Lisa Loves

I like Earth Day, April 22nd 2012, for the reminder to celebrate and take care of the earth. But to me, Earth Day is every day and I am always looking for ways to take better care of the environment.

Here are some ideas on how I plan on celebrating Earth Day this year:

Teach my kids About the Environment!
I am always telling my kids not to run the water too long or not to use the automatic door opener for every door we come across, but worries about using too much electricity or water don't mean anything to them. My 5-year-old is getting old enough to understand why it is important to take care of the earth and I am going to spend the day, and the year, and probably the rest of his life, trying to teach him to be more environmentally conscious. My kids already has a good sense of what recycling means, but they don't understand why it is important to turn off lights when you leave a room or why it is best to choose a snack that is not pre-packaged when you are in the house. I am really going to take the time to teach my kids what it means to take care of the environment. Educating our children (and ourselves) is the way to a greener future.

Green My Life!
As much as we are already doing at home, there is always more that we can do. I have a new rule that I can only buy coffee out if I have my reusable bottle. This rule is great for a couple of reasons - 1: I save money because I don't usually have my insulated bottle so I end up stopping for lattes less often, 2: it helps the planet and 3: it encourages me to plan ahead and remember to bring my bottle! I also intend to use reusable produce bags more often, or avoid taking plastic produce bags when possible. I always carry Envirosax shopping bags, but I often leave my reusable produce bags at home. I use them all summer when we get our weekly organic farm share, but I rarely bring them to the store with me. I am going to pack a couple of the cotton produce bags in my Envirosax pouch, so I remember to grab them on my way out the door. Another simple change I made last year was to only charge my cell phone at dinner time (and usually every second day). It only takes an hour or so to charge, so leaving it in the charger overnight like most people do, is just a waste of electricity. If you are looking for more ways to green your life, check out Boom Boom Cards! Challenge yourself and your friends to complete 26 green acts for the environment.

Run and Bike as Transportation!
I love running as transportation and wish I could do it more often. It really isn't great for most situations, but every so often I can run to work (if I plan ahead and leave clothes to change into and I don't have any kids to drop off along the way) and sometimes I can put a child in the running stroller and run to an activity. I used to enjoy biking as transportation and biked to work most of the year before having kids. This summer, I am going to take up biking as transportation again. Every morning during the school year I am dropping kids off at school, but throughout the summer I should have more flexibility and might be able to bike or run as transportation more often. It feels great to get somewhere and get my workout in at the same time!

Cook Vegetables More Often!
My husband always jokes that I am the only vegetarian that doesn't eat vegetables! While this statement is not quite true - it was only true the 3 x 9 months while I was pregnant that I didn't eat vegetables - usually I do eat vegetables, I just don't eat them as often as you would expect for a vegetarian. I challenged myself this week to make more vegetables for dinner. I really want my kids to be great eaters and I think it is important to expose them to many foods. My rule is that they have to eat half of what I give them (I don't give them much :) I find that if I say, "just try one bite", they will try it and say they hate it. This way they know they are going to eat half and often that turns into all when they discover they like something new. So far this week, I have made - roasted cauliflower, garlic broccoli, mushroom sauce, sautéed peppers that were added to quesadillas, steamed green beans and tonight we had veggie burgers with mushrooms and onions on top. I am going to keep trying new vegetable recipes and adding more veggies to my kids plates in the hope that we find some they like (or at least are willing to eat!)

Get Outside!
My kids love scavenger hunts, so I am going to put together an Earth Day scavenger hunt for them. I'll share it when it is all ready to go, but some things I know will be included are:

- Find a cloud that looks like something: what is it?

- Find something beautiful

- Listen for a bird

- Jump in a puddle

- Say hi to an ant

- Hug a tree and give it a name

- Find a flowering tree

- Smell something sweet

I don't plan on having anything for the kids to collect in my scavenger hunt, because it is nice to leave nature where it is. We can do a collection/art project scavenger hunt another time.

Be at Giving Gifts!
I'll be at the Giving Gifts Showroom - 470 Kingsway - Suite 106 on Saturday, April 21st, 2012 and Sunday, April 22nd, 2012 between 2:00 and 4:00pm - stop by either day during those times for 22% off all items!

For more information on the Giving Gifts showroom or to RSVP to our Earth Day event, contact Lisa at lisa@givinggifts.ca

If you live outside the Lower Mainland and a quick trip to the showroom isn't possible :), we've got a great Earth Day deal for you too! From today until April 30th, shipping across Canada is only $4.22 with coupon code:EarthDay (The discount will be taken off your order, as the Giving Gifts website is unable to deal with discounted shipping.)