The daily grind of motherhood is a lot – it’s exhausting mentally, physically, and emotionally. There are so many decisions to make with a wide variety of needs to be met. That doesn’t always leave a lot of time to think about life outside our bubbles, which is understandable considering how much work it is to raise children. However, if we want to raise our kids to think bigger and consider the world outside of themselves, there are small changes we can implement right now. It doesn’t have to take a lot of time or energy to teach our kids easy ways to decrease their carbon footprint on our planet.
Here are some simple ways to implement a greener lifestyle as a family:
Start a small garden. This can be a lot of fun if your kids are old enough to help put it together and water it. Plus, they can give input on the fruits and vegetables you plant. Make it even easier on yourself by giving them the chore of watering it daily. It’ll be so much fun once they see the “fruits” of their labor and get to enjoy the delicious homegrown food. Not only is this a great way to save money, but you know exactly where your food is coming from and what it’s being fertilized with. Plus, it gets everyone outside!
Begin composting at home. It’s easy to toss fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, and eggshells into a kitchen container that can then be emptied into a larger compost in the yard. Composting has many benefits, including recycling your kitchen waste, reducing landfill waste, and giving extra nutrients to your soil. This is great to use if you have a garden as well, and it is better for our environment. Our family has been amazed to see how much less trash we have since we started composting.
Incorporate Meatless Mondays. Decreasing the amount of meat and dairy eaten reduces our carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions. There are many ways that meat production negatively impacts our planet, including the use of land and water, and we can teach our kids valuable lessons about reducing our carbon footprint simply through the foods we choose to eat. While it may not be feasible for your family to adopt a fully vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, it’s easy to find meals or days of the week where the family can opt for a veggie dish. Plus, there are so many new meat substitutes in the market now that taste great!
Make sure you are correctly recycling. Having a designated space in the kitchen for recycling will make it easier for everyone to be involved. It can also be a chore that older kids are responsible for taking it outside if your area collects recycling. One important reminder is to always check labels to make sure you are recycling things correctly, and check online if you’re unsure.
Decrease the use of plastic. It is very simple to utilize reusable bags, containers, and Tupperware as often as possible. This includes grocery shopping bags, snacks on the go, and packing lunches for school and work. It’s beneficial to use fewer plastic bags because then we aren’t creating as much trash that will head to the landfill. Additionally, drinking from reusable water bottles on a daily basis is a simple way to reduce plastic and keep drinks colder longer. This also saves money since you won’t need to purchase cases of water.
Donate unwanted items. As kids grow out of certain clothes and toys, they can be part of the process of determining what they want to get rid of. There are many ways they can donate these items to others who may need them, including family or friends with younger children. This helps teach our kids the importance of only keeping things they truly need, and also that items can be repurposed when they are finished with them, not simply thrown away.
There are many, many more ways to get your family involved in positively impacting our environment. If your kids are old enough, incorporate them in the process so they can take more ownership as well. Hopefully, if we all work together, we can raise a generation that will desire to take care of our planet.
