Happy Earth Month!

It's Earth Month and I'm posting some ideas on how you can show Mother Earth some love, not just during April but all year round.

1. BYOB - everyone knows this by now, but bring your own bags when shopping!  You don't have to limit this to grocery shopping.  I take my shopping bags with me to Target, Walgreens, the Farmer's Market, the craft store, etc.  It feels good not to have that pile of plastic bags at home taking up space. If you feel like you're doing good by recycling those plastic bags, think again.  They're actually polluting our oceans like crazy. For more information on the topic, check out the Bag It movie or the EPA marine debris information page.
2. More on bags - When you're following a whole foods plant-based diet, you buy the majority of your groceries in the produce and bulk departments of the grocery store.  Do you know how many of those plastic produce baggies you end up acquiring in the process?  Too many!  So, I found these great reusable mesh baggies at Whole Foods and some others like them on Amazon.  Whole Foods also sells small reusable cloth bags for the bulk items, like flour, nuts, granola, rice, dried beans, etc. LOVE IT!
3. Invest in a Lifefactory water bottle!  It's a 22 ounce glass bottle that I take with me everywhere I go.  Not only does it save me money because I'm not buying bottled water at almost $2 a pop - but imagine how many plastic water bottles I've kept out of our landfill!  That's a great feeling. 
4. Grow an organic vegetable garden.  Choose natural pesticides that will not harm the honeybees or cause dangerous runoff.  A good natural pesticide is a combination of habanero peppers, ivory bar soap, onion, garlic and water. Combine in a blender or food processor and then filter it with cheesecloth to separate the liquid.  Use a spray bottle to apply the liquid to your plants.
5. Compost!  Eating plant-based creates lots of great veggie scraps for the composter.
6. Make a difference by shopping responsibly.  I purchase Green Shield Organic Lavender Laundry Detergent or the Free & Clear in the pouch.  Not only is it made by a wonderful local company, but it's a great product and its packaging reduces solid waste by over 80% vs. rigid containers.  Imagine how much space those gigantic brand name detergent containers are taking up in our landfills - YIKES.  
7. Think twice before tossing things in the trash.  Just because a product is labeled as disposable - doesn't mean it is easy to recycle or that it won't end up in a landfill somewhere.  When you can, donate items to Goodwill or a thrift shop instead of throwing them in the garbage.  
8. Eat less meat. If/when you do buy it, buy pasture-raised, organic meat.  By purchasing less meat, you're helping the planet because you're not supporting the environmental nightmare also known as factory farming.

You can make a difference, just by taking little steps to make our planet better.  There are tons of other ways you can help our planet.  I challenge you to take the EPA pledge and pick 5 things that you will do to help them environment this year.  Have any other good advice to share on preserving our planet?  Post them below.