Hello fellow earthlings! How exciting to be able to celebrate this Earth that gives us a place to roam each and every day. Earth Day is a day we get to thank Mother Earth for everything she has been giving us. Today is a day where people highlight environmental issues across the planet and demonstrate support for environmental protection. I want to share with you all a few tips that I strive to do each day to be more environmentally conscious and to live a more sustainable life.

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Become sustainable in the kitchen

This begins with eating green! Here is a list of ways you can remove waste and create a green kitchen environment.

• Use the whole vegetables. I learned this trick recently in culinary school. Heck no I don't throw away those onion scraps or carrot tops. I throw them into a pot, fill them with water and let it simmer for hours. This creates a delicious homemade veggie stock.
• Become friends with your freezer. Learn to make dishes that freeze well, like a veggie stock. If you end up making too much of a meal and you can't eat it all, just throw it in the freezer and keep it for another day.
• Shop in bulk. This helps reduce the trips to the grocery store. People all the time find a recipe in the morning, go to the store and buy just what they need for the specific recipe that night. The worst part is when we forget we already have something in our kitchen and we buy it again. Always check to see what's in your kitchen before heading to the store!
• Grow your own food! Grow as many vegetables and herbs as you can. Can you imagine planting a seed and it bringing you an abundance of fruits, veggies, and herbs! Think about how much time and money you will save not having to go to the store for these ingredients every week.
• Store you produce correctly, that way it lasts longer!

• place a paper towel in you lettuce containers and flip them over, this helps keep any moisture out
• put your herbs stems into a glass of water, and place them in the refrigerator keeping them fresh longer
• wash your fruit + veggies right before you are about to eat them! Not when you get home from the store.
• Shop at local farmers markets or buy what looks the freshest at the market
• always store your mushrooms in a brown paper bag

• Hand Wash your dishes. This keeps you from wasting water while cooking. I recently got really great at this, since I have no dishwasher!  

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Becoming aware of your cleaning products

Each cleaning product you use, whether it be what you put on your skin or what you use to clean your sink the environment is also absorbing them. It's important to strive to use organic clean products or make your own. For body products I recommend Dr. Bronners. They have the best options for hand soap, body soap, and more! For dish soap, laundry detergent, dishwasher pods  I recommend Mrs. meyers products!  

Use reusable grocery bags

Can you imagine how many people go in and out of a grocery store each hour and don't use reusable bags and then dont even recycle them? This has been such a strong goal in my life. It is worth it to invest in a nice big cooler bag! Keep the bags in your car so you won't forget!

This helps to:

• Reduce recycling problems
• Protect wildlife
• Save money
• Decrease pollution
• & because you can buy cute bags!

Reusable water bottles

Love this tip. Growing up I never thought twice about buying water from the store. But now learning the benefits of a reusable water bottle and what it can do for our earth, I will not ever go back!

• They are better for you than a plastic bottle. When you drink water from a reusable bottle, you’re avoiding the harmful chemicals and effects of plastic bottles. You're also minimizing waste which feels great!
• It is more affordable in the long run. Imagine a one time purchase of a nice water bottle like a hydro flask, compared to the hundreds of plastic water bottles you'd buy. Definitely a money saver!
• They are eco friendly, which is the goal. They can help save our wildlife and require a lot less oil to produce than plastic.

These are a few simple changes I strive to make in my life to help protect Mother Nature, the same way she protects us. Try one or try all of my sustainable living tips. I promise every try counts and you will start to feel better about how you treat our beautiful Earth! Enjoy your
Earth Day and don't forget to thank Earth for all it provides us with!

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Love,

Aimee-Jean

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