Happy Earth Day 2015! Here’s my quick guide on how best to celebrate.
1. Volunteer
In my neighborhood, the Newtown Creek Alliance holds awesome workshops where we get to clean up a waterfront, fly weather balloons, hear talks, design parks, and more! Come out if you’re in the hood or find a similar organization in your own.
2. Compost
I’ve been composting for 5 years and can say that it is definitely the way to go. Forget the positive impact. It’s just so much less gross than stinking up your trash with leaking, decaying food. Put some big tupperware containers in the freezer and put all your organic scraps in those. Then, drop it off each week and I’m telling you, your life will be improved. Most community gardens and farmer’s markets now have drop-offs so try it for one month and you’ll see what I mean.
3. Join a CSA or Food Co-op
These are getting more and more prevalent and expanding to so many more seasons and food specialties. You don’t have to worry about the local vs organic debate or about freshness or what’s in season. Join a food co-op and all that (pretty much) takes care of itself. Plus, there’s no better way to expand your culinary horizons and learn how to cook! It’s like a win-win-win-win-win.
4. Start a Garden
Or volunteer at a community garden. Gardening has been shown to consistently increase happiness because not only do you get the wonderful fruits, veggies, and flowers that you grow but you get exercise, vitamin D from the sun, a real return on investment, and a connection to the seasons and soil that humans flourish on. At Radish Lab, we’re about to take over a terrace garden on our own building! Team building projects don’t get better than that.
5. Live with less
A few months ago I did a full sweep of my apartment, recycling and donating everything I could. And ever since then, I’ve been trying not to buy as much. I’ve found my new minimalism to be quite liberating. We don’t realize how much time, money, energy, and psychological bandwidth we spend dealing with our things. And how much of what we own is just not necessary. Trust me, the fewer needless possessions you have, the more productive, more organized, more focused, happier, and richer you’ll be. Check out some good tips to get you started here and here.