Ideas to celebrate Earth Day as a Family

photo credit: MissFancyPants

I’m not into big celebrations. Especially not into big Earth Day Celebrations that include lots of talk and after-party garbage. I’ve been there and it’s not fun to be given a flyer with a message telling you to save paper and after the event finding them flying all over the place.

That said, there are trully eco friendly activities we can do as a family to celebrate Earth Day, and here I share some options:

Kids love being a part of efforts that they know will help to protect the earth. Not only do they like knowing that they have a respected role to play but they like the fact that their parents and other adults acknowledge their abilities and maturity enough to discuss important issues with them like the environment.

Earth Day is an opportunity to seriously think about the messages and actions that are being taken both locally and globally. “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle” are messages that can take on greater meaning through purposeful activities that you choose to do with your kids on Earth Day.

A good start could be to gather as a family to discuss the following:

What can we recycle in our household and how can we recycle these items?

How many disposable items, from diapers to plastic bags do we use as a family, and how many items can we choose to do without?

Where can we reuse items we no longer want?

Here are some uses for existing items that might be in your household:
• Reuse a plastic or paper bag for different uses so you don’t have to buy new
• Reuse empty food containers as storage for leftovers.
• Habitat for Humanity accepts building material donations in some chapters – contact your local chapter for this non-profit group before disposing of old building material.
• Your local Goodwill can make good use of your gently worn clothing and gently used furniture or other household items. Contact them to find out delivery options.

Hiking is a great family activity that can turn into a enjoyable Earth Day Activity if the purpose of the hike is to pick up garbage in your local park or trail. It’s a satisfying project that will make kids feel they are doing their part to take care of an area that gives them and their friends in the community much enjoyment – especially animals!

One of the best ways to teach our children about the impact of trash on our environment is to show them the “trash trail.” Where does the trash go after we put it out for the garbage truck? On Earth Day why not take your kids on a little journey along the “trash trail.”

The garbage workers or sanitation engineers take residential garbage usually to a transfer station that collects the community’s waste/rubbish before shipping it off to a regional solid waste facility. In many cases the garbage gets trucked to a landfill or incinerator plant. Sometimes that garbage is then burned to produce electricity – depending on where you live. Here in Quito the garbage goes all mixed up into landfils, a pretty big stress to nearby people and the environment. That’s why I wouldn’t dare to take my child thru the end of the trash trial, but in some cities this might not be a big health concern.

Finally, why not consider making your own fridge and saving on electricity? My old home made pot in pot is out of business right now, but it worked for us for more than a year. Learn more about it here: Pot-in-pot, our low cost, home made, non electrical fridge.

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Cultural thrift store differences

Living in Ecuador I never thought I would ever want to got to a second hand shop. When I was a child there were many of them selling old clothes from the US, probably arriving to the country as donations. Thrift stores had a very bad name, selling foreign used clothes for the same price you could find a brand new cloth made locally and claming they were selling “Amarican clothes”.

I discovered the real value and fun of thrift stores when I first visited the US. Of course, there were American brands but I was in the US, and the prices were really low. It made sense to me that local people would benefit by selling their clothes to other local people, very different from what I´d seen in Ecuador by the time.

Several years later I was a foreign student near Tokyo and really got the second hand love. Our sempais (elders) taught new students the second hand shops where we could get our household appliances for a fraction of their value if bought new, which were great considering we needed them only for a few years.

I discovered other second hand stores selling dishware, clothes in good condition, and almost everything. I got the love and enjoyed finding real treasures, but it was especially helpful when I got my child. I found really unique toys of my like, that otherwise would’ve cost a good deal of money to get. For instance, I got him a wooden xylophone, a wooden car, kanji cards, and books that we even brought with us to Ecuador. (a few books and the cards).

After we were done, we just gave them away to the same store to be loved by the next family. A great way to put in practice the first of the 3 R´s.

Back to Ecuador, I see the second hand business are not anymore what they used to be, with a few exceptions. Customs are very picky with what enters the country and used clothes are banned (not always good, if it´s your own clothes you shipped by mail). Middle class is just getting to know the second hand love while some real thrift stores featuring local second hand goods with truly low prices are starting to get popular.

What about where you live? Are you able to enjoy thrift stores with locally collected second hand goods at enjoyable low prices?

What´s your favorite day of the week?

Mine is Saturday, and the reason is we can get together with other family members. We often visit my little brother and sister and this means a little mom holydays for me and the chance to share focused time with them.

Also, we have the chance to go to sports or cultural activities as a family. Today we´re going to a free concert

What about you favorite day of the week?