In my past career as a teacher, Earth Day was a celebration that I always acknowledged in my classroom.  Depending on the grade I taught and the subjects we were studying at the time, I found a way to incorporate Earth Day.  One year, we ate lunch together and recorded the impact of one meal: the amount of trash created, the amount of recyclables, etc.  Another year, we researched endangered animals and shared the reports in class.

No longer in the world of education, I find that I don’t pay as much attention to the day.  Yes, I do have children at home, but as they are teens, they aren’t as interested in doing projects.  However, they do enjoy discussions, so I try to focus one dinner discussion around the environment.  On a practical level, we have an electricity jar at our house.  Anyone who leaves an unneeded appliance or fixture on needs to pay a quarter to the jar.  Since we have begun using this jar, I have noticed that we all are more aware of turning off lights when leaving rooms.  This jar applies to everyone in our house, adults included!

Although Earth Day was celebrated yesterday, it isn’t too late to take some action at your home.  Feel free to borrow our electricity jar idea.  If you are looking for other ideas, I love the suggestions that we share in our 30 Second Tip column at our eco-friendly publication, Be Green Info.  These ideas truly are simple and offer an easy way to care for the environment.