It’s Earth Day!

What is Earth Day?

It’s quite simple really; each year on April 22, people around the world join together to celebrate nature, get educated on environmental issues and learn how to live greener lives!

Earth Day began with a bang in 1970 as a nationwide protest and has since evolved into a global phenomenon, with thousands of events and initiatives engaging millions of people and spurring additional action.

One of the main goals and purposes of Norwex is improving our health and environment by radically reducing the use of chemicals at home.  So let’s all take a little time out of our day to evaluate how we live, and a few small steps we can take to live greener and reduce our environmental footprint, not just on Earth Day, but throughout the year.

Here are 10 simple action sets that you can implement, which can help to reduce your impact on the environment:

1. Super Savers

• Where possible, use LED lights
• Install aerators on all facets and shower heads
• Weatherstrip your windows and doors

2. Cleaning

• Use natural, not toxic cleaning products  (like Norwex) to clean your home, workplace, vehicles, boats, and travel trailers.  This is the primary purpose of www.HealthyHomeCleaning.com – to show you how simple this change is to make, and give you the resources to make it happen!
• If you don’t want to use pre-made green cleaning products, like Norwex, try making your own natural cleaners with ingredients like lemon juice,vinegar, baking soda and borax

3. Bathroom

• Take short showers instead of baths
• Turn the tap off while brushing your teeth

4. Laundry

• Make sure you wash FULL loads rather than lots of little ones
• Wash as many loads as you can, with COLD WATER
• Use “green” laundry detergent (Norwex Detergent anyone??)
• When the sun is shining, hang your clothes on the clothes line!
• If your need to purchase a new washing machine, look for one that is certified HE (High Efficiency)

5. Food

• When possible, choose in-season, local foods
• Eat less meat
• Make smaller portions

6. Transportation

• Instead of driving, walk, cycle, use public transportation or car pool.
• While driving, reduce idling time
• Check your tire pressure regularly, and maintain correct tire pressure
• Look into car-sharing programs… you just might make some new friends while you’re at it!

7. Travel Distance

• Try to live as close as possible to your work place, to reduce your daily commute
• When choosing your vacation location, consider picking a place closer to home to keep travel at a minimum.

8. Shopping

• Buy what you need, not what you want
• If there are things you need that you’re only going to use one in a while, consider renting or borrowing the item rather than buying it
• Shop at garage sales & thrift shops to get a bargain!

9. Temperature

• In the summer months, set the thermostat to 24° or 25° C (75° or 76° F)
• In the winter months, set the thermostat to 19° or 20° C (66° or 67° F), and turn it down even further during the night for cooler sleeping temperatures
• Install a programmable thermostat and ceiling fans throughout your house

10. Garbage

• Before throwing something away, consider first donating, reusing, recycling or composting!
• Make sure you know how to properly dispose of potentially hazardous products like chemicals, batteries, LED light bulbs, and electronics

SHARE this with your friends to show them how a few small steps taken can make a HUGE difference!