Today is Earth Day. I asked my 7 1/2 year old son what the main ways are that we make the planet a better place. He dictated the following:
1. Pick up trash. When you see trash on the ground or at the beach or anywhere, pick it up. And put it in the trash.
2. Recycle. Put bottles in the recycle bin and then they get crushed up to use for other things. You also can recycle newspapers and cans and paper.
3. Reduce. We don’t use paper plates or paper towels or paper napkins. We use cloth napkins and shmattes (rags) instead. Also we don’t use paper or plastic bags at the market. We use canvas bags.
4. Plant-based eating. We are not killing animals so there will be more animals. (Mama adds that it takes a lot of resources–land, food, water–to feed the millions of animals we house for our eating purposes. Plant-based eating reduces the need for those resources.)
5. Non-toxic. We don’t use fancy cleaning products to clean the house. We use water and soap and baking soda and vinegar. We use homemade shampoo too. (Mama adds that you can make kids’ shampoo from Dr. Bronner’s soap, water, and some essential oils.)
6. Reduce. We don’t waste money on lots of toys or things we don’t need today. We also don’t waste water. My mom says don’t use too much toilet paper either.
I guess all of my nagging about being green didn’t fall on deaf ears after all!
Happy Earth Day!
Want the latest from Mayim delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for the newsletter here.
