This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Tom’s of Maine. All opinions are 100% mine. These 10 Ways to protect our Environment at Home can really help.
Earth Day was a few days ago and lots of people talked about the environment for that one day. For me, thinking of ways to help our environment is not something I think about one day of the year, but something that is on my mind most of the time. These 10 ways to protect our environment at home take very little time to do. It’s just a matter of making a commitment to doing something good for the planet and sticking to that plan.
These 10 ways to protect our environment at home are simple to do and can make a big difference.
1. Conserve Energy. We all love to stay warm in winter and cool in summer, but adjusting the setting a few degrees this time of the year (or turning it off and opening the windows) makes a huge difference. Doing the same thing in winter helps too. For the few months in the spring when I don’t use A/C, our electricity bill is $100 a MONTH lower. That is a huge savings in money and energy. So adjust the temp. You’ll be amazed how quickly you get used to it.
2. Conserve Water. There are loads of ways to do this. When you brush your teeth, only turn the water on when you need to rinse. Boiling potatoes? Don’t throw the water down the drain! Use it to water your plants. Use rain barrels to catch water from the gutters and downspout. These are just a few ways that can make a big difference. Conserving water is one of the most important things you can do to protect our environment.
3. Use products that are MADE TO MATTER. On a recent trip to Target, I discovered Tom’s of Maine products. These new products in the Made to Matter collection are free of dyes, flavors, preservatives and fragrances and are never tested on animals. Since I was born, and lived, in Maine for the first 27 years of my life, I was delighted to try these products. It’s also good to know that Tom’s of Maine had been caring for our communities and the planet, too, for over 45 years. On my trip to Target, I picked up three products in this collection:
- Luminous White A natural whitening toothpaste that is safe for enamel and both gluten and paraben free.
- Wicked Cool! This is a natural deodorant made just for boys and girls, providing 24-hour odor protection. The deodorant is free of aluminum, parabens, and artificial fragrances. Kids will love the name and the fact that the deodorant is made for their age group.
- North Woods: For my hubbie! This natural antiperspirant is made for men, and provides all day odor protection. It contains no petrochemicals,
It is great to know that I am using everyday products that are made to matter and I really love that they don’t test on animals. Their current cartwheel offer makes it easy to try all three products at a discount too! These products are only available at Target. I found them very easy to find near the Pharmacy department in two aisles, side by side!
As an added bonus, if you visit Tom’s of Maine website, you will see that they list every ingredient used in all their products. They also give detailed explanations about the ingredients, how they are sourced, and how this affects the public, and their safety. Best of all, their products are natural, and sustainable.
4. Use Filtered Water. My daughter bought me a Brita filtered water pitcher for Christmas last year and it is one of the best Christmas presents I have ever gotten. I keep it full all the time and it makes the water taste fabulous. This encourages me to drink it and helps to really save on the purchase of bottled water, which saves on plastics. A win-win all around!
5. Recycle food waste. Food wastes takes up so much of our landfills, and it can easily be put to wonderful use if you have a garden. I started this compost pile last summer and just kept adding food and yard waste to it. The soil under the top layer is just fabulous compost. I consider it black gold for my veggie garden. I add a scoop of it with every hole that I dig for my plants. No chemical fertilizers for me, and using this compost really adds to the soil and encourages earthworms.
6. Plant Vegetables. Planting your own vegetables is fun to do, and is very satisfying when the garden produces and gives you peace of mind that you are eating things that you have grown. No GMO seeds for me, either. I use heirloom seeds, my own compost and can rest easy, knowing that I am feeding my family the best home grown food.
7. Recycle and Reuse. There are a ton of things that you can do with normal household items that usually make it to the trash. Make egg carton caterpillars with kids for a craft project. Paint old tin cans and stencil them for decorative plant pots. Even old newspaper can be easily made into plant pots for vegetables. Just think outside the box a little.
