101+ Earth Day Tips for 2019

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1. Conserve water outdoors by only watering your lawn in the early morning or late at night.
2. Use drought-resistant plants in dry areas.
3. Be practical about landscaping. Consider using the natural landscaping of your region instead of a lawn.
4. Create an edible garden to offset your water usage.
5. Compost kitchen scraps and plant debris for use in your garden.
6. Plant trees.
7. Join a local park, river or beach cleanup.
8. Remove invasive plants and replace them with native plants.
9. Create a simple DIY rainwater harvesting system.
10. Use recycled containers such as yogurt cups and egg cartons for starting seeds.
11. Used coffee grounds and dried, crushed up eggshells for fertilizer.
12. Provide water, whether via natural springs, birdbaths or ponds to attract birds and other wildlife
13. Encourage birds to be your pest control for ants, spiders, and other insects.
14. Instead of pesticides, sprinkle the lawn with cayenne.
15. Grow your own organic garden, or join a farm share group.
16. Fill an empty city lot with a garden.
17. Protect pollinators by choosing a variety of native plants.
18. Protect birds strikes into windows by hanging objects to reduce the reflection.
19. After mowing your lawn, sprinkle grass clippings over it for a natural fertilizer.
20. Group errands together and buy in bulk to reduce how many shopping trips you make.
21. Use public transportation or ride sharing.
22. Use teleconferencing instead of traveling for meetings.
23. Move to a walkable neighborhood or small town
24. Keep your automobile tires properly inflated to improve fuel economy.
25. Drive an electric or hybrid car
26. Save gas by driving sensibly (aggressive driving lowers gas mileage by 33%).
27. Maintain a steady speed using cruise control
28. Remove any excess weight (an extra 100 pounds in your trunk reduces your fuel economy by 2%)
29. If you’re idling for more than a minute, turn off the car until you’re ready to move again.
30. Don’t warm your car before driving on cold mornings. Use a jacket to stay warm and a scraper or pitcher of warm water to defrost the windows
31. Take back roads instead of sitting in traffic to reduce air pollution
32. Suggest that schools adopt a “no idling” policy for buses and cars
33. Change your car’s air filter regularly
34. Dress appropriately to reduce energy consumed for heating and cooling.
35. Avoid using bottled water and drink tap water or filter it yourself.
36. Stop using disposable plastics, especially single-use plastics like bottles, bags, and straws.
37. Bring your own reusable bags and skip the paper and the plastic at your grocery store.
38. Only buy the groceries you need and reduce food waste.
39. Recycle paper, plastic, and glass.
40. Donate your old clothes and home goods. Consider buying previously used items.
41. Change your paper bills to online billing.
42. Read documents online instead of printing them. Go paperless as much as possible.
43. When you use paper, make sure it is 100% post-consumer recycled paper.
44. If possible, set your printer to print two-sided.
45. Recycle used printer, fax, and copier cartridges.
46. Suggest that local schools and offices choose reusable utensils, trays, and dishes in the cafeteria.
47. Use reusable water bottle or mug at the office, school or coffee shop.
48. Pack your lunch in reusable bags or boxes.
49. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. It’s good exercise too!
50. Form or join a “green team” at work or in your community to find cost-effective ways to conserve resources and promote sustainability.
51. Opt-out of any paper catalogs or subscriptions you don’t read or could read electronically.
52. Use a cover on pots while cooking. You can reduce energy use by up to two thirds and heat food faster.
53. Simultaneously preparing more than one food in the same pot saves both time and energy.
54. Save energy and waste by using rechargeable batteries.
55. Pick-up trash while you walk or run.
56. Dispose of your electronics wisely.
57. Say no to junk mail.
58. Use matches instead of disposable lighters.
59. Switch from disposable pads and tampons to this reusable solution like a Diva-Cup.
60. Send packages with UPS’ carbon-neutral-shipping option.
61. Use a toothbrush with a bamboo handle instead of a plastic one.
62. Don’t flush old medication. Find a drop-off site at disposemymeds.org.
63. Reuse old phone book pages or newspapers as packing material or garden mulch.
64. Use aluminum foil instead of plastic wrap. Foil can be recycled.
65. A DIY shower shutoff valve will allow you to turn off the water while you soap up without having to re-adjust the water temperature.
