☆ Green Tip: Lessen your need to Recycle! ☆

Obviously, recycling is fantastic! But recycling is only half the battle and sometimes comes as an excuse to still buy over-packaged items, etc. We think to ourselves, well I can still Recycle this, so what's the harm? While, yes, the benefits of recycling are grand, it does still take a lot of energy to recycle items into new ones. Don't let the ability to recycle items be your excuse to not reduce your impact. Choose to reuse more than you buy new. For instance, you can sometimes recycle plastic grocery store bags but you should still bring your own canvas or tote bags instead as this is far more earth-friendly. You can often recycle cardboard food boxes but that doesn't mean you shouldn't bring your own reusable bags and buy in bulk--and you can still find another use for that cardboard box before recycling it as well. 

Get creative and get savvy. Pay attention instead of just throwing something into the recycling. Pay attention to just how much you recycle and what you can do to reduce the number of things that need to be recycled.

Here are some tips to get started:

Use tote or canvas grocery bags instead of plastic. 

Reuse cardboard boxes for packaging or for art projects. 

Reuse paper to write notes on--or, again, for packaging or art projects. 

Think before you print. Reduce how much paper you use. 

Buy in Bulk! And bring your own reusable bags. 

Buy products that are minimally packaged (when not buying in bulk). 

Use your own stainless steel water bottle and never buy super wasteful plastic bottled water. 

Just because we CAN recycle, doesn't mean we shouldn't still pay attention to our global footprint. Reduce and reuse before you automatically opt for recycling. :)

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☮ "Be the Change": Clearing up the Kitchen & Food & Such ☮

I haven't taken the time to actually really post much of what I have been up to with this personal challenge, so I decided it was time to check in ;)

I've had a busy two months and I wanted to share some of the things I've taken up lately. Some of these I was already doing, some are new, all will benefit yourself, your pockets, and Mother Earth. 

This post is looking largely to do with the Kitchen and Eating Environment...

☮ Composting: We realized that about 95% of our garbage was compostable so we'd cringe at our last place when we'd be taking out unneeded trash. We bought a composter (second-hand at that!) and so our new goal is to only go through...

☮ ONE GARBAGE BAG for the whole year! So far it's looking good. I hugely strongly encourage you all to do this! By composting and recycling, there is no reason this challenge is not possible. 

☮ Buying in BULK: at our local natural food store they have sooooo many items in bulk, we are totally loving it! We get to reuse containers so creating less waste, plus it's cheaper too! :) 

☮ ReUsing Containers: from food products, such as yogurt containers, cereal boxes (I reuse these as packaging boxes for Alter-Eco), etc etc. They make great containers to store leftovers in and such, so reuse them before recycling!

☮ Steer Clear of Over-Packaging! It is heavily engraved with both myself and the hubby that when we buy something we look at the packaging. Is it recyclable? Bio-degrable? Reusable? Or is it plastic that will end up in a landfill? Be conscious in everything you buy, all the time! 

☮ Reusable Shopping Bags: this one we are seeing everywhere and there is simply no excuse for plastic bags anymore. They are wasteful and they are destroying our habitats, especially our oceans! There is actually an "island" of plastic twice the size of texas in our ocean! Gross and so wrong!   

☮ Bring your own Mug: Next time you go to get your morning coffee, latte, or what have you, bring your own mug! There is no need for that wasted paper cup and plastic lid. Sure, lots of companies are starting to use compostable or recyclable cups but not all places will recycle them (Tim Hortons claims theirs are recyclable when in fact they are not), plus reusing your own cup is much easier on the environment than recycling.

☮ Bring your own Takeout Container: the same thing goes for any kind of takeout. Bring your own tupperware or container instead of using those wasteful takeout styrofoam or plastic ones that restaurants and fast-food joints use. 

☮ Use your own Water-Bottle: This one is a no-brainer yet so many people are still buying plastic bottles instead of carrying their own water-bottle with them. That plastic is aweful!!! And unneccasary! And cancerous and toxic for your body! Always use your own water-bottle. There is simply no excuse. Ever! 

There are so many easy steps we can take to help our Planet. Keep doing new things for yourself and for Earth. It's rewarding! Plus, there might be a world left for our children and theirs to come. 

Peace & Love,

xo

~Bianca   

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