With every holiday comes extra shopping, gifting, eating, etc. Don’t forget about the basics: 1. bring your reusable bags to the grocery store; 2. wear the clothes you already own before buying new; 3. only buy the food that you can eat; 4. bring your reusable water bottle everywhere you go and the list goes on. In this post, I have outlined a few Easter specific tips to get you ready for an eco friendly day of fun with your family.
Decorating Eggs: Try decorating artificial eggs! Cut out cardboard eggs and let the kids get creative using what you already have in the house. If you do some forethinking, you can save used tissue paper, wrapping paper, gifts bags, excess strings and ribbons, buttons off old shirts, newspapers, etc. This allows those materials to get one more use before going into the landfill. Get more creative by using flowers, sticks, rocks, and leaves, zero waste materials from outside.
Easter Baskets: First, avoid plastic. When shopping for an Easter basket, go for the canvas, wicker, or wooden basket. Also, the classic plastic grass filling can be substituted with a paper alternative, or even better, you could make your own by shredding up paper scraps from the recycling bin. Secondly, reuse, reuse, reuse. Keep your Easter basket and even your fake grass filling and use them year after year to save some money and reduce your consumption.
Candy Packaging: I know that for most families, candy in inevitable on Easter but how can you be more conscious to minimize waste. One easy way is to buy only single packaged candies. Avoid the candies that have a bunch of little bags inside a big bag. Instead, stick to jelly beans, M&M’s, Skittles, etc. Buying larger quantities in one big bag minimizes the packaging to product ratio and will help your family decrease waste. If you need to divy up that large bag without dumping it into the basket package free, consider reusing glass jars from past purchases and saving them again when Easter is over. Also, if you are a bulk shopper at whole foods (which you should be) they have a few different varieties of bulk candy that you can get “package free” by using the same bulk container you use for your other dry goods.
Plastic Eggs: For your traditional egg hunt in the yard, use as little plastic as possible. Keep those plastic eggs in good condition to be used year after year or find an alternative. The container is not really important to the kids, it what’s inside that counts. You can use any small jar/container that you have at home.
An Eco Friendly Activity: Make planting flowers, or even a tree your family’s go-to activity this year and years to come. Kids will have just as much fun getting messy with dirt as they do with paint and dye. All while teaching your kids that plants are important and improving your neighborhoods air quality and providing a home for little critters. You can make a huge difference by swapping one plastic packed activity for one eco friendly activity.
An Alternative Holiday: If you want to limit your footprint and teach your family a valuable lesson, maybe you could consider celebrating this holiday selflessly. Save the money you spend on baskets, candy, and toys, and instead spend the day picking up trash, visiting a nursing home, volunteering at a free meal service, cleaning out your home to find donations, etc. The possibilities are endless and your impact will not go unseen.
Remember, one change makes a big difference. Pick up a few minor changes this holiday and limit your footprint one day at a time.
LIMITING YOUR FOOTPRINT 