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Hi everyone! Our journey is about to come to an end, but the last step is possibly as important as the first! Now that we have successfully made our own personal green shifts, we need to spread the knowledge to others so they can begin their own. Now, I know what you’re probably thinking, “Sarah, don’t tell me that we are going to be one of those people that shame everyone else if they don’t sew their own clothes and live in a self-sustainable tiny house in the woods!” The answer to that is a big no. I don’t like being shamed for my habits any more than others, but that is not what we are trying to do here. In order to spread the green shift, we can’t force it on others. We can only provide them with knowledge and encouragement so that they can want to do it for themselves. These should be gentle nudges to prompt people you are close with to start thinking about their habits.

Most importantly, to get people to start the green shift, you can’t just tell them to. You have to work on it together. Go out and plant some trees with your coworkers, plant vegetables in the community garden with your neighbors, or pick up some trash in the parking lot with your family.

Say you are out shopping with your best friend and they get a disposable plastic bag for their item. In this scenario, I often gently suggest that they carry the few items instead of getting the bag or show them one of my cute reusable bags and encourage them to get one. I have done this with one of my close friends before (well, actually I grabbed the plastic bag to put it back and carried her stuff for the rest of the day, but maybe that was a little forceful). What I have learned is that being gentle always works better.

Maybe you eat lunch with your coworker that uses plastic dishes and utensils every day. I would probably show them my reusable lunch box. It has really cool compartments so you can portion your food (and keep different foods from touching, which is a big plus for me). I try to use different selling points than just being eco-friendly when suggesting products to people. Then, if they don’t care about the reusable part, maybe they really like the different compartments for food. This also helps to reduce the shame factor as well.

We can also provide others with knowledge so that they want to start the green shift for themselves. This site gives a few facts that are a quick read and easy to share. You can slip these facts into unrelated conversation, repeatedly post them on social media, or make posters to hang in your dorm window for all to see (just kidding, those may be a bit much, but if you are all for that then go for it).

If you are going out to the farmer’s market or cleaning up litter, invite some friends! Not only will it make it much more fun, but it will get them involved in helping the environment. Working as a team to tackle big challenges

like cleaning up a river will make it so much more manageable and will give everyone a sense of accomplishment. Maybe you can make it a monthly habit!

So, there we have it folks! Thank you so much for spending the past few months with me on this journey to reduce our impact on the environment. So now we must continue these practices and spread the green shift to others. Together we can make a real difference. Thank you!

Hello everyone! We are almost done with our green shift and I am super excited for all of you who have joined me on this journey! This week we will be discussing how to involve the whole family in environmental friendly activities. This post is mainly geared towards families with children so if that doesn’t apply to you, don’t worry. There are plenty of activities that you can do with younger siblings, cousins, or neighbors next time you are home.

Having an environmentally friendly home is a fantastic way to reduce our impact on the world, but for many parents that is not the priority when trying to raise a family. However, there are many activities for children that are not wasteful and can teach them valuable lessons on how to become environmentally friendly.

First of all, it is important to teach children about conservation early in life. Young children can understand that it is important to turn off lights and electronics when not using them, turn off the faucet when washing hands or brushing teeth, and to not let food go to waste. As parents, it is important to be good role models for these habits because children will pick up on your actions, for better or for worse. This site gives 10 ways to teach children about the importance of conserving resources and reducing impact on the environment.

As for activities for kids, it can be easy as a tired parent to let the kids go play in the sprinkler for an hour so you can take a quick nap. I think any parent would understand that, but there are better activities for children that do not waste resources. One thing kids can do is make recycled art! There are a variety of materials to use for crafts that would otherwise go to waste. Or, if your kids prefer playing outside, have them plant seeds or tend the garden! Kids love getting dirty, so let them while helping the environment. They can choose what plants they want to grow so they are more involved and learn to take responsibility for their new garden. This site gives suggestions for easy seeds for kids to plant and take care of.

