Eco-Resolutions

..I always tell JJ how I'd like to start being more Eco-friendly but don't know where to start, until I got to researching and came across this list which I totally agree with and think it's VERY doable by all of us..it's something we all will eventually have to start doing to keep our Earth clean and live able so why not start now! I understand this all may be overwhelming to someone who doesn't know where to start but pick a couple things to start out with..I especially love the idea of re using your grocery bags OR buying the reusable ones for $1 at Walmart. Another good one is donating your gently used clothing and shoes..those are def. a good start!
I know most of us say well, what's a difference going to make if I don't do it...well it makes a huge difference and I highly encourage you all to start looking into ways to help our environment!

1. Take reusable bags on all shopping trips, not just for groceries – Nicole Richie and Jennie Garth love these ones.
2. Take your shoes off at your front door – why bring that outdoor road gunk inside (lead included)?
3. Clean the greenest way possible and get rid of all your household chemicals – Gone Shopping offers the Eco-Me home kit.
4. Don’t buy unnecessary and un-NEEDED toys for your children…and watch for pvc, lead, phthalates…why are they in our toys in the first place? Read Slow Death by Rubber Duck to learn more.
5. Turn the water off while brushing your teeth…there is NO reason why this can’t start happening today!
6. Make sure your tires are properly inflated – just ask how to check at your next service call if you don’t know how.
7. Don’t chew aspartame (ick!), and certainly don’t give artificial gum to your kids – try Glee Gum.
8. Do not give out conventional invitations when throwing your next party (I do hope you have a lot to celebrate) – try this instead.
9. I’m hoping that you’re excited knowing that this next point was checked off your list ages ago - NO PLASTIC water bottles…disposable or reusable…use a Klean Kanteen or a glass bottle.
10. Try packing a waste-free lunch–Oprah, Martha Stewart and Rachel Ray all agree.
11. Be an Agent of Altruism TM. Nothing will make you feel better than doing a random act of kindness. Check out Boom Boom Cards to get started.
12. Avoid canned foods – the same scary BPA made famous in baby bottles are in those can linings. – Eden Organics cans of beans are BPA free and a healthy choice too!
13. Try a little alternative medicine – consult a naturopath and avoid putting synthetics in your body that are harmful in production, to your body and when you pee it back out and it goes into our water system! Women take note: FemMed has a solution for everything!
14. Source one new and very safe personal care item…maybe mascara, toothpaste or a shampoo…wondering why only one? I know once you get started, you’ll keep going. Try Green Beauty or your local health food store.
15. Donate something – recycle stuff you don’t use and give it to someone who needs it.
16. Inspire your school or organization to run an eco-friendly, intelligent fundraiser like this one.
17. Don’t idle your car, and ask those that you see idling to cut their engines too.
18. Use an eco-friendly ice melter/traction control – where do you think it all goes once you dump it on your walkways and driveways? Aside from our water system, it travels to our interiors (think cars, landscaping, pets and our children), and it gets taken into our schools. Home Depot has multiple options.
19. Spend a few minutes on the Canadian food inspection website and sign up for their alerts via email. This will be the quickest way to convince you to buy as local, as fresh and as organic as you can…melamine? Listeria? Oy.
20. Admit it, there’s something gross about rubbing germs around and getting a chemical to kill them on your hands (where do you think the chemical is going?). Alcohol kills both bad AND good bacteria and synthetic antibacterials (Triclosan as an example) has shown it can lead to super germs…ick!. I tote around Clean George, now available in Canada!
21. Watch Garbage Revolution– you’ll learn the acceptable kind of “trash talk”.
22. Join a few free campaigns that allow your small actions to be part of something bigger! Take a look at TakeOutWithOut. Fill your stomach and not our landfills!
23. Ditch the tea bags (who need the string, staple, bleached bag and wrapper?) and get into brewing loose leaf tea – nourishtea has a wide variety!
24. Make something with a foreign-to-your-kitchen ingredient. Kale Chips? Quinoa? Gogi Berries? It’s good to try new things – you’ll surprise yourself!
25. Give up plastic one step at a time! Get a glass straw that is so durable they offer a lifetime guarantee! And, while you’re in the kitchen, recycle all of those plastic containers, especially the ones without matching lids! Instead invest in glass containers with lids.

Focus on the positive impacts your eco-reSOLUTIONS will have and remember that every decision you make does have an impact, whether negative or positive…so inform yourself and make decisions wisely.