 12 ways that we all can celebrate Earth Day:

(1) Say goodbye to zip lock bags!

Work on eliminating using zip lock bags. You can do this by slowly investing in glass storage containers and reusable portable containers like ZipTops

(2) Practice purposeful and conscious grocery shopping. 

You can do this by bringing a list with you when you shop and only buying what is on your list. This will help you to not make impulse purchases of items that you do not need. If you have the option to buy something in a carton or glass container, choose that over anything with plastic packaging. No more plastic water bottles! Instead, invest in a reusable water bottle like a Hydro Flask. Did you know that they last forever and have a great warranty policy?

(3) Recycle your ink cartridges. 

Staples is a great place to recycle your ink cartridges. While you are at it, you can also recycle old/broken electronics and rechargeable batteries.

(4) When can you carpool?

Carpool whenever you have the opportunity. We do this a lot amongst ourselves at Abundance Organizing.

(5) Be a green giver.

The next time you need to buy a birthday gift, buy a clutter-free or eco-friendly gift

(6) Bring nature inside.

Try to fill your home with plants. It gives you something to care for and helps clean the air. Here are some plant recommendations from Good Housekeeping and from Magnolia.

(7) Make sustainability your fashion statement!

Fashion sustainability helps the environment and saves money.  Don’t get caught in adding to the perils of fast fashion. Instead of always buying something from the latest fashion trend, practice purposeful and conscious shopping. When you no longer like, wear, or have use for an item in your wardrobe, let it go to someone else who will use it. If you are in the Virginia area, here is a great list for donation centers and consignment stores in Richmond and another list for Charlottesville

(8) Donate responsibly.

Here is a great blog post for more on the green aspect of donating and reusing.Waste is ultimately reduced when new items are not created. In order for new items to not be created, items must be reused. When this happens, the environment is preserved, natural resources are protected, and money is saved. Instead of adding to the landfill, or damaging the environment, here are some resources to help you use the proper channels to recycle and discard items responsibly.

(9) Swap out toxic cleaning products for eco-friendly ones.

Here are 8 great eco-friendly and green cleaning alternatives that our team members love. Green cleaning products  do not add to the air or water pollution and are made with natural, non-toxic, and biodegradable ingredients. 

(10) Connect with a resource that can help you recycle, haul, and shred.

If you are in the Richmond Metro Area, and are in need of any assistance with hauling, we highly recommend Junk Shuttle. Here are some other recycling, hauling, and shredding resources. When cleaning out and organizing your home, having these resources handy makes the arduous task of organizing so much easier.

(11) Use eco-friendly organizing products.

The right organizing product can make all the difference in the world. Seriously – all the difference in the world. Ten of our most favorite eco-friendly organizing products are sourced from bamboo, glass, and wood. You can  minimize your carbon footprint by choosing an eco-friendly product or reusing what you already have.

(12) Go Paperless! 

It’s understandable that transitioning to a more digital lifestyle can be overwhelming. It may not fit everyone’s lifestyle. But given its potential to reduce pollution and make your life easier, it might be worth trying these strategies to work a paperless organizing systems into your lifestyle

How are you celebrating this place we call home during Earth Week? Share more about how you  protect and preserve this planet in our Abundance Declutter Facebook Group!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *