4/20/2024 | Angela Whitlock, CSRA

Now that we’ve discussed in detail many ways to honor Earth Month, we wanted to give you some extra, super easy ideas that you can implement both at home and at work. Taking these small steps do not require much effort and can both make an impact on your own life, as well as inspire others to do the same.  

At Home 

• Switch to energy-saving lightbulbs. The Environmental Protection Agency has reported that if every household in the United States replaced just ONE standard lightbulb with an energy-efficient one, the nation would save $600 million annually in energy costs.  
• Check the temperature on your water heater and consider lowering it. Water heaters can waste up to 5% of your heating costs and use if they are set above 140 degrees.  
• Do a water audit. Check all your faucets for leaks and fix them. According to the Department of Energy, a leak of one drip per second can waste up to 259 gallons of water every month. Nowadays, it is a lot easier to make easy repairs all on your own, with the help of online tutorials and fix-it apps, such as Front Door. 
• Start a compost bin. Teach your family about composing by setting up a bin. Composting is a great way to reduce waste and feed the soil and organisms within the soil. For more information on composting, check out this resource.  
• Keep reusable shopping bags in your car. You can buy plain canvas tote bags, but also make sure to keep the plastic shopping bags that you already own. They can be reused many times over before breaking. Use what you have first, and then slowly replace with more durable alternatives. Check out this resource for more info. 
• Donate or throw away old clothing sustainably. Textiles are one of the biggest issues in our landfills. If you cannot donate your used clothing, consider partnering with a textile recycling provider to make sure your clothes do not end up in landfills.  
• Use eco-friendly cleaning products. Many of these can be made at home for very little cost. For tutorials on how to make 10 different cleaning solutions, check out this resource. 
• Turn it off! Commit to turning off lights and electrical appliances when they are not being used. Consider keeping a record of when you forget as a way to learn about energy waste.  

At Work 

• Use reusable containers. Pack your lunch in a reusable container, along with reusable utensils. Keep a coffee mug at work and use a refillable water bottle. Saving five disposable coffee cups and lids over the course of the week amounts to nearly 300 a year, which is only for one person. The United States alone also consumes more than 50 billion plastic water bottles a year. Consider giving coffee mugs and water bottles to coworkers for holiday gifts or other special occasions.   
• Advocate for adding more recycling bins. Recycling participation increases due to more bins that are easily accessible. Find out what you can do to request them at work.  
• Use less paper. Adopt for double-sided printing when possible. Consider using a note-taking app on your phone for meetings, if allowed.  
• Power down. Shut down your computer when you are planning to be away from it for more than two hours. The surge of energy that is needed to power up is still way less than keeping the computer running for long periods of time.  
• Organize raising money for an environmental group, preferably local. While this one takes a bit more effort, it can seem fun and effortless if you are doing this with a group of coworkers. Pick a worthy group within the community that empowers earth-friendly practices and inquire as to whether the company can match employee donations.  

In the Community  

• Understand your local environmental issues. Stay informed by keeping up to date on the issues facing your community. This may require some research and attending certain committee meetings.  
• Send letters. Write emails or letters to your state representative and/or senator about the environmental issues and policies that are important to your community.  
• Volunteer. Find an organization that is making an impact and see how you can be a part of it. Consider participating in an adopt-a-highway event or an educational seminar. You can also organize a community event with a reachable goal, such as planting a certain amount of trees in a day, cleaning up a designated area, or building a community garden. 

These are just a handful of ways that small actions can make a big impact and influence others.  

Sources: SignUpGenius.com, FrontDoor.com, EPA.gov, TheSpruce.com, CheckSammy.com 

Image credit: Unsplash