Wellness

5 Ways to Embrace Earth Day

It’s Earth Day tomorrow, and though we all try to live life a little more on the green side everyday, we do like to draw special attention to this day. There is always something more we can do to embrace Earth Day and help the environment. We asked around and below are our top 5 fave things to do to celebrate Earth Day–which one(s) will you be doing?

Walk

A gallon (3.78 litres) of gas sends 8 kg of carbon dioxide into the air; almost twice as much as running your central air for a day(!). There are lots of ways to get to work or get the kidlets to school without driving (and likely using even more than a gallon of gas). You can carpool, take public transit, work from home, ride your bikes, scooters, skateboards, roller blades, etcetera. Try to do a walk day once a week to keep this going — it’s a great chance to spend time with the kiddies and get a little exercise in.

Get Dirty

Considering the water shortage in the world, the amount we use to keep ourselves clean is shocking. A daily shower isn’t mandatory, it’s a comfort. During a 10-minute shower, we use (and discard) around 180 litres of water (and we won’t even talk about baths).

Tomorrow let’s all stay a little dirty — or actually, slightly less than sparkly clean. In addition to saving water and money, you may find it makes you look better. A daily shower can actually wash away natural oils that our skin and hair need to glow (just please wash your hands — that’s a necessity.)

Invest in a dry shampoo like Klorane Extra Gentle Dry Shampoo if your hair gets a bit greasy if you don’t wash it every day. Eventually you’ll need less and less as your scalp adjusts and cuts back on oil production.

Get Involved

If you really want to get into the fun of Earth Day, there’s nothing like jumping in with both feet. If you have the time, there are lots of opportunities.

If you visit the Earth Day Canada Events page, you’ll find a list of activities for your area. You might want to plant trees, clean up a park or attend a clothing swap or yard sale. All of the activities are a great way to spend time with your family and teach the kidlets about Earth Day.

Decay…the Right Way

Every time you toss coffee grounds, paper towels or food waste, you’re adding to landfills — and subtracting from your yard. All of this and more can be composted instead of tossed, and the resulting compost is a great way to fertilize the garden. Once you set up a composting system — basically a bin in your kitchen and a bin in your yard where it can decay — all of that rich fertilizer is absolutely free.

If you don’t have a yard but still want to recycle your kitchen garbage, make sure you have compostable food waste bags and put all your waste in your green bin!

Keep It Going

The best way to celebrate Earth Day is to extend the celebration. So if you mark Earth Day by making it a habit to compost, make sure you stick with it. If you skip a shower, make it a habit to conserve water in other small ways, like only running the washer or the dishwasher with a full load.

Happy Earth Day everyone!