Reflections on Earth Day

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;

    the whole earth is full of his glory.”

Isaiah 6:3

It's Earth Day 2014! What are you doing about it? I have always tried to live 'green', but I know there are many areas where I fall short. Here is a list of what I've done, what I do and what I hope to do!

1)   Ever since I went to college (1978) I've used cloth napkins. Back then my roommate and I bought a few on sale to save money. Since then I've made my own and even used old shirts to make some. We use them every day. They don't really take up much room in the wash and folding them is a small chore for a child. It helps make every meal a special meal. Here are some great ones from RecycledGrace on etsy.

cloth napkins by RecycledGrace

2)   I do the least amount of cleaning necessary saving cleaning products and my own energy! The truth is I am trying to make most of my cleaning products with earth friendly ingredients and have found many, many sources online for great alternatives for most household products. Check out these beautifully packaged cleaners from NaturalGreenCleaning on etsy.

Natural Cleaning Products by NaturalGreenCleaning

3)   I work from home and plan carefully my errands so use less gas. 

4)   We have a mostly organic vegetable garden with some veggies and herbs to use year round. Etsy is a great place to fine a wide variety of seeds. I've used several from DigDirtCheapSeeds. We also eat local and love our town's farmers' market.

Brussells Sprout seeds by DigDirtCheapSeeds

5)   I love buying my clothes and housewares from thrift stores. And sending the unwanted and unneeded back that way. I've made yarn from t shirts and totes and quilts from old clothes.

basket I made from recycled t shirt yarn

6)   Recycling. It is easy in our town. Love this by VeganeseTees on esty.

Organic cotton tee by Veganesetees

7)   I always bring shopping bags, mostly ones I've made from old clothes or fabric remnants. Many towns here are banning plastic shopping bags. Here's a neat one by julsofparadise on esty.

reusable shopping bag by julsofparadise

There are probably others, but that's all I can think of now! Here's some of the biggies I hope to change in the future.

1)   Composting. I try, but it's not very convenient here. We eat a lot of fruits and veggies so I need to make a greater effort. Maybe this would help by VintageGardenArt.

Spoon garden art by VintageGardenArt

2)   Driving a more energy efficient car and living in a place where walking and bike riding would be more convenient to run errands. It's just far enough and hilly enough to make it generally pretty difficult to get anywhere useful from my home. Even public transportation falls short. 

3)   I live in the Pacific Northwest, why don't I have some rain barrels?

4)   I've recently decided that lawns are just stupid. Well, that was after a weekend of thatching and aerating the neighborhood lawns. I want to plant more food and native plants and less lawn.

Again, there is probably more, much more I could do. I think we are called to be stewards of this beautiful planet we inhabit! And what is God's greatest creation? Us! So first and foremost we must care for each other! What are you doing?

Have a great Earth Day!

Linda <><