There’s something really magical about starting a new year. It’s routinely been a chance for me to reflect on the previous year and think about my hopes and goals for the year ahead. One thing I’m becoming more and more aware of is our impact on the environment. As a new mom, I have to and want to think about our future because it’s also Augustine’s future. Today I’m chatting about 8 ways to treat our world better, plus there is a BIG giveaway!
8 Ways To Treat Our World Better
1. Recycle – I feel like this is one of the easiest ways people can make a difference. We recycle in our kitchen, but also in my office and in our bathroom. Did you know you can actually recycle empty (and cleaned) shampoo containers? I always do that with my Live Clean shampoos and lotions after I’ve finished them.
2. Switch to Paperless Billing – I try to minimize the waste we receive by signing up for paperless billing. It’s so much easier to have things online anyway.
3. Reuse –Over the years, I’ve collected a bunch of canvas totes so I reuse those at the grocery store and at the farmer’s market. When I worked in an office, I’d also reuse small bags as my lunch tote. In California, grocery stores don’t give free paper anymore so you have to pay 10 cents for a bag, or bring your own. Sometimes this is frustrating, especially when I forgot the bags in the car or at home, but it’s a good encouragement.
4. Minimize Waste– When we do takeout we tell the restaurant that we don’t need utensils. That way we’re not wasting what they send us. If the to-go cutlery is included, though, we’ll save it to keep another time. Similarly, sometimes when we go out to eat, the restaurants will give us a huge stack of napkins with our meal. Instead of throwing them away, we’ll keep them in the car and they always come in handy!
5. Repurpose Materials– I try to reuse things for other purposes. For example, I loved this tea tin so much that I couldn’t bear to throw it away. I found a use for it in my bathroom, holding up my brushes, and it gives the counter such character. I also have repurposed a glass bottle that a smoothie came in. Now, I use it to hold my cashew milk creamer.
6.Reduce Water Consumption– We’ve been in a drought in California for the past several years, so water is a major focus for our state. Matthew and I do our best to turn off the faucet when brushing our teeth, and we also keep a bucket in our shower that we use when the water is warming up. That water is then used to water our plants. And speaking of plants, in our old house we had a California brown lawn and it wasn’t until all the rain at the beginning of the year that it finally started to grow back! We also try to reduce our water consumption by not buying bottled water as often, and instead using our reusable water bottles to full up on the go. I need to be better at bringing thermoses to coffee shops though!
7. Buy local/organic/sustainable products–I feel like it’s definitely important to invest in what you’re putting in your body, to know where your food comes from, and what the ingredients are. I love shopping at our local farmer’s markets and getting the foods directly from the source. I’ll bring my reusable bags and fill up on fruits and veggies that are in season and oftentimes picked within the last 24 hours. I always notice a difference in taste too! It’s been so fun to go with Augustine and have him pick out different foods he wants to try.
8. Look at the ingredients–When I have the choice, I prefer buying products that are natural, plant-derived, paraben and sulfate free. Over the past year, I’ve been using a lot of items from the Live Clean line and I love that they don’t have all those harmful ingredients that other products do. There are no sulfates, parabens, or any of that stuff, so it’s a much better choice for our environment. A major bonus is that the products are affordable so it’s an easy swap to make!
Goals for Next Year
Learn more about composting and grow a vegetable garden. My best friend Lizzie has grown self-watering plants with tons of herbs and I think that would be such a rewarding, and fun, project. Even though our new house has a tiny backyard I think we could do some sort of veggie garden. Maybe even a wall planter or something!
Do you have any ideas on ways to get more involved? I definitely want to be more conscious about protecting our environment and make a difference where I can. These are some of the values I can’t wait to teach Augustine as he gets older.
Also, Live Clean was so nice to offer a BIG giveaway! They’re letting me pick 8 of my favorite products to send to you. So you’d be getting the Coconut Milk Moisturizing Shampoo & Conditioner, the Argan Oil Hand Soap, the Fresh Water Body Wash, the Coconut Milk Body Lotion, and my 3 favorite baby products {Calming Bedtime Bubble Bath & Wash, Calming, and the Gentle Moisture Diaper Ointment. We’ve been huge fans of their products so I was so excited when they offered this! I’ll also be sending the winner a $50 Amazon Gift Card so you can get something fun for yourself for 2018! Just leave a comment below and follow @LiveCleanUSA on Instagram. I’ll pick the winner next week!
xox
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Live Clean for partnering with me on this post. All thoughts and opinions, as always, are my own. Thanks so much for supporting my sponsors!
photos by Priscilla Frey
