Happy May, Dear Readers!
May is one of my favorite months of the year. After all, I gave birth to my oldest and youngest child in May, Stacey and I met and got married in May, and let’s not forget Mother’s Day! That one gorgeous day of the year where I can lie in bed all day and no one dares question me. Not saying that I do that, but I could if I wanted to, winky face. There’s also May Day, the ancient festival celebrating spring and all her glory, including, my favorite–wildflowers! The landscape seems to shimmer iridescently during the month of May as if Mother Earth is showing off without any hesitation.
Okay, so why exactly am I gushing on about May? Because I want Earth Day to continue it’s presence in our consciousness as we enter into this month of earthly abundance! Let’s not forget what we said so enthusiastically on the internationally recognized Earth Day back in April…”every day is Earth Day!”
As I have written about numerous times before, small changes in your lifestyle can have huge impacts on the environment at large. Instead of making you read through my past blogs on this subject, like this one: https://valnesandcompany.com/blog/pond-scum-for-lunch-bugs-for-dinner or this one: https://valnesandcompany.com/blog/3-ways-to-celebrate-earth-month, I’ll break down a few easy ways to continue contributing to a positive impact on Earth.
- Visit https://isha.sadhguru.org/global/en/wisdom/article/save-the-soil-revitalization-methods and http://saveoursoils.com/
- Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3-V1j-zMZw for the trailer and then go to Netflix and watch Kiss the Ground. This is an uplifting documentary about what we CAN do to make this earth a better place for everyone of all species.
- Compost! Learn how to your compost your food or find someone who will pick it up for you. We can also start demanding city, county, and statewide composting bins and facilities. https://greenactioncentre.ca/reduce-your-waste/why-should-i-compost/
- Learn to garden and plant some of your own food. This doesn’t have to be overwhelming…even a few crops of your favorite fruit or veggie makes a difference.
- Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Yep, you’ve heard that before. But hear it again with new ears and an awareness as you move through your day for the environment around you. Believe it or not, you are connected to and a part of this earthly plane we all find ourselves in. Reducing waste can be as simple as remembering to bring your own bags when you go shopping, purchasing a water filter so you don’t have to buy disposable water bottles, or shopping second hand as often as you can. Reusing can come in the form of hand-me-downs for kids, creating art canvases out of cardboard boxes, or finding a new use for something old. Repairing broken items also falls into this category! As far as recycling, this is a tough one. Most people are not aware of the laws involved with that blue bin we all love to throw our “recyclables” away in. I see many a blue bin and shake my head because I know the majority of trash in it is not recyclable and will end up in a landfill, along with some items that could have been recycled but weren’t because they were mixed in with the wrong garbage. Check this article out and learn how to effectively curbside recycle: https://irecyclesmart.com/what-can-i-recycle/
- Last on my list today: join the refill revolution! This is a part of reusing–you can continue to reuse the containers for your household cleaning products, shampoo and conditioner, and other around-the-house items by patronizing your local refilling station. There’s one right near the us in Santa Monica, check out their website here: https://recontained.com/. Personally, I use the refill station near us in Topanga (https://thewellrefill.com/) and it is saving our family so much money every month, not to mention the many plastic bottles we have not thrown away! Refilling your products as opposed to throwing the empty bottles away and buying new ones makes a tremendously big positive impact!
So there’s my appeal to anyone who reads. I hope it inspires you to make even the smallest adjustment in your approach to helping restore our beautiful earth. “I am only one but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.” Edward Everett
