Gearing Up For Earth Day April 22nd - Get A Head Start

Spring is here, although Florida weather seems to be one season ahead as it's been pretty darn hot - summer hot!

With Springtime comes freshness, newness, rebirth. . . etc. . . spring cleaning... and EARTH DAY... which this year is April 22nd.

Every day you are on this beautiful rock is Earth Day.... just the other 364 days you don't focus on the fact.  It's about being aware of our impact and our relationship with the external environment. 

 Here's some tips on how to make a difference - for it to matter, all each of us really has to do is make a change ourselves... Not so hard when you look at it that way, huh?

So, what to do?

Repeat the Earth Hour Annual Event

This year it was last week -  March 28th - cities - people around the world turned off their lights for 1 hour. First one was march 31, 2007 in Sydney Australia.

Instead, this time make it a random monthly event in your city or community.

Clean Up Your Cleaning Products

Some conventional cleaning products can contain questionable chemicals like phthalates, butyl cellosolve, sodium hydroxide, ammonia, or formaldehyde. Why would you endanger your health or the health of the planet with harsh chemicals and toxic substances when you can choose natural and healthier alternatives?

You could switch to Get Clean by Shaklee. Get Clean offers choices that are safe, nontoxic, and natural, and they work wonderfully. Many Get Clean products are formulated using sustainably sourced ingredients from natural sources, like activated enzymes or biodegradable cleaning agents derived from corn and coconuts. 

When you welcome Get Clean products into your home, you’re not exposing your family to many of the dangerous chemicals found in conventional cleaners.

A great way to start is with the Get Clean Starter Kit—everything you need to clean your home.

Start Using your Dishwasher!

Using the dishwasher is actually better for the planet than washing dishes by hand. The average energy-efficient dishwasher uses just 4 gallons of water per cycle, saving nearly 5,000 gallons of water per year compared with hand washing—as well as $40 in energy costs and 230 hours of washing time, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Make sure to use a phosphate-free detergent. Phosphates spur algae blooms and are a major source of water pollution.

Get Clean Dish Wash Automatic Concentrate is one of the first phosphate-free automatic dish wash detergents.

Ditch the Anti-bacterial Hand Soap

Triclosan, a common ingredient in antibacterial soap that kills microbes, ends up in our water sources and, at specific levels, is acutely and chronically toxic to aquatic life. Moreover, overuse of antibacterial and antimicrobial soap can help create antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which may weaken the effectiveness of currently useful antibiotics. Antibacterial soap doesn’t offer any better protection against illness than vigorous hand washing with plain soap and warm water.

Get Clean Hand Wash Concentrate is a great antibacterial-free alternative. It’s soap free, pH balanced, hypoallergenic, and has biodegradable surfactants.

Bring your own bag

Okay, we’ve all heard this one, but it’s true. Neither paper nor plastic is the ideal choice. Paper is accepted in more recycling programs, but only approximately 20% is recycled, and most bags can end up in landfills.

Plastic bags not only can take a thousand years to decompose and but use up nonrenewable resources. The best choice? Bring your own reusable bag. A sturdy, reusable one can take the place of hundreds or maybe even thousands of single-use bags over its lifetime.

Buy from Socially Responsible Companies

Use your consumer power to support companies that are environmentally responsible and offer products that are safe for you and the environment. Shaklee  has a long history of environmental responsibility, including introducing one of the first biodegradable cleaners in 1960.