5 Things to Do This Morning for Earth Day

Be greener and have a lighter carbon footprint from the moment you get out of bed

This is part one of a 5 part series on Earth Day. Why not make a few small changes in your life, beginning with Earth Day?

From the moment you wake up, we start consuming things. We breathe, we brush our teeth, run the water, take a shower, cook our breakfast, throw away things, and drive to work. What if we just took one or two of those things and started to change them in such a small way that it didn't even affect our lives in the least? That's called being realistic, and that's what will work if you're going to be making some changes in your life. Here are ten things you can do this morning, starting from the moment you wake up, to be a little greener and less wasteful:

1. Eat stuff with no packaging. Go ahead, eat a raw fruit, a bakery item that you purchased without the bag, or something you baked yourself. The real point is, the less packaging, the better it is for the environment... but it's also better for you! When you bake your own items, you'll be in control of the calories and ingredients, and when you eat fresh fruits, you'll be eating something low calorie, nutritious, and pretty tasty.
2. While you're at it, bring stuff to work for lunch that doesn't have much packaging, or simply bring your own lunch. By bringing your own lunch, you'll be saving yourself some cash, but also be throwing away far less plastic, paper, and foil than if you visited your local fast food restaurant, sub shop, or favorite take out restaurant.
3. Turn the water off while you shave and brush your teeth. That's pretty easy.
4. Take a shorter shower. Don't worry about cutting your shower time in half or even shaving off a few minutes, just worry about reducing it even by a minute. If that's far too hard for you, order a low flow shower head when you get home from work (this will pay itself off in just a few months anyway).
5. Ask another Mom to drive the kids, and take a walk. Carpooling will help save gas, and give you time to do your own thing. A brief walk will burn calories, and keep you out of the doctor's office (not to mention you won't have to buy the next size up clothing!).

Keep reading this blog all day to keep up to date with more tips in this series for Earth Day.