In honor of Earth Day, I wanted to give you all 8 simple lifestyle changes you can make TODAY that will benefit our amazing planet! Chip and I are guilty of a few of these but are making a conscious effort to make these changes in our household! Even just starting out with a small change can make a HUGE impact…

1. Ditch the Car and Embrace Other Transportation Methods – Organize a carpool system, take public transportation (MARTA), or better yet, get some exercise by riding your bike! Less cars on the road not only means less air pollution, but it also means less traffic!! Hey Atlanta friends…–did you hear that? Less traffic! I really like the sound of that one…
2. Switch to Reusable Shopping Bags – the amount of plastic bags we get from one shopping trip to the grocery store is crazy–and you know where they all end up? In our landfills…! Instead of using all of those bags and then throwing them away, buy 3-4 cute reusable bags and bring them with you for all of your shopping. You’ll be super stylish and eco-friendly too!
3. Recycle, Recycle, Recycle! – we like to use the K.I.S.S (keep it simple stupid) method around the Wade household. But first, take the time to look up your municipalities recycling protocols (this should only take you five minutes) and then dedicate a few bins to the different types of products. We currently have “glass”, “plastics”, “cans” and “paper” containers. It’s amazing to see how much we CAN recycle and how little we throw into the trash can now that we are more aware!
4. Turn that Faucet OFF! – I know I am super guilty of this, especially while brushing my teeth. BUT, if we all make a conscious effort to turn the faucet off when not in direct use, we could save GALLONS of water!
5. Go Paperless – Everything is online these days. Think about how much paper you can save just by getting bank statements and bills sent electronically and paid the same way. It’s the same deal with event or travel tickets. Most places don’t require physical copies anymore.
6. Keep Your Showers Short – Trust me, I love a nice relaxing hot shower after a long day of work (and to escape from kid chaos from time to time) but there are so many other ways I can relax and escape the kids without wasting a ton of water! Keep your shower to 5 minutes or less and spend time relaxing elsewhere. Oh and another thing–while you are waiting for the shower to heat up (guilty again), try using a bucket to collect that unused water and use it around the house to water plants or even do some cleaning!
7. And a personal favorite of mine…plant something! Besides it adding a fresh look to your home, bringing a little greenery can also help regulate the temperature through the moisture they release into the air. This also helps reduce the energy required to heat or cool your home. It’s a win win!!
8. Shop Second-Hand – Buying used items, whether it’s clothes or equipment, can reduce waste (packaging materials) and your spending. For example, I can’t seem to keep up with our oldest sons’, Mac, pants or shoe size so spending a pretty penny on some new jeans or shoes that will last maybe 6-8 months just doesn’t make sense to me! We now like to take trips to Goodwill and Plato’s Closet!

And there you have it! 8 simple lifestyle changes you can make TODAY to help our planet. Let’s learn to keep Earth beautiful guys. Happy Earth Day!!