everyday {earth} day reducing.

It's turning out to be a perfect Earth Day and I really want to share with you some ways to reduce today, tomorrow and hopefully, forever.

I want to tell you though, that while the 'go green' movement can be fadish, living an environmentally conscious life is a lifetime change that is easy and very rewarding. Don't feel overwhelmed to "go green" all at once; the least friendly thing you can do is throw out everything you have and start over. Use what you have and integrate slowly.

Now onto uber easy ways to reduce your impacts on the Earth!

Reduce your food waste:

Reduce your food waste by skipping the grocery store! Plant a little garden this summer, find a local farmer's market at Local Harvest and compost all of your scraps. How Does Your Garden Grow, has lots of great links and tips to get you started!

via design*sponge

Reduce your trash:

By Recycling (cause you didn't guess that one)! Investing in a good Recyling program is not only good for the Earth, but can be alot of fun; my husband and I challenge each other each week to find new things that can be recycled.

Pick a program that recycles plastics #1-7 and if they don't, check the plastic containers before you purchase them. This may seem extreme, but once you get in the habit, you'll be able to spot that plastic #2 yougurt from across the store!

Also stop by Poppytalk to download their uber cute Earth Day Recycling labels!

Another great way to reduce your trash is to swap. Ask my girlfriends from high school on, I clean out my closet every few months and invite them over to go "shopping". Things that don't fit may fit them and in turn they may have some cute things for me! Donate what's left over to your local thrift shop.

Reduce your utilities:

I chuckle when I see "go green" TV commercials; "turn off the water while you brush your teeth,; turn off the lights". Sure, these things are responsible, but they should be common sense. These are things I was raised with and if you have kiddos, making these tasks into a fun game is an easy way to start them young!

Reducing your utilities is so easy to do and CFL's are a huge way to cut cost. CFL's were becoming all the rage in my first apartment in college. It was tough as a student to cough up the price for the bulbs, but I saw my measly $40 electric bill go down to $20! The best part? I'm still carrying around those CFL's four years later!

Also, try leaving your lights off as long as possible during the day. Open up your blinds, curtains and let the sunshine in!

Creating a rain barrel is also a super simple way to save gray water (non-potable water). This tutorial is uber easy; you can use the rain water to wash your car and water your plants.

 Try installing a low-flow shower head; they're cost outweighs what you save, which makes Mama Earth very happy. Many today also come with a special little button, you turn the shower on, it heats up, and when you press the button voila, an instantly hot shower. No more waiting for it to warm up (which wastes a ton of water).

all via we heart it unless noted.

Lastly, challenge your family to a 'quick shower contest'. Decide on a prize and record each person's shower time over the course of a week. At the end of the week, the shortest average time, wins! And so does your water bill.

You're well equipped and on your way to improving your impact on the Earth and saving some loot to boot!

See you after lunch with a Recyling D-I-Y!