Another month of changes, hope you enjoyed making the world a better place!

• 1st – Research your water
• 2nd – Purchase the best water filter for your needs
• 3rd – Have a convo with a young person
• 4th – Get the safest sunscreen
• 5th – Plant a native plant
• 6th – Use a broom instead of water/blower/vacuum
• 7th – Eat properly by listening to your body
• 9th – Appreciate a teacher
• 10th – Plant a tree in honor of Arbor Day
• 12th – Give a mom some love
• 13th – Put a lid on pots when boiling
• 14th – Read labels on your food
• 14th – (sorry for the double post!) Have the courage to admit when you are wrong
• 15th – Make sure you are caught up on all check-ups
• 16th – Use produce bags
• 17th – Cut 6-pack rings
• 18th – Go to a yard sale
• 19th – Think about where your food came from
• 20th – Use old paint cans as planter
• 21st – Thank the most important people in your life for being a part of you
• 22nd – Be a good receiver
• 23rd – Chose fabric shower liner over plastic/vinyl
• 24th – Toilet paper with recycled material/no fragrance
• 25th – Chose gas over charcoal for BBQ
• 26th – Make is a “Slow Food” Day
• 27th – Remember meaning for Memorial Day, write letter to military
• 28th – No TV
• 29th – Wash only clothes that really are dirty
• 30th – Chuck the answering machine, use voice mail instead

For all of you that made a change, nice work 🙂

Answering machines require energy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  According to 50waystohelp.com, the annual energy savings if all answering machines in US homes were replaced by voice mail services would total nearly two billion kilowatt hours.

Not to mention, it is one more plastic, electronic device that will likely end up in a landfill.  If you do rid of it, please take to an e-waste collection center.

This is a bad habit I have to break, wearing something for even an hour or two and throwing it in the wash.  Today, try to avoid putting every last item in the laundry, and rather, go by how dirty it may be.  It will save on energy, water, laundry detergent, time spent washing, sorting and folding items, as well as extend the longevity of your clothes… all of which, equates to saving money!

TV is an easy go-to, and I admit, it’s hard for me to miss some of my favorite shows, but for today, try to keep it off.  Enjoy a different activity to fill your time and mind.  Enjoy the peace and save some energy from keeping it off (even better, unplugged!).

It is easy for us to sit back in our homes and think about how wonderful democracy is… it is another thing to sit in our battlegrounds and actually defend that freedom.  Please take the time today to remember those who have sacrificed  much for our country and what they have done for us.  Today, write a letter to thank someone who is standing up for our country and write a note…. check out amillionthanks.com and support our military…. write that letter today :).

There is a growing “Slow Food” movement which goes beyond the food, it is more about a way of living and the pleasure of food with commitment to community and the environment.   It supports good, clean and fair food.

Some of the things to consider:

• Learn what slow food is about.
• Cook the food yourself with fresh foods from resources you know, namely your Farmer’s Market or grown out of your own or a neighbor’s garden (nothing pre-made)
• Shop locally (see above)
• Avoid GMO’s (genetically modified food)
• Buy organic or no pesticide verses conventionally grown food
• Share your home-cooked meals

You can find more about it at http://www.slowfoodusa.org, as well as a number of other resources, simply Google ‘Slow Food Movement’.

Overall, it comes out the winner in being more environmentally friendly.

I have found this to be he case in number of articles I read while researching, and the Huffington Post does a good job of summing up the comparison, you can find it at:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/27/charcoal-vs-gas-grill-whi_n_109524.html

I was going to suggest buying the TP with no roll, but that must not be going so well since it seems it is rather hard to find.  For now, at least purchase toilet paper which includes recycled tissue.  Scott Tissue offers one called “Naturals” that I read fairly good reviews. You can find at Soap.com, Amazon.com, and I will be checking Whole Foods as well.

Rather than continually replacing the plastic ones which result in another waste that needs to go into recycling, buy a longer lasting fabric one, usually made of nylon.   They are a lot more mildew resistant, super easy to keep clean, AND you will not find the horrible offgassing of the plastic ones.

The fabric ones may be a little more expensive, but you should save a lot more money in the long run due to the longevity of the fabric ones.

You have been making changes every day in an effort to better our surroundings, but we all need to remember to be kind to ourselves as well.  Sometimes it is easier to give than to receive, but when you do not accept something that is being given to you (possibly a compliment, a gift, a kind gesture, a favor), you are robbing the other person of a chance to also send good out in the world.   So smile, accept and be thankful for that nice little something you have been given.

Happy day! 🙂