If you look at the difference in the environment from fifty years ago, right up to today, you’d be shocked at how so much has died without you even realizing it at the time. As parents, it may be too late for us to notice a change, but for our children’s sake, we should be doing everything we possibly can to make the world a better place. We owe them that much.

You would be surprised at how easy it is to care for the world. It doesn’t take as much time and effort as people believe – it really is simple. We just need to lead by example and get as many people on our side as possible.

Here are some tips to start making a difference.

• Have a picnic in the park as a family and have a talk about how you can go green and make a difference by cleaning up after yourselves, so you keep the outdoors a preserved place.
• When you’re outside, pick up any litter that you see lying around – regardless if it’s yours or not. Egos shouldn’t be involved when it comes to looking after the environment, and you will be teaching your children the same.
• If you have a garden, make the most out of it by planting an array of fruit, vegetables, and herbs. Not only will they look pretty, but you will be leading a sustainable life by eating what you grow. You can’t get more organic than that!
• Change up the plants in your garden every year. One year you could focus on the many different shapes and colours of flowers, and the next you could try creating an exotic jungle.
• If and when you go camping, make sure that you put out your fire properly. Never leave it burning because if the area you’re in is hot and dry, you may be starting a very wild bush fire that could destroy so much wildlife.
• Give trees, shrubs, & ornamental plants the proper care they need by hiring help from companies like Chapel Valley Landscaping Company who are professionally trained to maintain landscapes.
• Make your own compost bin or tub, and put all of your organic waste in it. Not only are you recycling, but you can use the compost to help better your garden in the future, creating a never-ending sustainable cycle.
• If you go fishing, be sure to follow all of the rules that are mentioned. Any rules that have been put in place is for the protection of the fish, which essentially protects the people.
• When at home, don’t leave any lights on if they don’t need to be. Keep them switched off unless absolutely essential. You should also change any regular light bulbs to the energy saving bulbs instead.
• Avoid long showers when you can, the same goes for when brushing your teeth – don’t leave the tap running because this is just wasting water unnecessarily. You can even have water-saving appliances put in place to help with this.
• You can even have water-saving appliances put in place to help with this.
• When possible, walk or cycle instead of driving. This will not only reduce your carbon footprint, but you will be getting some much-needed exercise which is full of health benefits.
• If you have the option of walking up the stairs or riding in an elevator – go for the stairs if you can. Just think of what it’ll do for your derriere…
• If you have to drop your kids off at school, offer to pick their friends up too. There’s no need for multiple cars driving to the same destination when you can use just one.
• Only flush the toilet for the serious business. It may sound a little gross, but urine doesn’t need to be flushed away. So save it for what does. If this doesn’t appeal to you, install a dual flush system instead.
• If you can get public transport to where you need to go – do that instead of driving. It’s much more environmentally friendly. This works the same as the carpooling idea.
• If it’s hot in your car, open the windows instead of turning the aircon on. This is because the global energy consumed from cooling down the interior of your car doesn’t help the environment at all.
• When washing your clothes, hang them outside to dry instead of using a tumble dryer. The only reason you would need to use it is if you need an item of clothing as soon as possible. Other than that, just hang them up.
• Only use your washing machine if you can fill it up, never just throw a couple of shirts in and turn it on. It’s an absolute waste of power and water unless it’s a full load.
• The same rules apply for the dishwasher too. Only switch it on if it’s full of plates, bowls, glasses, and cutlery.
• Consider investing in a solar panel for your home. They may not be a cheap purchase, but you will be saving thousands in the long run, plus they take their energy from the sun – the natural way. So you’ll never have to worry about harming the planet with this one.
• If you have a bunch of clothes to get rid of, don’t just throw them in the trash. Donate them to charity, hand them down to someone in your family or your circle of friends, or use the fabric and materials to make something new.
• Don’t just have a trash bag that you throw all of your rubbish into. Make sure you separate things for the recycling. This means plastic, aluminum, cardboard/paper and glass.
• Try and repair something before buying a new one, or if it can’t be fixed, turn it into something else. The more you use, the fewer things will need to be produced – which involves cutting down trees and killing innocent wildlife.
• Use reusable bags or cardboard boxes instead of new plastic bags every time you go to do your shopping. Keep them in the trunk of your car so you never have an excuse not to use them.
• Use emails as a way of sharing, as a pose to printing things out, and if it is an absolute necessity, use recycled paper and print on both sides of the page if you can.
• Pay all your bills online, and make sure that you click the option of going ‘paperless’ so you don’t receive endless amounts of bank statements when you don’t need to view them that way.
• Don’t wash things like oil, paint or any other hazardous chemicals down the sink. This can not only damage your drainage and piping, but you will leave an unnecessary mess in the sewage systems.
• If you have leftovers from a large meal, don’t throw them out – keep them for tomorrow’s lunch, or share what’s left with your favorite neighbor.
• Plan out your shopping list before hand so you don’t go overboard by buying things you don’t really need; otherwise, they will end up going to waste, rotting in the back of the fridge for nothing. This will save you a lot of money too.
• When possible, buy things in bulk instead of lots of the same thing. This will not only save you money in the long run, but it will also save up on packaging materials.
• If you’re using your oven or grill, try and keep the door closed. The more ventilation the room has, the harder and longer it will take for the oven to work the way it needs to.
• When heating water, you should only heat as much as you will need; otherwise, it will just end up going to waste when it didn’t have to.