Maybe you don’t even think of it as being environmentally responsible anymore! Perhaps it’s such an ingrained part of your daily routine that you don’t think twice before doing it! Often it’s not until you see someone else doing the ‘wrong’ thing that you realise how good you are at helping the planet. Here’s some things that have become part of the daily routine in our home...........  

1. Have a bucket in the bottom of the shower to catch the cold water before the hot comes through. This saves 10-20 litres of water each day
2. Use the bucket of water to flush the toilet
3. Have a veggie garden and try to grow our own food (with varying success but it keeps improving!)
4. Stakes that are no longer any good for the garden can be used for firewood, newspapers are used for fire starters
5. The bath water goes straight onto the garden or lawn, wherever the hose is directed
6. Have an old green bin to catch water and a home-made irrigation system at the bottom to water the veggies
7. Coffee grinds get put onto the garden, feed to worms or slugs/snails off the strawberries 
8. Put green waste from the garden into the Green waste Bin supplied by the council
9. Kitchen scraps go into the worm farm, feed to chooks, compost or some goes into green waste bin (but am going to get some kind of compost to deal with the excess)
10. We only use natural or plant based products for household cleaning and bi-carb soda and Apple Cider Vinegar where possible
11. All our personal products are plant based and chemical/fragrance free (shampoo, conditioner, bath wash, face wash, deodorant, etc.)
12. Recycle according to the symbols on packaging
13. Each family member has their own stainless steel drink bottle (saves money and avoids BPA in plastic, plus less plastic has to be recycled)
14. Buy organic or pesticide-free foods wherever possible & am conscious of whether it's local or not, locally grown always wins
15. Not buy products that are over packaged when grocery shopping & use bulk buys & refills where possible
16. Avoid using excess plastic bags (leave fruit & vegetables loose when purchasing rather than put into bags) and take our green (hessian or string) bags to the supermarket
17. Keep our old paints and use them for fun colours on the kids furniture
18. Keep birthday and Christmas cards for crafts & drawing at home or Occasional care/kinder
19. We're lucky to have a local supermarket close enough to walk to when we only need as many groceries as we can fit in the pram!
20. Try to reduce energy consumption by turning the lights off, only have the TV on for short amounts of time, only boil the kettle immediately before use etc.
21. Reduce energy consumption by using the air flow through the house rather than have it closed up and use the air con
22. In winter I hang the clothes on the portable line (airer) on the deck for a few hours then bring them inside over night. I only use the tumble dryer in an emergency!
23. Worm Farm! read more about this journey in A Worm Story 
24. Our Veggie garden is underway but definitely a work in progress
25. WE NOW HAVE TWO BEAUTIFUL CHOOKS. There are many ways in which they help us around the house & if you're interested in reading about it you can check out this blog!

A really simple way to help your family and friends be more environmentally responsible is to do it yourself, lead by example, start up simple conversations in a non-preachy kind of way that helps to facilitate change in others.

What do you do? There’s no doubt we cold do more so please feel free to leave your comments below to let us know what you do in your household to reduce your carbon footprint and did you discover any new ideas that you could implement in your household today? Are your kids involved with recycling, gardening or turning old into new?

"Teach your Children what we have taught our Children - that the Earth is our Mother" Chief Seattle from 'This Precious Earth'  

Here's some other articles to increase your awareness of the potential hazards and toxins within our environment and avoid them where possible.

Naturally Clean - Be Kind to Yourself & the Earth

The Air We Breathe

Heavy Metals in our Environment

Environmental Oestrogens

Why Plastic is NOT so Fantastic!

Detoxification - Helping your Body's Natural Processes