If you have a farmer’s market around, take the children to pick out some fresh foods to cook into a meal together. This activity is one of my favorites because I love to cook with fresh food from the farmer’s market. This activity is great for kids as well because it teaches them to appreciate where their food came from and all the hard work that went into making it themselves. For some easy recipes that kids can make, check out this site!

Thank you for joining me this week, see you next time!

Hello again! Thank you all for joining me this week, I can’t believe we are almost done with our Green Shift journey! Don’t worry, I still have a couple more steps to share before we truly are done. This week’s post focuses on reducing food waste, which you may be questioning because we have already covered this topic. I decided to include gardening and composting in a separate step because it is a bit more labor intensive than the other strategies I suggested for saving food and also ties better into last week’s post because this is part of creating an eco-friendly home.   

        Gardening has always been a passion of mine, but I admit that I am a plant murderer. It seems that whenever a beautiful and healthy plant is put under my care that it is dead within a couple months. I absolutely love plants and my plant collection is displayed throughout my room (just ask Fiorella!), though my number of plants has dwindled since coming to school. Anyway, hopefully you guys are better plant nurturers than I am and your gardens won’t turn into graveyards.

Gardens are a great way to ensure that your food is free from substances that are harmful to yourselves and to the environment. This article explains the dangers of pesticides to wildlife. They also make you more appreciative of the food itself because you put in the effort to grow it instead of just picking it up from the grocery store. If you truly appreciate the food you eat, you will be less likely to waste it. This guide will help you get started on your home garden. If you are like me and plant care isn’t your specialty, try going to a local farmer’s market! Being able to speak directly with the farmer that grew your produce will definitely impact your appreciation for food. It also supports local farmers who grow foods in smaller batches and with greater care than big agriculture farmers.

So, you care more for the food you eat, but there is still going to be some waste. How should you dispose of this waste so it doesn’t harm the environment? Compost! Composting is the process of decomposing food waste and turning it into fertilizer. What better use for fresh fertilizer than for your new garden? You hopefully have noticed the composting bins in your dorm or dining hall. They are used to fertilize the beautiful flower beds all around campus! Compost is a great way to recycle waste and create something beautiful with it. It is super easy to start composting and this website sells compost bins to get started.

Thanks for tuning in this week! Happy gardening!

Hey everyone! I can’t believe we are already on week 7! I hope you all have had some fun in the past week repurposing some old items and being creative! This week’s topic is perhaps not as fun, but even more important. This may be something you all can keep in mind for when you own your own home and are settled adults (that sounds crazy, I know). Or, maybe some of you would be interested in talking to your parents about making their home more environmentally friendly. Either way, I hope this information is interesting, even if it is not entirely applicable to your lives right now. A lot of the suggestions I have in this post have been mentioned in previous posts, but this sums it all up to make your whole home environmentally friendly.

One way our homes suck up energy is through our appliances. Older appliances can be incredibly inefficient and this wastes energy and money! Newer appliances can be much better for the environment, such as the line of Energy Star appliances. They have every appliance you could need like dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers, refrigerators, ceiling fans, and smart thermostats. Since 1992, Energy star has helped save families and businesses over $450 billion in energy costs (About Energy Star) That is an incredible amount of resources saved and pollution prevented.

Solar panels are a great investment as well. They can be expensive up front but will save you money in the long run on your energy bill. This website will help you decide what solar panels are best for you and you can buy them directly from the same website!

Another important way to conserve energy in your home is to insulate your attic and basement. A lot of energy is wasted heating and cooling your home if it is not properly insulated. No one wants their money seeping out of the attic! Also, be sure to check out the eco-friendly insulators that are made from recycled newspapers! It’s a two in one investment! Along the same lines, insulating windows is a great idea to save energy as well. You can use caulking or weather stripping to keep air from seeping out or in.

