Celebrate Earth Day With Spring Greening Month

Join Us and Help "Spread the Green" this April

Spring Greening: A month-long event honoring Earth Day

April is finally here (ok, well, tomorrow it is), which means it's officially time for Spring Greening to begin! 

But before I start sharing all the fun posts planned for the month {easy tutorials, tips, tricks, contributor posts, and GIVEAWAYS!}, I want to use a post today to explain what motivated me to plan this EARTH-LOVING event on my blog.

  

 

The Impetus Behind Spring Greening Month

I consider myself to be an eco-conscious individual; however, I'm also keenly aware that there is much, much more that I can do to reduce my footprint on the earth. I created this event, not because I consider myself a "green guru," but because I wanted to share some of the easy, green changes I've made (and continue to make), and encourage people that they can do the same. At the same time, I'm hoping to broaden my horizons when it comes to eco-conscious living, learn more about how I can support a healthy earth, and set a plan for some more substantial changes my family and I can make in an effort to be more green.

Frankly, there are innumerable reasons I believe that there needs to be a major shift in how our society values our earth, but for simplicity's sake, I'll share a small (but troubling) observation. We entertain at our home with some regularity. Now, despite the fact that I have clearly-labeled recycling bins strewn about at every party we host, whenever I clean up after an event, WITHOUT FAIL, I find plenty of recyclables in the trash. And it's just BAFFLING to me. The fact that some people are clearly still accustomed to simply throwing their bottles, cans, paper, and cardboard in the trash shows me that we have a long road ahead in getting the general public on board with making other earth-friendly choices. Recycling is easy, so what does that say about a common willingness to actually make sacrifices to preserve and protect our natural resources?

I have grave concerns over the future of our earth (here are links to three articles that have recently affected me: Drowning Kiribati, Scientists Sound Alarm on Climate, Panel's Warning on Climate Risk: Worst is Yet to Come). I am genuinely worried about climate change, for example. Now, perhaps you (or someone you know) does not believe in climate change... perhaps because you consider it too "UNKNOWN." If that's the case, consider two KNOWNS: RESOURCES and LAND. What happens, for example, when someone throws an aluminum can in the trash can instead of the recycling bin? Well, first off, they've just taken a natural, recyclable resource (that is expensive and time-consuming to produce), and completely eliminated its lifespan (aluminum can be EASILY recycled over and over and over again). Not only is the action of throwing it away completely wasteful because now it cannot be reused, it's also consuming valuable space in our already-overflowing landfills. These are undeniable facts, no debate.

So here's the deal: I won't be offering any earth-shattering, completely original ideas here, but what I hope to provide to my readers are two things: inspiration and encouragement that they, too, can make easy changes that help move the earth to the top of their priority list. And what better time to do it than the weeks leading up to and following EARTH DAY?

I believe that we can all become greener individuals, but for some, it helps to start small. And if even it means we're taking it one small step at a time, that's a GREAT start, and soon it becomes second nature. My children now regularly ask, "Where does this go?" when they have finished a meal or snack (our options currently include: garbage, recycling, and garbage disposal, but I'm hoping to add "compost bin" to that list very soon!), and I feel really good about the fact that we are raising our children with an automatic awareness about how their actions directly impact the earth.

So it really comes down to this: I'm thinking {hoping, really} that maybe, JUST MAYBE, I can reach some people out there with the ideas presented in Spring Greening, and maybe, JUST MAYBE, some of the "green-ness" will start to become contagious, and we can welcome more and more people to join us in supporting a healthy, thriving environment to enjoy for years and years to come :)

I'm so excited to welcome fellow green bloggers Cristin Frank, Vicky Myers, Claudia Mazzie-Ballheim, and Lindsey Galvez to join me as contributors this month (you can read more about these talented ladies here). I'm also thrilled to be partnering with many green companies to share product reviews and giveaways throughout the month! And in true "thrifter" form, I'll be bringing you many fun tutorials for easy projects you can create at home.

Stay tuned for more, and thanks for stopping by!

As a side note, I will not engage in debate about Climate Change, so please don't leave comments intended to do so. Please only comment if you have a positive thought or shared intention of encouraging Earth-friendly awareness and actions.

Spring Greening Posts

DIY Knit Plarn Tote Bag	Happy Family Review & Giveaway	Tankless Water Heater Benefits
Amy's Organics Giveaway	Clever Plastic Bag Storage	DIY Reusable Paper Towels
Mad Hippie Skin Care Giveaway	Upcycled Man's Jacket to Laptop Bag	5 Ways to Be a Greener Shopper
DIY Kids Napkins	snackTAXI Snack-Sack Giveaway	Reusable Produce Bag Giveaway
Making Recycling More Convenient	DIY Recyclables Board Game	ECOlunchbox Promotion
DIY Reusable Snack Bag Tutorial	Green Checklist for Earth Day