Every April there’s a day dedicated to Earth. It’s called Earth Day. I’m sure everyone’s heard of it, and there’s something special you try to do on that day to celebrate the Earth. However, there’s no reason you can’t celebrate the Earth every day. There’s no grand gestures that have to happen, just pick simple things to incorporate into your daily routines. Our family isn’t going around without using deodorant, and giving up the luxury of using toilet paper, but I can share 7 ways our family makes Earth Day choices every day!

7 ways our family makes Earth Day choices every day

We don’t use exfoliating scrubs with plastic microbeads.

I’m not giving up exfoliating my skin, especially my feet. Instead of using exfoliating products with those plastic microbeads, we stick to salt, or sugar, scrubs. You know the ones! Mix a little essential oil, with a little coarse salt, or some nice brown sugar, or white sugar. Whatever you prefer!

Why go for the salt, or sugar, scrubs? Well, the plastic pellets don’t dissolve, and they end up in our water supply and they harm fish and wildlife. Salt, and sugar, those all dissolve and there’s nothing harmful about a little salt and sugar dissolving into water, right?!!!

However, not everyone wants to make a scrub. Totally get it. When I’m down for a scrub, but don’t want to hassle with sugars and stuff, I’ll use something like this:

We use compact fluorescent light bulbs.

I have to admit, we started using the new bulbs for purely selfish reasons: it saves us on our electric bills. How’s that happening? Apparently, these little Energy SmartTM compact bulbs don’t use as much energy! Saving energy is a good thing, and saving on our bills is a GREAT thing.

My favorite appliance, the dishwasher is used in our house!

Yes, we use the dishwasher instead of washing dishes by hand. We make sure to fill the dishwasher to its fullest before we run it. It saves hundreds of gallons of water each month. Plus, it saves me from washing dishes by hand. My hands thank me, my back thanks me and I’m a happier person for not hand washing dishes every night! Happy wife, happy life, right?!!!

Our entire family uses refillable water bottles.

The kids each have the Klean Kanteen Stainless Steel Bottle they bring to school every day, and I use a glass Beverage Bottle. Less plastic in our landfills! Plus, they can go in the dishwasher I referenced above! You like how that got tied in? I’m good like that, aren’t I?

Leaving out the dryer when I do laundry.

When I do my personal laundry, I never use the dryer. I hang everything up to drip dry. One, it saves on the electric bill. Two, my clothes last longer, because they aren’t shrinking or fading! I do admit, I’m not able to hang the kids’ clothing, because there’s just way too much of it at one time. I don’t have the space to hang it all, plus they need it back faster than I need mine back! Hey, at least I’m helping in a small way, right?!!! Give me a little credit.

We opt out of a lot of junk mail.

A few years ago, I found this awesome website. It allowed me to opt out of unwanted mail, like catalogs, credit card offers, circulars, phone books and more. It saves a ton of paper! I just went to CatalogChoice.org and opted out of a ton of unwanted mail! The site is now called TrustediD Mail Preference Service. However, the website address is still CatalogChoice.org. It’s awesome, give it a try!

When I travel, which seems to be happening more often,

I ask the hotel staff not to change my linens and towels every day. It’s not necessary. Plus, I’m not good with people in my room when I’m not in it….it’s just plain weird! I actually starting doing this before it was “the thing to do” at hotels. It had nothing to do with being good to the Earth, but had everything to do with not liking people in my personal space.

When I’m staying in a hotel room, it’s my personal space for the time I’m paying for it. I’d prefer strangers not be in there. It just makes me feel strange knowing they’re in there, cleaning up after me. I always feel like I have to clean up after myself, before I leave the room, because they’d be in there cleaning it….I know, I’m weird. However, now I can just tell the staff it’s because I’m being good to the Earth! It all works out!

Earth Day can be a part of your every day routine, and doesn’t have to just be on the designated April day each year. Heck, most of what I was already doing happens to be helping the Earth, and I wasn’t even trying to help the Earth. Okay, that sounds terrible…. I guess what I’m trying to say is “my family was doing things to help the Earth without realizing it.”

You guys could be just as oblivious as we are! WOOHOOO.