To save more water, replace your old toilet. Traditional toilets use up to 6 gallons of water per flush! Try switching to a WaterSense (Like EnergyStar, but for water) toilet, which only use 1.28 gallons per flush. This website can tell you more about WaterSense toilets and how to buy them!

Alright everyone, that does it for this week. These projects are not something that should be done all at once, so don’t worry if it seems too labor intensive or expensive. It can take months or years to entirely convert a home to be eco-friendly. But one thing is for sure- it will all be worth it in the end! See you next week!

Hello again! Thank you for joining me this week. I am super excited for step 6 in our journey because it incorporates more creativity and fun than the previous ones. Some of our past steps to be more environmentally conscious can feel a bit like chores, and I understand that. This week is when we get to put our creative hats on and do some fun crafts!

Repurposing old objects that may otherwise go in the trash can be very fun if you embrace it. I am a lover of arts and crafts so this is right up my alley, but it I can see why it wouldn’t be as fun for everyone. If you are into crafts like I am, you can try some of the more advanced projects. However, everyone can take part in some of the easier tasks to improve the environment.

The first thing that many people get tired of and stop using even though they are in perfectly good condition are clothes. Clothes go in and out of style, and many people continue buying more and more clothes to keep up with trends. This can be very wasteful because a lot of those clothes end up in landfills. These clothes can be donated or repurposed so they continue to have value beyond just wearing them. Goodwill is a great option for donating any household items, not just clothing, that might otherwise end up in the trash. There are always people out there who can find use for an object, so why not donate it? If you want to repurpose some clothing instead of donating it, this site gives plenty of ideas for reusing those clothes you don’t wear anymore.

There are plenty of other objects to repurpose other than clothing. You can turn your used coffee tins and soup cans into a beautiful kitchen herb garden using this guide!

This idea is one of my favorites, because it repurposes waste, prevents you from buying herbs that come in plastic containers in the future, and it adds beauty to your home.

Plastic water bottles are another great crafting material and can be turned into so many fun projects! They are seriously so versatile and can be used to make all sorts of containers, organizers, and decorations. This article gives 30 ways to use your disposable plastic water bottles around the house instead of letting them go to waste. Some of these ideas are particularly good for small children, like a sink extender to help the little ones reach the faucet.

So that does it for this week, happy crafting! See you guys next week for step 7 of our journey!

Hello everyone! Wow, it is hard to believe we are already halfway through our journey. I hope all of you have found ways to become a little more environmentally conscious in your everyday lives, even if it is just in small actions. Now that we are halfway through, we have introduced most of the easy strategies that we can incorporate into our lives with minimal effort. In the next few weeks I will introduce some strategies that are a little more labor intensive, but I know all of you are dedicated to make a difference. It is important to not forget the easy steps from the beginning, as those make a huge impact as well as the harder ones to come.

That brings us to step 5, which is to reduce food waste. In 2015, Americans wasted 37.6 million tons of food, most of which went into landfills and combustion facilities (United States Environmental Protection Agency). All of this wasted food means wasted money, more methane emissions from landfills, and

wasted energy and resources that go into the production and distribution of food. By being more conscious of our food waste, we not only save all of those resources, but we also can provide food for those in need by donating food that would have otherwise gone to waste. A lot of reducing food waste is planning, which is why I categorize this step as more labor intensive. By making a weekly meal plan, you can buy only what you need for each meal and be more likely to use it all. Another tip I have is to only go shopping on a full stomach. I know I am guilty of picking up everything that looks good when I am hungry in the grocery store.

Ok so now that you only have the food that you need, how do you keep it from going bad before you use it? There are some fantastic products out there for storing fruits and veggies to keep them from going bad, such as this produce container and these fruit and veggie lids. For other foods, you can ditch the wasteful plastic wrap and get some reusable beeswax food wraps.

