Hands up if you’re trying to be kinder to our planet, and want to be a bit more ‘green’?
Now, keep your hands up if you’re also ridiculously busy and find most ‘green’ challenges a little too daunting to actually make happen?
I feel you. Whether you’re just dipping your toe into a more sustainable lifestyle for the first time, or you already feel like you’re on your way but are a bit overwhelmed by the idea of doing MORE… this one’s for you.
Our planet. It’s big, beautiful, and it’s our responsibility. We owe it to this beautiful space to make choices that will help protect her for the next generation.
So, we’re here to help. We’ve been testing out a bunch of green lifestyle changes this past month. I’m going to admit, some were a bit tricky (we’re sticking with those, but we might save them for a ‘level 2’ challenge down the road), but some were DELIGHTFULLY easy. And those are the one’s we’re chatting about here.
In fact, we put together an ABCs of Green challenge for you and your family. It’s a four-week challenge that includes 3 super easy lifestyle changes that will make a BIG impact on the planet (and we’ve made a little printable challenge tracker to make it fun for your fam!). Here’s what we’re asking you to do:
- Skip the Straw
Did you know that Americans alone use over 500 million straws daily?!? What??? And because these little guys often don’t get recycled, many eventually end up in our waterways endangering marine life (they’re so easy for fish and animals to try to eat).
There’s an easy solution! Grab a pack of these awesome stainless steel straws (they’re even dishwasher safe), throw one in your purse or briefcase, and then toss it in the dishwasher at the end of the day!
- Try a Reusable Produce Bag
Think about how often you buy fruits and veggies at the grocery store. Now think about how many of those tiny plastic bags you use when you pick your produce out. The grocery stores don’t keep the produce in individual bags, so why do we?
Because it’s easy to carry them in our shopping cart, right? Well, an easy swap to make is to grab a few of these mesh produce bags, and tuck them inside your reusable shopping bags (or your diaper bag). That way you’ll always have them on hand! And you can even take your produce out when it’s weighed at the cash if you’re worried about paying a bit extra. Easy peasy!
- Say No to Disposable Utensils
Only 6% of all plastic waste in the US is recycled, and most plastic utensils are made from a type of Polystyrene that can’t be easily recycled. So, this one’s a no brainer.
With a little bit of planning you can take along a set of travel utensils that are dishwasher safe and reusable, and you could even store then in your purse along with your straw in a little wipeable travel pouch. So easy, and so impactful.
Here’s the printable challenge tracker:
Emmett’s ABCs Printable Green Challenge Tracker
How do you get started?
Sit down with your family, and commit together to changing these three things for four weeks. Print off the tracker above, talk it through with your family, decide on a little reward that you’ll all enjoy when you complete it (maybe an ice cream date or a pizza party?!), and pick another family that you can nominate to do the challenge too! There are spots to write all those bit down on the printable tracker, so you can fully personalize it for your fam. Check in every week to see how you’re doing and mark it down on your tracker – this will help keep everyone excited and accountable!
And then tell me how it’s going! We’ll be working on it right along with you, so I’d love to hear your updates, see some pics of your updated trackers, and let me know which challenged have been the easiest or hardest for your fam.
We’re all on this earth together, so let’s love it a little more. Easy step, by easy step!
Note: some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you decide to shop through them, there’s no additional cost to you but it helps support the blog. So, we sure appreciate it!
