Earth Day *

*information for this post was in part supplied by Hormel Foods through their Hormel Extended Family Blogger program.

Tomorrow, April 22nd, is the 44th anniversary of the celebration of Earth Day. This year the Earth Day Network announced that the main focus of Earth Day will be to help put a face to climate change. One of the easiest ways to help prevent climate change is through a commitment to minimizing waste and recycling as much as possible.

At our house, we have made several small changes over the years that have not only helped us be more environmentally friendly, but have also had a favorable impact on our wallets.

We reduced our usage of paper towels, by using wash clothes and old diapers for cleaning and dusting. We are able to use it for a little while and then, I simply rinse them and toss them in the wash. We still use some paper towels for certain clean-up, but generally use less.

We reduced our usage of paper napkins, by purchasing and using cloth napkins everyday. My family was a little hesitant at first, but now has fully embraced them. You can see my post on moving to cloth napkins here.

We reduced our usage on paper plates by purchasing a set of plates that we can use for game night, birthday parties and other social gatherings at our home. When we are done, we simply fill the dishwasher and clean them up. We actually recently extended our purchase to include not just 24 dinner plates, but about 15 snack plates too. For those that want a smaller plate. You can see my post on eliminating paper plates here.

We reduced our usage of plastic utensils by purchasing a set of inexpensive silverware that we can use for game night, birthday parties and other social gatherings at our home. We found a set of silverware at Sam's Club that allowed us to get enough place settings to meet our needs even at our larger gatherings. You can see my post on elmininating plastic utensils here.

From Hormel:

Each year Hormel Foods strives to do their part in the conserving energy and reducing pollution. In 2011 they reduced their solid waste to landfills by 29 percent and completed 33 packaging reduction projects to reduce materials used by 4.2 million pounds! To learn more about these successes and many others please visit http://2011csr.hormelfoods.com/goals/.

There are plenty of simple ways that you and your family can help out this year, including:
* Next time you want to enjoy a picnic, pack-up an eco-friendly basket with dishes from home instead of paper plates and plastic utensils. Enjoy a healthy spread with products that are known for their eco-friendly and sustainable packaging. One example is Hormel® Natural Choice® deli meats. Hormel® Natural Choice® deli meats comes in packaging made of 100 percent recycled material – making them the only national brand that features 100 percent recycled packaging. Just last month, Hormel® Natural Choice® launched their new line of Family Pack deli meats – perfect for feeding a large group and cutting down on your trips to the store.
* Pack lunches in reusable containers instead of plastic zip-lock bags that can only be used once. Take it a step further by saving and using plastic containers from take-out meals.
* Opt to receive bills and notices through email instead of by mail. Most banks and organizations offer a “paper-less” option, which will not only help cut down on wasted paper, but shorten your stack of mail that comes in every day.
* Offer your support through a contribution to the Earth Day Network! Or check out the many opportunities to volunteer in your community. http://www.earthday.org/take-action

What efforts do you and your family make to try and minimize your carbon footprint? What is your favorite “eco-friendly” activity?

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided some product and some of the information for this post.

Reusable Lunch Bags

I pack my lunch almost everyday, except when I have a lunch meeting. I find that I can generally pack a healthier lunch than I can purchase. Even when I go out some place that has a salad bar and feel like I am generally eating a good lunch, I find myself adding things to my salad plate that quickly add up - cheese, croutons, bacon, crackers, macaroni salad, etc. I tend to use more salad dressing when I get the salad bar than when I pack a salad with dressing in separate container. Also, when it comes to estimating how much I ate, in order to calculate the PointsPlus values of the food, I find that I have a hard time. Was it 4 oz of chicken that I added - or a little more/less? If I eat out too often, you can see it reflected in my success (or lack there of) for the week.

So, as I said, packing my lunch lets me be in control of what I am eating. I can measure out my servings and calculate the PointsPlus values before I consume them. When I eat out, usually I wind up calculating the values after I eat rather thhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifan before. The exception is if I am going out to dinner somewhere where I know what I order and can 'budget' for the trip ahead of time.

When it comes to packing my lunch, I used to Brown Bag-it. I would typically reuse the same bag for days or weeks, as long as it lasted. I would fill it with a mix of plastic containers and plastic bags. The plastic bags and eventually, the browhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifn bags too, would get thrown away. Not only did this feel wasteful, but it also got to be expensive.

Finally, one day, I bought myself a reusable lunch bag. It is lightly insulated, which helps to keep my lunch cool until I get it into the refrigerator at work. Then, a couple of years ago, I found a solution for replacing my plastic bags http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif(at least many of them), I tried a reusable sandwich bag. I only have two, but I generally use one for my sandwich and one for vegetables (or sometimes a cookie or chips!). I was thinking about getting more. I saw this deal today for Re-Pac Bags and decided the time was right to get a couple more bags. Their style is different, using zippers instead of velcro. I liked that I could get a $24 voucher for only $12 through Mamapedia Sweet Deals. (if you are a first time Mamapedia Sweet Deals buyer, you can use coupon code FRIENDS2 to save $2 on this deal as well)

Using a reusable lunch bag and reusable lunch bags, is environmentally friendly and a way to save money. This post shared at Frugal Friday.

No compensation was received for this post. I am a Weight Watchers Insider and have received free access to their online tools.