Five for Friday – April 30th
Hello FMN fam! This week, one of our amazing board members Dr. Lynette Stanko is providing some great environmental ideas and tips for our ‘Five for Friday’ as we celebrate Earth Day this month! Enjoy!
Earth Day was celebrated in the United States on April 22nd this year. Fun fact: Most Roma and Romanians LOVE using natural-based foods, toiletries, and medical treatments! Here are my five tips for embracing our planet and promoting environmental sustainability, something Forget Me Not Ministries is striving to incorporate into all of our products.
- Composting: This one is super easy, even if you live in a city! All you need something called an “Urban Composter.” It’s small, compact, will fit under the sink in most kitchens, and allows you to compost even if you don’t have a big yard! There are so many weird things you can compost that I didn’t know initially-like cardboard cereal boxes, used facial tissues, hair from your hairbrush, and dryer lint from your laundry! Click here to grab your Urban Composter!
2. Buying “ugly” produce: This is an easy switch to do just by shopping at your favorite grocery store, and picking the ugliest produce possible! So much food waste occurs because shoppers will bypass the “ugly” produce (misshapen tomatoes, short and stubby cucumbers, dented apples) for the pretty produce, and the grocery store will end up throwing all of that unused produce away! There is also a great website called Misfits Market that will deliver your ugly produce right to your door! You can sign up to get your ugly produce here!
3. Ditch paper towels: Seriously, do it! Using rags is so much more environmentally friendly, and honestly, it’s much easier! Old t-shirts, old towels, old socks are a great way to clean your home, your car, your doggy… anything you can think of! Just throw it in the laundry, and you will have brand new rags again. Fun fact: it can take up to 15 gallons of water to make ONE roll of paper towels. No matter what, you are saving water (and trees!) to use rags instead of paper towels in your home.
4. Buy second-hand: Every time we buy something new like a new piece of furniture, we create demand. Supply will grow to meet demand, and this supply saps us of resources like trees, gas, electricity, and increases carbon emissions. Shop at your local second-hand stores, thrift stores, or antique stores and you will find some absolute gems for your home, and you’re promoting environmental sustainability, too.
5. Plastic-free toiletries: This was such an easy switch for me! My shower routine is now completely plastic-free, as well as most of my other toiletries. My favorite place to shop for soap is at your local farmers market, because wow, they are made with four to five ingredients, smell SO good, and last forever! It’s such a money saver and a benefit for our environment. My other secret is shampoo bars! I have probably tried every shampoo bar out there, and I was incredible skeptical initially, but my absolute favorite is Lush. Their shampoo bars are exactly like using the real deal, they have tons of options for all types of hair types, and you can get up to 50 washes out of one shampoo bar. Go plastic-free, it’s the way to be!
Thank you so much for Lynette for sharing some practical ways we all can help to promote environmental sustainability!
Have a wonderful Friday, FMN family, and a great weekend! We appreciate you all!
No Comments