Five things you can do for Earth Day

Happy Earth Day!  Looking for some ways to celebrate outside of the usual "use the recycling"?

1. Refuse disposable plastic
Bring your own bag, water bottle, coffee mug or jar, reusable utensils.  Refuse plastic straws.

2. Get outside!
Instead of shopping, spend the day outside with friends or family.  Take a hike or a bike ride.  Picnic.

3. Check what your town actually recycles
Putting things in your recycling bin doesn't mean they will magically get recycled if it is not something your town or city takes.  Check your town's website or give them a call to find a list of items that are recyclable.
Some things our town doesn't take:

• Bottle caps (plastic AND metal)
• Cereal boxes
• Cardboard egg cartons
• Aluminum foil
• Toilet paper tubes

4. Start composting
A great way to reduce the amount of trash sent to the landfill is to start a compost pile for food scraps and paper products that can't be recycled.
Some things to compost:

• Fruit and vegetable scraps
• Egg shells
• Coffee grinds
• Used loose leaf tea (no teabags, as most of them contain plastic!)
• Paper products the recycling does not take (dirty part of the pizza box, toilet paper tubes, etc.)
• Parchment paper

5.  Choose personal care products that are more natural and have less packaging
Try a shampoo bar.  Replace your disposable razor (that costs a bajillion dollars in replacement cartridges) with a stainless steel safety razor. Use a bamboo toothbrush and make your own tooth powder.  Make your own deodorant.  Replace lotion with coconut oil.

Washing the dishes without plastic

Use a wooden dish brush with natural bristles that can be composted when it has reached the end of its life.
I use this one from Life Without Plastic.  It has replacement heads, which I compost when they are worn out.

Use dish cloths.
My sister knitted me some dish cloths from organic cotton yarn that I also use to wash dishes.

Use a copper scrubber to get off tough spots.
We use this one from Life Without Plastic.  They can be recycled after they are worn out.

Use bar soap instead of liquid dish detergent.
I buy bar soap made for cleaning dishes off of Etsy.  You do not need a plastic bottle of detergent to get your dishes clean!  It is a natural bar soap (no artificial ingredients, fragrances or dyes) that is not super moisturizing so it can cut through the grease.  Early on, we had been using Doctor Bronners, but this soap works much better, just as well as conventional liquid dish soap! (I also use this bar soap when I have clothes that need to be hand washed:)

Make your own dishwasher detergent.
I use this recipe, which requires baking soda, salt and citric acid.  The citric acid came in a large plastic bag, but we still have not finished it over a year later, so I consider it a success.  I might try this recipe when we run out, because it uses just lemons, salt and vinegar.

Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link to Life Without Plastic, a company whose mission and products I fully support. - See more at: http://www.cellistgoesgreen.com/2014/06/plastic-free-shaving-using-safety-razor.html#sthash.BUS6DeLY.dpuf

 Note: This post contains affiliate links to Life Without Plastic, a company whose mission and products I fully support.

Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link to Life Without Plastic, a company whose mission and products I fully support. - See more at: http://www.cellistgoesgreen.com/2014/06/plastic-free-shaving-using-safety-razor.html#sthash.BUS6DeLY.dpuf