Getting Ready For Earth Day

A friend's beautiful outdoor wedding

Sunday, April 24 is Earth Day.  It seems that some years I am more prepared for its arrival than others. Last year, I completely missed it in the busy-ness of our month, and so when I finally remembered it, I felt a little melancholy.  A good friend of mine, who often provides those little tidbits of wisdom just when I need them, said something that for some reason can get easily overlooked these days. She said "I know this sounds cliche, but Earth Day can be EVERY day.  There doesn't need to be a special date on a calendar for us to appreciate Gaia, and certainly we can do things to honor Her like picking up trash and living more gently upon Her."

I *DO* try to live more gently upon Gaia, but admittedly many days start to run into one another, and I do not put in the kind of effort towards honoring our great Earth as I'd like to. Certainly, one of my goals for this year is to remedy that!

This year, my nearly-4-year-old has joined  Spiral Scouts.  Our local hearth is doing an Earth Day clean-up and honoring, and so we're planning to attend.  I also have decided that during my traditional spring cleaning, I am trying to really keep an eye toward Reduce/Reuse/Recycle.  I want to find even more ways to incorporate eco-friendly living into our home.

One idea I recently heard was about cleaning the oven. It has been on my to-do list, and I was dreading the idea of getting everyone out of the house so I could douse my oven with harsh chemicals to clean it.  Thankfully, my procrastination of the project has paid off!  I recently heard a much more eco-friendly way of cleaning the oven while not exposing my family to those chemicals.  Apparently you can spritz your oven with water. Then sprinkle baking soda all around the inside and leave it over night. In the morning, I should then be able to easily wipe the oven clean. I'm going to try it and report back!

I hope you all have a wonderful Earth Day this month, and that you carry those grateful and loving feelings toward our Mother Earth with you into your everyday life!