I thought March flew by, and it seems April is doing just the same.  I can’t believe that tomorrow is already Earth Day.  I kept thinking I had another week until it came around!

To be honest, last year was really the first time I seriously thought about Earth Day and the way my life was impacting our planet.  In the past, I had randomly thought about ways I could improve my stewardship of the Earth, but last year was the first time I actually set some goals on Earth Day.  Next year I hope to include environmental stewardship as a category in my New Years Goals, which I review at the beginning of every month, in order to keep them more fresh in my mind.

So how did I do with some of the goals that I set last year?

1. I definitely switched to using more natural cleaning products.  Although I am not fully converted, I used a lot more baking soda and white vinegar (even when my kids complained about the smell!)  I made some small changes using a reusable microfiber cloth on my Swiffer sticker, in lieu of buying the disposable wet cloths.  I also cut way back on my paper towel usage.  When we got to Italy in September, Joe had purchased a big pack of rolls, and I never purchased any more in the time we were there.  Once again, not a huge change, but a good small step for me.

2. I did a bit better at using my cloth shopping bags.  I really love the Baggu bags and really just need to purchase some more to have on hand.

3. On the other hand, I don’t know how clear our sockets have stayed.  I wanted to keep less things plugged in, but that habit has not kicked in too well yet.

One change I had not planned on making, but did during the year was the switch to cutting back on the personal products I use and the amount of chemicals in each product.  This really kicked in when I found out I was pregnant with our 4th child and was really convicted about how I had always been careful about what I ate, drank and breathed while pregnant, but not so much about what went on my skin.  I am still a product junkie and am in search of my perfect product combination, but I am using much less now and have definitely noticed a beneficial difference.

I also made the switch to using reusable dryer sheets, whcih I really love.  I purchased the Static Eliminator Re-Usable Dryer Sheets and they will be coming with me overseas from now on as well!  I always missed having dryer sheets due to the static our clothes would retain, and now I can save space by just packing reusable ones.

One other way we are celebrating Earth Day this year is by taking a pledge to go fast food free for 2 weeks.  Honestly, this isn’t a huge step for us as we don’t eat out very often, but the pledge was started by a student in the Connections Academy system of schools that Abby attends.  So it was a neat way to see what other kids are doing for Earth Day and for her and I to talk about the impact even our eating has on the Earth.  Check it out and join the pledge!

And if you are interested, my friend Maria is once again running a contest for Earth Day on her blog.  Go check her out and enter!