66. Buy local food to reduce the distance from farm to fork.
67. Buy straight from the farm or join a local food coop.
68. Look for organic food. Keep your body and the environment free of toxic pesticides.
69. Support local farmers who grow organic.
70. Eat less meat and dairy. This will encourage lower carbon emissions and water usage from the livestock industry.
71. Use cloth towels instead of paper ones.
72. Sponges are cheaper, reusable, and take up less space than a roll of paper towels.
73. Use old newspapers for cleaning mirrors and glass. It won’t leave behind trails of lint like paper towels.
74. Increase your use of eco-friendly cleaning products.
75. Use the antibacterial qualities of Lemons for cleaning and removing tough stains.
76. To maintain a sparkling clean toilet, use a mixture of baking soda and vinegar rather than harmful bleach
77. Try using a combination of baking soda and vinegar to open a clogged sink drain.
78. Coffee grounds are an easy, greener alternative to pest repellents. This is great for ants.
79. Use coffee grounds to help remove grease and stuck-on food from pots and pans.
80. Wash your clothes in cold water and air dry on a clothesline.
81. To beat static cling naturally, add ¼ cup white vinegar in the washer’s rinse cycle
82. Run your dishwasher only when it’s full.
83. When traveling, turn off the lights, heat/AC and TV when you leave your hotel room.
84. Leave the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the hotel door so housekeeping staff won’t clean your room every day.
85. At a hotel, use just one bar of soap for both sink and shower.
86. Return hotel brochures and maps once you’re finished using them.
87. Don’t use the hotel laundry service since they typically wash each guest’s clothes separately, even for small loads.
88. When hiking, stick to marked trails to avoid harming native flora.
89. Shop smarter. Read labels, and ask questions like “What is this item made from?” or “How far was this item shipped?”.
90. Buy local, seek out indigenous artisans and learn about their craft.
91. Choose a “green” hotel that uses alternative energy sources and has a recycling program.
92. Hang your hotel towels and re-use them for several days, just as you would at home.
93. Heat and cool your home efficiently.
94. Use energy efficient appliances (ENERGY STAR® appliances).
95. Unplug electronics and chargers that are not in use to reduce energy consumption.
96. Use an energy monitoring system.
97. Turn off lights when you leave a room.
98. Install a programmable thermostat to regulate temperature automatically.
99. Use home automation to intelligently adjust temperature or turn off lights automatically.
100. Don’t stream videos through your game console – Video game consoles can use 25 to 50 times more power to stream movies compared to a dedicated streaming device.
101. Ceiling fans can create a cooling breeze, or simply circulate the air from your AC more efficiently.
102. Replace inefficient incandescent light bulbs with efficient CFLs or LEDs.
103. Turning off your computer at night.
104. Install solar panels on your roof. Solar is the fastest growing renewable energy, becoming more efficient and less expensive.
105. Contact your utility company and find out about renewable energy options.
106. Lower the temperature on your water heater.
107. Move your heater thermostat down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in the summer.
108. Use a power strip for your small appliances and turn them it when not in use.
109. Add insulation to your attic and seal all windows and doors with caulk.
110. Replace older windows with more energy-efficient models.
111. Change air filters regularly and upgrade your water heater.
112. Turn off your furnace when the cold weather ends.
113. Fix leaky faucets.
114. Upgrade the aerators on your kitchen and bathroom sinks.
115. Replace old toilets with modern low-flow toilets.
116. Put a bucket in the shower to catch the grey water, then use that to flush your toilet.
117. Take showers instead of a bath to save water.
118. Reduce shower time by 1 minute a day
119. Use a low-flow showerhead.