Happy Earth Day!

Source: The Marine Mammal Center, http://www.tmmc.org/

Today is Earth Day and I thought it would be appropriate to share a few easy tips for running a more green household. Don't worry, I'm not asking you to compost in your city apartment. Let's not get extreme and start storing our rubbish with worms under our beds. Yes, this was mentioned in a recent New York Times article! And I'm not going to tell you that you should use cloth diapers.

I would like to focus on little things we can do each day to be more friendly to our environment. I think it is really easy to feel overwhelmed with changing our day-to-day activities to be environmentally conscious. But let's start by admitting that no one can be absolutely perfectly 100% eco-friendly! For example, is it better to buy a new hybrid car or a used car? Do cloth diapers make a more negative impact by using more energy from laundry washing than disposable diapers? The list of debatable topics goes on and on. So let's just try to do our best and act in good eco-faith.

1. Try to buy local and seasonal fruits and vegetables. (I know this is tough for us on the East Coast who are just coming out of a long cold winter of apples, and more apples, but spring is coming and with it will be a greater variety of fruits and vegetables at our Greenmarkets throughout the city).

2. Become a member of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). There is a great summer CSA at provisions in the South Street Seaport. Each week you receive a bounty of fresh vegetables from a local farm. Last summer we enjoyed summer squash, heirloom tomatoes, garlic, onions, salad greens, peppers, kale, chard, carrots, beets, basil, radishes, etc.

3. Carry your own canvas bag and coffee mug. This will help reduce your use of plastic and paper bags and cups. I keep a couple of canvas bags in my stroller bag for my daily treks up to Tribeca. I also have a stainless steel coffee mug for any coffee I may need to take to go from Jack's.

4. Think about what you can buy locally versus ordering online, which requires more packaging and transport. When I want to buy something for Miss L, whether it is a pair of new shoes or a cover for her carseat for airline travel, I first see if I can find it in a store in the city that I can easily get to by subway before considering to order it online.

5. Recycle, recycle, recycle. Try to buy recycled products and look for options with reduced packaging. I think of myself as eco-conscious, but I need to be really diligent to make sure I don't throw out items that could be placed in the recycling bins in my building.

6. Find beauty products that are nontoxic, i.e., lotions, shampoo and make-up that does not contain parabens and phthlates. We all spend so much time carefully selecting soap and shampoo for our little ones. We should apply the same level of scrutiny for ourselves. Some of my favorite products are more expensive, like Dr. Hauschka, but there are more affordable options as well, such as Whole Foods new line of shampoos and lotions that are paraben-free and under $5 for a large bottle (I like the grapefruit line the best).

7. Try using cloth napkins for everyday meals versus paper napkins. I have an old set of cloth napkins that I use for our family meals. I think of it as my "everyday china" napkins. This greatly reduces our use of paper napkins. I also try to pick up Miss L's spills with a wet washcloth or towel rather than paper towels.

8. When you order take-out or delivery tell the restaurant that you don't need paper plates, napkins and plastic utensils.

Maybe just think of one little thing you can work on and see how it goes for one month. Doing a little something is so much better than doing nothing. I'd love to hear other eco-ideas from mamas out there!