Happy Earth Day! 4 Simple Tips for you (and a giveaway)

Wow, last week was a doozie for me. It was crazy busy with something going every night! But I survived and had an enjoyable weekend. We went to the park and played as a family and got frozen yogurt. Yum!
I've also been working on some changes to my blog, so please be patient as I work on a slightly new look and address for the blog. I'll explain it all soon.

What did you do this weekend??

Today is Earth Day! Let’s all do something today (and everyday) to help the environment and make the Earth a better place for all of us.

What can you do? Well last year, I shared 4 simple things you can implement in your life to help the environment. I firmly believe if we all do simple things, we CAN make a big difference. We’ve only got one Earth and I think we should do our best to take care of it.

Well what new tips do I have for this year? Here are a couple other things we try to do:

1. Save water: we can all do this everyday by taking simple steps. Turn off the water when you brush your teeth, take shorter showers, only run your dishwasher when it’s full, and buy/plant water saving trees and plants. Now that we have a yard that needs some new landscaping I’m thinking about what we can do that won’t use a ton of water (we live in the desert). So I’ve gotten drought resistant plants and water them sparingly. For those plants that must be watered, set your timer for night time. Once the sun is up, most of the water will evaporate away before getting to your plants’ roots.

(source)

2. Save Energy: Unplug unused electronic devices to cut down on the “vampire effect” or purchase a device to cut down on this, turn off lights and fans when you leave a room, program your thermostat to a higher temp for times you’re out of the house, lower the blinds/draw your curtains closed to block out the sun and cut down on AC usage, group errands together so you make fewer trips in the car, and buy energy efficient light bulbs – they may cost a bit more up front, but they last longer and put off less heat!

3. Ever considered cloth diapering? haha I know what you’re thinking, but I promise cloth diapers have changed since your mom used them on you. They come in a wide range of colors, patterns, styles, and sizes. We’ve been cloth diapering our boys for over 3 years now and love it. The diapers are adorable, there’s less diaper rash, they last through multiple kids, and save a ton of money!! We have probably spent a total of $400 to cloth diaper both of our boys for 3 years. The average family spends about $1500 from birth to potty training on one kid and disposable diapers can take up to 500 years to decompose!! Just one baby in disposable diapers will contribute 1 ton of waste to the landfill!!(source) Crazy, right?!? Think about it….if you have questions let me know, but seriously so worth the investment!

Just look how excited he got to get new diapers!  

both our boys in cloth last year. It’s the same style diaper just adjusted to two different sizes to fit them!

4. Go Green at home! I’m really passionate about this. Buy all natural cleaning products to protect the environment and your family. I read an article the other day about the link between household chemicals and childhood asthma. Are you giving your kids asthma? Go to your cupboard right now. Pick a cleaner, any cleaner. Does it contain sodium hydroxide, phenol, ammonia or formaldehyde? These–and more–may be toxic. Toxic as in dangerous, as in hurtful, as in not very clean at all. Home is no place for stuff like that. So start by getting rid of those troublemakers. Responsibly, of course. Then call in Get Clean. When you welcome Get Clean into your home, none of those hazardous things come with it. So you can be sure you’re letting in products that care as much about your family’s safety as you do.

And this leads me to my giveaway. I want you to try a green cleaning product that works so I’m giving away three samples of Basic H2 to help you start your green-ification today!

Each sample, though small, will make a 16oz bottle of all purpose cleaner and a 16oz bottle of window cleaner!

Here is some more info with the giveaway to follow:

GET CLEAN PRODUCTS OFFER CLEANING CHOICES THAT ARE SAFE, AND HERE’S WHY:

Nontoxic
No harmful fumes
Hypoallergenic
No volatile organic cleaning compounds

Formulated without hazardous chemicals such as:

• Kerosene
• Phenol
• Cresol
• Lye
• Hydrochloric acid
• Sulfuric acid
• Sulfamic acid
• Petroleum distillates
• Ammonia
• Sodium hydroxide
• Butyl cellosolve
• Phosphoric acid
• Formaldehyde
• Chlorine bleach
• Morpholine

Green Clean

WE BELIEVE CLEANING HOUSE SHOULDN’T INVOLVE DIRTYING THE EARTH

Get Clean® products use biodegradable cleaning agents, which means they break down easily instead of hanging out in the ground for hundreds of years. They also have no phosphates, borates, nitrates, or other stuff the planet doesn’t appreciate. And by making them super concentrated, we leave you to add water so we can subtract waste. This has tons of implications. Literally. Less weight to ship. Less product to use. Less packaging to throw away. So you can get that clean feeling about your house, knowing you’re keeping the planet clean, too.

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

When you buy the Get Clean® Starter Kit instead of the stuff you probably buy:

You keep 108 pounds of packaging waste out of landfills

You eliminate 248 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions

GET CLEAN PRODUCTS OFFER CLEANING CHOICES THAT ARE GREEN, AND HERE’S WHY:

Sustainably sourced natural ingredients

Biodegradable surfactants

Recyclable packaging

Recyclable wipes

Recyclable dryer sheets

No chlorine bleach

No volatile organic cleaning compounds

No phosphates

No nitrates

No borates

No animal testing

Powerful Clean

WE BELIEVE YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE TO SACRIFICE POWERFUL CONVICTIONS FOR POWERFUL CLEANERS. AND VICE VERSA

You may remember these photos from my new house tour (the gross part and the clean part)

Before

After:

 So who wants to win a sample and see how awesome it is to be green?!? 

Giveaway will run from now through Sunday (4/28) and 3 winners will be chosen at random and notified! They will have 48 hours to respond.

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It's So Very Cheri