8. Pick up Litter. On your next walk with your kids, set a great example for them. Take along a plastic bag from the grocery store and pick up any litter that you see along your walk. The kids will grow up learning that doing things to protect our environment matters, and you will help to keep the environment cleaner too.
9. Make homemade desserts. Instead of using boxed dessert mixes, make your own. It really does not take that much longer and you will know that you are saving money and skipping the chemicals that seem to make it into boxed mixes. And homemade just tastes better! Just look at these chocolate chip cookies! You can’t get these from a box!
10. Use reusable shopping bags. I have a set of about 10 reusable cloth shopping bags that I take with me when I go shopping. They hold a LOT of food and have lasted me for years. Sometimes a store will even give me a discount for using them!
Now it’s your turn.
Can you think of other ways to help protect our environment at home? What do you do to protect our planet all year long, and not JUST on Earth Day?
Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a "sponsored post." One of the companies who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
I use filtered water in our house, because our water tastes a bit bleachy. I’d like to start recycling food waste, so I need to look into that. I’m a pretty fanatical recycler and haul a ton of recyclables out the curb each week.
We do most of these things in our home now. I had to smile about not letting the water run when brushing your teeth. I used to play a Barney video in my nursery whichhad a song about ‘never let the water run’ and is molded to my brain forever. I find my self humming it sometimes.
We’ve created some good rich garden dirt by composting!
I agree with you — celebrating Earth Day should be more of a lifestyle and not just a day. We already do many of the things you mentioned and we’re slowly making the change of ridding our home of chemicals and have noticed a positive difference. As a side note — homegrown veggies taste so good!
Thought I’d let all your readers know I found Tom’s Deodorant for women at Big Lots. Good price too!
It is so incredibly important for all of us to care for and protect the Earth through our daily lives. For us, that looks like using canvas bags instead of plastic, growing a garden, utilizing reusable water bottles, and using eco friendly products. We are big fans of Tom’s toothpaste and deoderant in our house, too!
These are great tips for protecting our environment. I know I need to work on turning off the water while I brush my teeth. These are great reminders that the little things we do can make the earth a better place.
I love all your tips – and of course, there’s my fave; plant succulents which don’t require a ton of water in the garden!
In the winter my thermostat is set at 65 and summer 74. Recycling and composting are important parts of our life. great post on awareness and tips for Earth day.
Malls and supermarkets now implement the eco-friendly bag system. To encourage shoppers to use and bring their own bags, these establishments refund a small percentage of purchases as a reward. There are also discounts and freebies given to those who don’t use plastic bags.
These are all really great tips and I absolutely agree with each and everyone of them! Going by how our world is revolving, we really need to mind our environment more. It may seem like little efforts but together, their effects can be huge!
These are terrific tips – and I’m happy to say that we’re doing most of these. Haven’t discovered Tom’s natural products here in Canada (no Target anymore!). But my son and his family use it – I think they buy it online.
I love the Tom’s of Maine brand, perfect that it’s natural and does a great job!! These are great ways to protect the environment with simple changes in our lives at home. What a great promotion at Target on Toms of Maine!
We use both deodorant and toothpaste from Tom’s for our boys. They love Tom’s products and so do we. I will have to look into the wicked cool deodorant for my older son. I bet he would really like it.
My husband and I try to do a lot of these already when we can. For example, we love using reusable grocery bags when we go shopping; unfortunately, not all the stores in our area like us using them. As for conserving energy, we actually had an energy efficient AC unit installed a couple of years ago for that very reason. It keeps us cooler without using near the amount of energy!
Great tips Carol! I want to get a rain barrel or two. I have a garden going but we’ve been getting so much rain (need those rain barrels) that it’s drowning some of my plants and there’s more on its way. I love the idea of the newspaper pots!
Great Tips! I’ve tried several Tom’s products and have always loved knowing that what I was using was taking nothing away from the earth I love. Thanks so much for sharing…
Nice tips! Important for all. I will follow these tips to protect our environment at home.