Oops, those bananas you bought with the intention of using for last night’s dinner are all brown and mushy, what do you do now? Don’t worry! There are ways to use overripe or bruised fruits and vegetables and make them into delicious foods. Banana bread is a great way to use up those brown bananas, as overripe bananas make the bread even sweeter than fresh ones. You can use up those bruised tomatoes that have been sitting on the kitchen counter for a few days by making your own pasta sauce! This guide gives a few delicious recipes for turning ugly produce into incredible meals.

The biggest strategy for reducing food waste is just being mindful. With a little planning, anyone can get the most out of their food and their wallet.

Thanks for tuning in! See you all next week!

Thank you all again for visiting my blog! This week we are taking step 4 of our Green Shift to become more environmentally conscious in our everyday lives. Step 4 is another fairly easy one to work into daily routines if you set your mind to it. Turn off electricity when you don’t need it!

It’s simple, it’s easy, so why doesn’t everyone do it? People don’t realize the impact of wasting electricity. According to The New York Times, a quarter of a typical home’s energy consumption is due to electronics draining power when they are plugged in but not on. That is a significant amount of energy (and money!) that is being wasted every month. Multiply that by every house in the city, the state, and America as a whole. Our American culture is so wasteful, in fact, the average American household has 50 electronic devices that are always draining power (The New York Times).

Don’t worry, there are ways we can reduce our energy waste! One very easy way to reduce waste is to switch to LED bulbs. Put them in once and forget it! They can even save you up to $135 before they burn out (Save with SRP). There are simple things you can add to your everyday lives to conserve like deciding what you want to eat before opening the fridge (to reduce the time staring at an open fridge, I know I’m guilty of it), turn out lights and ceiling fans before leaving the room, and turning the TV of before you fall asleep on the couch (I’m looking at you, Dad!). There are tons of products out there as well to help reduce energy consumption in your home. These blackout curtains not only keep the sun from waking you from your restful sleep in the morning, but also keep that pesky sun radiation from heating your home and making your air conditioner work on overtime. This smart thermostat senses when someone is in a room and heats or cools it accordingly, reducing energy wasted on heating and cooling rooms that no one is using. Tempted to turn up the heat in the winter? Put on this warm sweater to keep you warm without wasting money on the energy bill. There we have it! Step 4 of our Green Shift is complete. Now go out there and incorporate these habits into your everyday lives! See you next week!

Thanks again for joining me, I look forward to taking a big leap on our green shift journey with these next few steps. The following steps can be done in any order, but I do suggest focusing on one at first and continue to add proceeding steps until you are fully environmentally conscious in every aspect of your life. I chose conserving water as our first specific step because it is a fairly easy and simple one to start with.

Water is such a huge part of our lives, much bigger than we might expect. According to The Environmental Protection Agency, the average American family uses over 300 gallons of water per day at home. That’s crazy! It can be easy to ignore the water going down the drain after a long, relaxing shower, but that water adds up. We waste so much water here in the United States while, according to Center for Disease Control, 780 million people worldwide do not have access to clean water. If we can conserve our water and only use what is needed, we can start the process to ensuring everyone has access to clean water around the world. Also, we can reduce the use of energy that goes into cleaning our waste water, so it is a win-win!

There are so many easy ways to conserve water in our daily lives. We can turn off the faucet when brushing our teeth, take shorter showers, and repair any pipes that might be leaking. There are also some products that are designed just with this problem in mind, like water saving shower heads and low flush toilets. This shower head is luxurious and conserves water by using air pressure instead of water pressure! You can also try putting a bucket under the bathtub faucet while you wait for the water to heat up for your shower and use that water for other needs. It is important to think outside the box as well! Instead of rinsing vegetables under a running faucet, rinse them in a bucket and use that water for any outside flowers or garden! It is just as important to reuse water as it is to save it.

In dry areas of the country, a lot of water goes towards lawn maintenance. This website gives options for a waterless lawn and varieties of grass that require less water. That green lawn may be beautiful, but it is very wasteful.

Additionally, a way to conserve water that many people wouldn’t think of is by saving electricity. Power plants use water as a cooling method, so saving energy is a double bonus! We will get more into electricity saving methods next week, see ya!

