Earth Day 2015

I stumbled across a great Pinterest board a few days ago with plenty of ideas and events geared towards celebrating Earth Day brought to you by Keep Texas Beautiful. You don't have to live in the Lone Star State to find a pin there with something you can do for Earth Day, as not all of them are TX specific. At least one of the pins includes a reminder about using reusable grocery bags. Everyone should try this suggestion out.

I have gathered a small collection of reusable shopping bags. I like the insulated bags from Central Market and Target for frozen or cold foods. Also in the first photo are two clever bags that I received in a conference goodie bag. (one expanded, one stuffed) They have a pocket inside each bag that you stuff them into when not in use for compact storage and they have a small carabiner for ease of carry. The second photo includes a bag I got on a trip last summer and one that was a surprise holiday gift from Etsy last year.

I must admit I'm not the best at always using them because I don't tend to remember my bags until I am at the grocery store and the bags are still safely stored at home. However, I have gotten better at making sure I have at least a couple in my car after finding myself in Austin, needing to grocery shop, after they instituted their plastic bag ban. Luckily my purchases stacked fairly well and I made it to my car without dropping anything. Several Texas cities have followed Austin's lead and passed ordinances banning one time use plastic bags, so putting a couple of reusable shopping bags in your car just in case you find yourself in the same situation I was in would be prudent and good for the environment to boot.

Please check out the Keep Texas Beautiful board to see what you can do to celebrate Earth Day and do your part to protect Mother Earth. All of the things we do, big or small, do matter.