Hello again! Thank you for joining me in continuing our Green Shift journey to reduce our impact on the environment! In last week’s post, we started the process with accepting the problem. Now that we have realized the true impacts of waste and pollution on the world, we can start working to make a difference! The simplest, and perhaps most important step in the Green Shift is changing our previous mindset of consumption and waste to a mindset of conservation.

It is not easy to consider the long-term consequences of our everyday actions, but these seemingly small actions contribute to the worldwide problems we face. To adopt a green mindset, we have to make a conscious effort to think of the environmental impact of our daily actions. When we start thinking about our habits, it becomes clear that there are many ways we can make improvements. One of the easiest ways to make a change in our daily actions is to avoid plastic products. Strawlessocean is a great source of information on plastic pollution, specifically its impact on marine life. It

provides startling statistics such as the fact that America uses over 500 million plastic straws every day! Additionally, at the current rate of plastic consumption, by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. Our new actions can be as simple as choosing to carry a couple items out of the grocery store instead of using a disposable plastic bag. New habits will become second nature, like bringing a reusable water bottle on the go to avoid plastic cups and straws at restaurants. Over time, these small actions will add up to make a measurable difference. There are so many wonderful products to help more people become eco-friendly in their daily lives, such as this set of reusable straws, or these stylish reusable grocery bags. Other than saying no to plastic, there are many other easy ways to be eco-friendly every day. Some habits include saving water by turning off the faucet when you brush your teeth or saving electricity by turning off the lights when you leave a room. Don’t worry, we will go more in depth on saving electricity and water in later posts. Right now, our goal is to start getting into the habit of consciously thinking of being green in our daily lives and being aware of our actions. Thank you for joining me today, I’ll be back with more eco-friendly tips next week!

 

Congratulations! If you are reading this blog it means you’re here to start the journey of becoming more environmentally conscious! This journey is  a long and sometimes difficult one, but always a rewarding experience to help humanity and find yourself in the process. This journey of changing personal habits to help this one and only Earth is what I like to call the Green Shift. In this blog, we will cover how to make mental changes as well as lifestyle changes in order to reduce our impact on the Earth.

The first step in the Green Shift is perhaps the most difficult one- accepting the problem. Most of us in the United States live in a culture where it is easy to ignore the devastating impact we have on the environment. Every week our trash is taken away to someplace where we don’t have to worry about it. Every day our water goes down the drain during the long, hot shower we take after a stressful day. Every time we go to the grocery store there is an abundance of food on the shelves, so we never have to ration. In our society, we never have to worry about where the trash is going, or how many gallons of water go down the drain, or where our food is coming from. However, by expanding our local mindset to a global perspective, we can see the severe issues that plague our planet. It is easy to ignore the problems and it is painful to accept them, but accepting is the first step to making improvements.

It can be difficult to widen our perspectives beyond our own community where we may not be able to see the effects of our daily habits. Some may not want to learn about the harsh realities, but those who do will be able to make a real difference.

The most important thing we can do to broaden our perspective is educate ourselves. National Geographic is a great source for learning how people around the world live. In one of their videos, See How Children Live in the World’s Most Polluted City , it is impossible to ignore the impact of pollution on people around the world. So many children live in life threatening conditions because of the carelessness of humans as a whole. In an article by the World Health Organization, it is estimated that each year 1.7 million children under 5 years old die each year due to unhealthy environments. In another frightening call to action by the World Health Organization, Dr. Maria Neira, Director of the Department of Public Health, states that “Urban air pollution continues to rise at an alarming rate, wreaking havoc on human health,”. When you start to research the terrible effects of humankind on the environment and in turn, on each other, it is clear that we need to make a change.

I want to personally thank you for taking the first step in the Green Shift to improve our planet and the lives of our brothers and sisters around the world. If we all work together, it is never too late to make a change.